Assimilation & Oppression

Australia's legitimacy as a sovereign state cannot and will not be achieved while our First Nations Peoples continue to challenge its sovereignty. The ongoing deceit and treachery that is occurring in our First Nations' struggle is fuelled by the intent of the occupying colonising power to gain legitimacy by stealth. Land Councils are challenging our people asserting their sovereign position, by telling them their sovereignty status is a 'load of rubbish', and governments are propagating coercive lies to our people about the beneficial outcomes of constitutional recognition and/or Treaty(s). [node:read-more:link]

Despite claims from Government that more people are engaging in Work for the Dole, penalties for non-attendance at Work for the Dole were higher than ever, at 46,258 in the quarter. These penalties are not waived or worked off and because Aboriginal people in remote areas work much longer hours that their city counterparts, they are penalised at a much higher rate. With an exasperating number of penalties in remote communities, not only do the participants get penalised, but the lack of income affects the whole community. [node:read-more:link]

Murdoch Media are targeting Aboriginal woman Tarneen Onus Williams in a modern day 'Nigger Hunt' because the Melbourne Rally she was involved in, and all of the other Rallies, are becoming a major threat to the continuation of the neo-colonial celebration on 26th January.

The targeting of Tarneen is a example of what John Pilger was talking about in this 2011 article - about how this mega media outlet has been targeting Aboriginal people. [node:read-more:link]

The Bar Association of NSW's submission to a Law Reform Commission inquiry into First Nations incarceration calls for a new approach to sentencing which takes into account the deprivation and disadvantage inherent in an individual's Aboriginal background. The association also calls for an end to mandatory sentences, which make it impossible for courts to make any allowance for such disadvantage in their decisions. The rate at which Aboriginal people end up in jail is appalling and in NSW last year Aboriginal people were 3 per cent of the population, but 24 per cent of the prison population. [node:read-more:link]

The United Nations has described Australia's lack of progress on Closing the Gap as "woefully inadequate", saying the over-incarceration of Indigenous people is a major human rights concern. Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Ms Tauli-Corpuz said it was unacceptable that despite two decades of economic growth, Australia had not been able to improve the social disadvantage of its Indigenous population. She urged the Federal Government to establish a treaties and truth-telling commission. [node:read-more:link]