Will the ABC executive perform a “rap dance” (a “dance” presumably pronounced with a long a) as part of their ABC indigenous staff team building? At least there are no plastic chains this year.
Indigenous affairs
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: The biennial ABC indigenous staff love-in
Intervention’s welfare management to extend across Australia
The Federal Government will shortly announce the extension of income management Australia-wide as part of its reintroduction of the Racial Discrimination Act in the Northern Territory.
Not letting the facts get in the way of wagging school
Last week an Oz opinion piece discussed governments’ abandoning schools in the Northern Territory. But, if you want to know whether teachers miss schooling, you go to the source and ask.
Growing profit on the fat of the unfortunate
A new trial intending to fit 30 overweight indigenous Australians with lap-bands to lose weight is nothing more than a disingenuous attempt to open up a brand new government-funded gold mine for the surgery’s creator, Allergan.
Is it helpful to think about closing the gap as an economic, rather than ethical, issue?
The question of how much to pay for “closing the gap” in Aboriginal health ought to be debated more on ethical lines than on economic lines — but the two inevitably intersect, writes Professor Gavin Mooney.
What happened to the NT intervention?
It’s been over two years since the NT intervention barged into indigenous communities with racist practises that wouldn’t be acceptable in non-indigenous Australia, says Alistair Nicholson.
John Howard transforming NRL: there goes the black fan base
Rugby league has been a dying game for many, many years — is John Howard really the man to revamp it? It makes even less sense when you consider a large percentage of the hard-core league fan-base is black.
Gittins: Pollies pander to grey power
Single age pensioners received a pension increase and concessions on their rent. Is it because they are the most ‘worthy’ pensioners? No. It’s because their votes are critical, writes Ross Gittins.
Results are black and white on police race bias
If you are young and Indigenous, then authorities are far more likely to arrest you, pursue the case to court, convict you and send you to jail. Non-indigenous youths are more likely to be let off with a warning.
"White Power" T-shirt seller charged
The man exposed in Crikey last week for selling ‘White Power Alice Springs’ T-shirts has been charged with offensive behaviour and making a false statement.
Indigenous smoking is finally out of the too-hard-basket
The federal government has put tackling high smoking rates amongst Indigenous people at the centre of its plans to “close the gap”, writes David Thomas.
Indigenous population set to soar
The ABS is predicting a surging growth rate for Australia’s Indigenous population over the next 10 years, with as many as 721,100 people by 2021.
Green economy could grow remote Australia
Indigenous Australians should be included in debates on the distribution of natural resources, because a green economy presents an opportunity for progress in regional and Indigenous communities, writes Patrick Dodson.
A hornet’s nest in the garden at Lit Land
Simon Hughes defends Peter Craven’s controversial critique of The Macquarie Pen Anthology of Australian Literature.
Howard hits the headlines again
Former PM John Howard is back in the media again, thanks to Paul Kelly’s new book. So what have we learnt? Crikey takes a look at the revelations from Children Overboard to Hating Peter Costello.
How Pearson tried to save Howard
Indigenous leader Noel Pearson sent a letter to then-PM John Howard in 2007 outlining a potential re-election strategy, a new book has revealed, shedding new light on Howard’s renewed interest in reconciliation at the time.
The black and white of the Australian literary canon
Peter Craven’s highly theatrical review of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature in the September issue of Australian Book Review is worth picking a fight over, says Sophie Cunningham.
We should be welcome UN’s Intervention interfering
Last week, the UN’s special rapporteur on indigenous rights released his criticisms of the NT intervention, much to the chagrin of many Aussie pollies. However, Australia shouldn’t continue to ignore objective international advice, writes Binoy Kampmark.
Indigenous languages can’t be stuck in a jar to ‘preserve’
A language isn’t just a dialect, it is a whole way of looking at the world, the universe…writes editor of Bookseller+Publisher Matthia Dempsey.
NT town camp objections highlight past failures
Jenny Macklin’s attempts to change Alice Springs town camp leases are being attacked by Tangentyere council. But Tangentyere’s failures are a perfect example of why reform is needed, writes Bob Durnan.
In politics, it does matter if you’re black or white
Why are democratic elections banned and women representation reduced to 50% in the new indigenous advisory body? It’s different rules for indigenous and non-indigenous politics, writes Stephen Hagan.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Peter Costello and the alleged ABC bias
Crikey readers weigh in on Peter Costello and whether the ABC does have an editorial bias, the late US Senator Ted Kennedy and the Northern Territory intervention.
Australia: the pot calling the kettle black in the pacific
Australia’s treatment of its own indigenous people seriously undercuts its credibility as a moral leader on human rights in the pacific region, says the Fiji Daily Post.
Grattan: Keeping the faith
The problems that continue to face indigenous communities, despite repeated government attempts — and failures — to address them doesn’t bode well for the latest plan, says Michelle Grattan, but both sides must retain hope.
UN envoy: NT intervention racist
The UN’s special rapporteur on indigenous rights Professor James Anaya has delivered a damning report card on the NT intervention, labeling it “discriminatory”, “demeaning” and “racist”. Read his full statement here.
