In Queensland’s election, somehow polling booths that should represent some of the country’s least literate voters returned informal vote numbers that were among the country’s lowest. What’s going on?
Aboriginal affairs
Black Canons: Peter Craven writes back
Meanjin editor Sophie Cunningham took Peter Craven to task for his review of the latest Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. Here Peter Craven replies.
Jenny Macklin’s special brand of consultation
Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has discovered an interesting kind of consultation involving fences, writes Chris Graham.
Federal Court grants ACC access to indigenous kids’ medical files
A full bench of the Federal Court today ruled that the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) must take the interests of Indigenous children into account when investigating child abuse in Indigenous communities, writes Henri Ivrey.
Climbing Uluru is like clambering up the War Memorial
I’d like to climb up the side of the Australian War Memorial because I suspect the view over Lake Burley Griffin is sensational.
Noel Pearson: impassioned, nasty, intellectual, inspired
Noel Pearson’s collection of writing in Up from the Mission has provoked me, deepened my understanding of contemporary Aboriginal realities and confirmed my opinion of his import, says Eve Vincent.
Closing the gap: let’s talk about things that work
Closing the Indigenous gap was never going to be easy, but the reception of the Productivity Commission report will unfortunately make it harder, writes Eva Cox.
“Closing the Gap” is like wrestling with smoke
As yet another round of headlines emerge about lack of progress on indigenous health and social indicators, the “Closing the Gap” initiative can look more than ever like wrestling with smoke.
Talking the town: Therese Rein launches into a sea of hugs
Although Ms Rein’s pre-Kiliminjaro fitness program is strictly off-limits to the fourth estate, Crikey can exclusively reveal that she looked fantastic.
Is Macklin ignoring her own legal advice on town camps acquisition?
No other Australian is asked to surrender land rights to secure basic services, write Alison Vivian and Larissa Behrendt.
Marion Scrymgour just changed black politics forever
In politics, it seems, you can justify almost anything; being an Aboriginal member of the Labor or Liberal Party is no longer one of them, given Marion Scrymgour’s recent exit from the Labor Party in NT.
Bushfire memorial service had hollow ring
A national day of mourning works at multiple levels, writes Dr Melinda Hinkson.
The Robing Room: Geoff Eames defends Sarah Bradley
It is pleasing to know that one of the most experienced lawyers and judges when it comes to dealing with Aboriginal offenders has now also joined the defence of Judge Bradley, writes Greg Barns.
Rage, identity, class and the Aboriginal laboratory
Greer says it’s not the grief that kills you. You can live with grief and people do — it’s the RAGE that slowly does you in. It was like she lit a match and stuck it under “Sorry Day’” writes Wednesday Kennedy.
Local government makes more chaos for NT communities
Just when you thought things could not get any more shambolic, Aboriginal people are having to cope with yet more bureaucracy-inspired chaos, writes Jenny Walker.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups
The NT Intervention — 12 months on … the Murray River crisis … cheap tabloid populism … WA’s gas crisis … red meat and cancer …
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Crikey Says – 22 August, 2007
Can we be assured that the government’s surplus might be committed to seizing this once-in-several-generations opportunity for constructive nation building? Fixing health, education, Aboriginal affairs, that kind of thing.
Indigenous programs: Canberra or the bush?
Former National Native Title Tribunal deputy chair and minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Fred Chaney, offers a cautious endorsement of the government’s Northern Territory intervention in The Australian today.
