Article: Toeholds on Country: Please click here
‘Greg Marks’, Toeholds on Country: Aboriginal Community Living Areas in the Northern Territory, Indigenous law Bulletin, March/April 2012, Volume 7/Issue 29.
... Greg Marks writes for us on the land reform measures that form part of the Stronger Futures Legislation (which replaces ‘the Intervention’). Specifically, Greg focuses on the potential of this legislation to marginalise the Aboriginal owners of Community Living Areas. ..
http://www.ilc.unsw.edu.au/publications/ilb/marchapril-2012-volume-7-issue-29
Greg Marks' Submission to the Senate Inquiry 2012: please click here or https://senate.aph.gov.au/submissions/comittees/viewdocument.aspx?id=e63ae34f-7ee3-4c5b-a621-5e5714e430bc
Greg Marks' Submission on CLAs 2013: please click here
'concerned Australians' Submission on CLAs 2013: please click here
More info: please click here and here
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Yolŋu Nations Assembly Statement regarding Australian Federal Government Stronger Futures Bills and Northern Territory Policies, to the Leaders of the Australian Federal and Northern Territory Parliaments: please click here
For the German translation: please click here
Statements and Media Releases from
by Churches, Organisations and Groups
calling to abandon the
Stronger Futures Legislation
and supporting the
Yolŋu Nations Assembly Statement:
..............................................................................................................................................
Mornington Interchurch Aboriginal Awareness Group (Victoria)
Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC)
St Vincent de Paul Society National Council
Leaders of the Congregations and Provinces of the Sisters of St Joseph, Australia
Uniting Church in Australia National Assembly
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Inc.
Josephite SA Reconciliation Circle
Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Sydney Archdiocese
Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Melbourne (ACMM)
National Congress of Australia's First Peoples
Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea
Whitehorse Friends For Reconciliation Inc. (WFFR)
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA)
Catholic Religious Australia (CRA)
Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA)
Social Policy Connections (SPC)
Indigenous Peoples Organisation Network Australia (IPO Network)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegations to the United Nations
- National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
- Secretariat of the National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agencies
- National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services
- National Native Title Council
- National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations
Reconciliation for Western Sydney (R4WS)
Eastern Alyawarr Region Peoples
Western Sydney Community Forum
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC)
Stronger Smarter Institute (Dr. Chris Sarra)
Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (WGAR)
Council of Blackburn North / Nunawading Uniting Church
Forest Hill and Vermont Uniting Churches Social Justice Group
Australian Council for Adult Literacy (ACAL)
Tangentyere Council – Walter Shaw (16 Town Camps)
New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC)
Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH)
Victorian Indigenous Education Network (VIEN)
Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC)
Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Committee on Racial Equality (CORE)
Aboriginal Resource and Development Services (ARDS)
National Council of Single Mothers and their Children (NCSMC)
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney (STICS)
Eastern Suburbs Organisation for Reconciling Australia (ESORA)
Older Womens Network - Aboriginal Support Circle
Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages Corporation (FATSILC)
Gurindji People of Daguragu and Kalkaringi
Australian Peace Committee (SA Branch)
Womens Federation for World Peace (WFWP) Australia
Australian Medical Association (AMA)
Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Sydney - follow-up
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC)
Las Casas Dominican Centre for Justice, Peace and Care of Creation
Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP)
Bennelong and Surronds Residents for Reconciliation
Further Statements
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney
Related Articles
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese
WGAR Newsletters Background Info
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Links to further Statements:
Stop the Intervention Collective Sydney
Media Release of 9 May 12: From the bush to Bankstown - communities prepare to fight 'Stronger Futures' implementation
"Remote NT communities are joining with the south-western Sydney suburb of Bankstown in a pledge to challenge the implementation of 'Stronger Futures' legislation which is set to be debated in the Senate today. ... In an historic statement from Arnhem Land last week, Yolŋu Elders pledged to refuse to negotiate any leases, including mining exploration leases, while the government pushed ahead with 'Stronger Futures'. ... Mathew Dhulumburrk, a Gupapuyngu Elder from Ramingining, was part of the Yolŋu Makarr Dhuni, (Yolŋu Nations Assembly) which issued the statement against Stronger Futures last week: "We do not want another decade of discrimination here at Ramingining. After five years, it feels like the water level has climbed up to our neck. Another ten years will bring it way over our heads. The government is drowning us slowly and wonders why twice as many of our young people are attempting suicide. There is no valid reason to discriminate against Yolŋu in this way." "We put out a statement last week and we stand by that. We will not be co-operating with the government when they try and bring in Stronger Futures. We will not sign any leases over our land. We want to determine our own future and run our own communities. We need laws and support that will let us do that", concluded Mr Dhulumburrk."
please click here
Solidarity
May 2012 - YOLNGU NATIONS REIGNITE OPPOSITION TO LEASES AND INTERVENTION
"The Yolngu Nations Assembly meeting in Ramingining has taken an important stand against the "Stronger Futures" legislation currently before the Senate. ... Now Yolngu clan leaders, representing more than 8000 people across Arnhem Land, are giving this opposition some teeth. Their statement, issued on April 24, "calls on the Senate to discard these bills in full", and demands the reinstatement of Aboriginal controlled local government, bilingual education and an end to the policy of forcing migration into urban "hub towns". Crucially, the statement also, "call(s) on all traditional owners across the Northern Territory to refuse participation in land lease negotiations with the Australian Federal Government, and approval for any exploration licenses… until the Stronger Futures Bill (and those associated) are thrown out"
http://www.solidarity.net.au/45/yonglu-nations-reignite-opposition-to-leases-and-intervention
ACTU Congress 2012
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy
Northern Territory Emergency Response & Stronger Futures
9. Congress welcomes the Commonwealth government’s proposed repeal of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) Legislation and the reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act (Cth) 1975.
10. Under the proposed repeal of the NTER legislation, Congress welcomes the cessation of the compulsory acquisition of Aboriginal land.
11. However, Congress rejects many aspects of the Stronger Futures legislation package, which are an extension of the discriminatory policies of the NTER.
12. Congress opposes the discriminatory elements of the Stronger Futures legislative package and supports the campaign of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples to remove these elements.
For more: http://www.actucongress.org.au/site/attachments/policies/final/Aboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20Policy%20-FINAL.pdf
The Catholic Leader
13 May 12: Church on indigenous elders' side
"AUSTRALIA'S Catholic bishops and leaders of religious congregations have added their voice to Aboriginal elders calling for an end to the Northern Territory Intervention and the Federal Government's proposed Stronger Futures legislation. On May 2, the Yolngu National Assembly, involving eight indigenous nations in the Western, Central and East Arnhem Lands areas of the Northern Territory representing 8000 Aboriginal people, sent a statement to Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Federal Opposition Leader Tont Abbott calling for a changed approach to Northern Territory policy." ...
http://www.catholicleader.com.au/news.php/top-stories/church-on-indigenous-elders-side_79497
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese
8 May 12: Bishops & Religious Back Calls for Halt to NT "Intervention"
"Australia's Catholic bishops and religious have appealed to Federal Senators not to pass "Stronger Futures Northern Territory 2011 Bill" which would see the Territory's controversial "Intervention" policy extended for a further 10 years. "We urge the Federal Government to abandon this legislation and develop strategies based on trust and respect which will promote collaboration with the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory in decision-making relating to their future," said Archbishop Philip Wilson and Sister Anne Derwin rsj, in a statement issued on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA)."...
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/201258_1842.shtml
WGAR Newsletters Background Info
21 May 2012 - Australia challenged at United Nations over NT laws" Statement of delegations to UN
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/21/wgar-news-australia-challenged-at-united-nations-over-nt-laws-statement-of-delegations-to
11 May 2012 - More organisations state support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/11/wgar-news-more-organisations-state-support-for-the-yolngu-nations-assembly-statement
10 May 2012 - Several organisations express support for the Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/10/wgar-news-several-organisations-express-support-for-the-yolngu-nations-assembly-statement
8 May 2012 - "Stronger futures or stolen futures - Bishops and Religious question legislation" ACBC
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/08/wgar-news-stronger-futures-or-stolen-futures-bishops-and-religious-question-legislation-a
4 May 2012 - Yolngu Nations Assembly Statement concerning 'Stronger Futures' laws and NT policies
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/04/wgar-news-yolngu-nations-assembly-statement-concerning-stronger-futures-laws-and-nt-polic
BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-nt-intervention-laws
BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-nt-intervention
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