A change of date will do nothing to shake Australia from its colonial-settler triumphalism
Least anyone become overly concerned, the date chosen to mark Australia Day has historically been a movable feast. For instance, July 15 was once the favoured date. While many believe that the current date – January 26 – commemorates the landing of the so-called “First Fleet” (which itself is historically inaccurate), I would expect that the date was moved from the gloom of a southern winter to mid-summer for the sake of devotees of the barbeque and patriotic lamb advertisements.
No, I Will Not Thank You For Your Invasion
I searched the Internet for my name on a fine January morning, it can be the only way to find reviews of my work. I found my name somewhere unexpected, in an article by Keith Windschuttle in Quadrant (“Australia Dystopia”, Quadrant, January/February 2018). He quoted me, which is OK although I would prefer not being used to further his vitriol. He also called me a ‘hypocrite’, which is not ok.
Our history of resistance involves revitalising our traditional languages
This year marks the bicentennial of John Oxley’s 1818 reconnaissance mission to the so-called ‘New England Tableland’ in New South Wales, which lay the foundation for two hundred years (and counting) of violent and stifling colonialism. The first squatter reached New England in 1832, and an intense period of frontier conflict accompanied the ensuing invasion and occupation.
Victims and Vultures – the profitability of problematising the Aborigine
As a health researcher I am troubled by the predatory possibilities of “the Aboriginal problem”. Many a mortgage has been paid off the back of knowing “the Aboriginal problem” or claiming to solve “the Aboriginal problem” as advancing new knowledge. Within Indigenous health research, people (and by people, I mean predominantly white people) make money from knowing “the Aboriginal problem” under the premise that a deeper understanding of “the Aboriginal problem” will somehow fix it.
Don’t Redefine Indigenous, Redefine Good Government
Recently the Productivity Commission looked into the way in which GST revenue is distributed across Australia’s states and territories. Currently, GST revenue is carved up based on a number of factors to achieve what is called horizontal fiscal equalisation (HFE). This assessment involves a number of measurements, one of which includes taking into account the proportion of Indigenous people in each state or territory.
Indigenous Australians are the original engineers. Why are there not more of us?
When I was about 10 years old, my little brother forgot the password to his laptop. This was in the days before we had password recovery; we were completely locked out of the computer. He didn’t know what to do and he was preparing himself to get told off by mum and dad.
Change requires courage: We need all Australians to walk with us
This week I appeared on #QandA as one of the questioner’s to the Prime Minister regarding the Uluru Statement from the Heart. He sought to defend his dismissal of a proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament by relying on the fact we already have Indigenous MP’s in Parliament.
Our LGBQTI mob are killing themselves. Isn’t it time we were shown a little love?
In preparation for this week hosting IndigenousX to talk about Black Rainbow and why I started it and why I have persevered challenged me to look inward for first time in a very long time. I will share some horrific personal experiences, not all of them, in an attempt to provide perhaps some context for what drives me and why I believe what Black Rainbow is trying to do is so vitally important.
Australia’s commitment to human rights to be examined by international committee
In this last year, events including Indigenous youth being assaulted in detention, the killing of young Elijah Doherty and the treatment of refugees on Manus Island, have highlighted Australian race relations are not as they should be. Having recently been elected unopposed to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Australia has a fundamental obligation to ensure that it acts as a world leader in regards to human rights.
Time to wake up Australia. Every child prison in this country is Don Dale
“Systemic and shocking failures”; “Regular, repeated and distressing mistreatment”; “Ignored at the highest levels”: these are the findings of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, which on Friday released their report describing a brutal and barbaric injustice system for kids.
Jack Latimore: Having Black Lives Matter in Australia can help strengthen Indigenous activism
The visit of the founders of Black Lives Matter to accept the Sydney peace prize should be leveraged by First Nations, indeed by all people of colour in Australia plus our allies and advocates, as a mechanism to have our agendas infiltrate mainstream forums at an international level and work towards redressing the raft of issues that affect us.
