Every city has them – the neighbourhoods that everyone else looks down on.
In Australia, Sydney has “Westies”. Brisbane has “Logan bogans”. And in Melbourne, the western suburb of Sunshine is colloquially…
Aboriginal (Kija, Malnjin, Mirawoonga and Worla) cultural law holds that Argyle mine’s pink diamonds are scales of the female Baramundi creative Dreaming Being.
Swamibu/Flickr
On Tuesday Lateline ran a story built around a report: “Developing the West Kimberley’s Resources” that the program breathlessly presented as a “secret plan” to industrialise the region, unlock its resources…
A sign outside an Aboriginal community near Darwin, noting the ban on consuming alcohol in the area.
AAP/Xavier La Canna
By Peter d'Abbs, Menzies School of Health Research
The newly elected conservative governments in Queensland and the Northern Territory have opened the way to relaxing laws restricting access to alcohol in Aboriginal communities.
In Queensland, a number…
Country Liberal government leader and Chief Minister Terry Mills has pledged to visit Northern Territory’s remote communities.
AAP
The remarkable feature of the Country Liberal Party’s win in the Northern Territory is how it presents two completely opposing aspects, with dramatically contrasting results between the towns and remote…
Prominent indigenous activist Bess Price is standing for election for the CLP.
ABCTV
The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly is unique among Australia’s parliaments for its proportion of Indigenous members. They are drawn from both the Labor (ALP) and Country Liberal (CLP) parties…
Despite a growth in the study of homelessness, significant gaps remain in our understanding of it.
Flickr/Davco9200
In Australia the homeless population has become more diverse over the last 20 years, with more young people, women and families experiencing homelessness. This has led to a growth in the study of homelessness…
Damien Hooper enters the ring wearing an Indigenous flag t shirt.
SBS
There are many people who would like us to believe that sport and politics should never mix. The reason for this is sport is seen as the pure and noble practice where champions arrive after hard work and…
A recent report into Indigenous education that points the finger at schools and teachers missed the point.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Any work that shines a spotlight on the appalling state of education for Indigenous Australians is to be welcomed.
And so Helen and Mark Hughes are to be commended for their latest effort, a report called…
Peter Gurruwiwi of the Galpu nation getting ready to meet Dr Jill Charker from the Australian Bureau of Statisics during census collection in 2011.
AAP/David Sproule
AUSTRALIA BY NUMBERS: Today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the first batch of its 2011 census data. We’ve asked some of the country’s top demographers and statisticians to crunch the numbers…
The Canberra Aboriginal tent embassy. Should the protest in Musgrave Park be seen in the same light?
AAP/Alan Porrit
This weekend, South Brisbane will play host to the Paniyiri Festival, one of Australia’s largest cultural events.
From May 19 to 20, thousands are expected to join the celebrations and delight themselves…
Melbourne footballer Liam Jurrah returns to Melbourne after being charged with attacking a man in Alice Springs.
AAP/David Crosling
Imagine if the indigenous people of this country didn’t play Australian football, the only truly unique sport this continent country has ever created.
As a percentage of the population, indigenous people…
The High Court decision against Palm Island rioter, Lex Wotton highlights concerns about how little our constitution does to protect us.
AAP Image/Ian Hitchcock
By Peter Black, Queensland University of Technology
When a prisoner has served their time, it’s difficult to understand why they would be stopped from engaging in public debate or communicating with the media. But a new precedent has been set by the High…
Will we see another lobby group leader who genuinely wants solutions?
AAP
When was the last time the head of a national lobby group led a national initiative in the national interest, way beyond the comfort zone of the majority of their constituency?
Where are the national…
It’s essential that we get it right when it comes to changing our constitution to recognise Aboriginal Australians.
Flickr/Rusty Stewart
Earlier this year, the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians gave its final recommendations to the government.
Recognition would acknowledge the unique place of Aboriginal…
We should take a closer look at the history of the Constitution before reforming it.
Flickr/Rusty Stewart
The one recommendation of the Expert Panel on Indigenous Constitutional Recognition that everyone appears to support is the repeal of section 25 of the Constitution.
Section 25 says that if a State law…
The ugly side of Australia Day was starkly revealed yesterday.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Australia Day: cricket, beaches, prawns on the barbie, beer and a good dose of sunburn; a bit of jingoistic flag-waving, citizenship ceremonies and the conferring of awards to our most outstanding citizens…
A lack of empirical data is hindering indigenous policymaking in the Northern Territory.
AAP
Since its introduction in 2007, there has been much debate over the effectiveness of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) in improving the quality of life in remote indigenous communities…
Many Aboriginal people, like boxer Anthony Mundine, look to Islam as a way of re-connecting with their roots.
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Muslim conversion is growing in Indigenous communities.
In the 2001 national census, 641 Indigenous people identified as Muslim. By the 2006 census the number had climbed by more than 60% to 1014 people…
It’s time to recognise the first Australians in our constitution.
Flickr/Rusty Stewart
Last week, the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples concluded its deliberations on reform proposals.
While we wait on the release of their final…
The government is ignoring protests against income management, and evidence it doesn’t work.
AAP/Larine Statham
The government is ignoring evidence that income management in Aboriginal communities isn’t working. Despite a raft of studies showing it isn’t changing behaviour or significantly improving people’s life…
The message that Aboriginal people need to take responsibility for their future has been a popular one.
AAP
AFTER THE INTERVENTION: ANU’s Jon Altman investigates Noel Pearson’s efforts to improve Indigenous welfare on Cape York.
In discussions about the NT intervention, Noel Pearson’s work in Cape York is often…
Australia needs to take a more considered approach to Indigenous spending.
Rusty Stewart
AFTER THE INTERVENTION – Today, The Conversation launches a series looking at the recent history of Indigenous policy in Australia, and some ways forward. Are any of the current approaches working? What…
Indigenous affairs minister Jenny Macklin must ensure policy reflect cultural differences.
The Gillard Government’s new discussion paper on indigenous welfare policy in the Northern Territory continues Labor’s rhetorical reliance on a loosely defined concept of the “dignity of work”.
Federal…
Achieving equity is less about grand gestures than meeting the actual needs of Indigenous Australians.
Sorry by butupa/Flickr
The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released its latest report on how much money the Commonwealth and State governments spend on the health of Indigenous Australians. Despite being…
Mining companies are finally sharing the benefits with the native owners of the land.
AFP/Christian Sprogoe/Rio Tinto
Aboriginal Australians living in remote areas have, for the past five decades, experienced at close quarters the ill-effects of large scale mining, while receiving few of the benefits.
From Cape York…
Indigenous Australians find great difficulty in gaining official tribal recognition.
AAP
Indigenous difference has been “recognised” in the public law and policy of the western settler states of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States since the earliest days of colonial government…
Australia has the world’s oldest continuously worked mine site.
AAP
There has been a massive revival of interest in Australian history in the last decade. Under Prime Minister John Howard, Australia’s military history, particularly the ANZACs, became little short of a…
