Archives March 2015

Amid the questioning of government support for remote Aboriginal communities and what PM Tony Abbott called the “lifestyle choices” of those who live there, the growing role of First Nations management of large areas of remote Australia has been overlooked. There are 1,200 small, discrete communities in Australia with various sources of income, including federal government “Working on Country” funding, as well as meagre and tightly regulated welfare payments. They fulfil a key role in populating large areas of outback Australia. [node:read-more:link]

More than a thousand protesters shut down traffic in Melbourne's CBD to rally against the planned closure of remote Indigenous communities in West Australia. The group initially hoped to confront Tony Abbott at the National Gallery of Victoria about his statement and support of the displacement of thousands of peoples. The crowd eventually gave up on seeing Abbott and walked from the gallery to the State Library. About half-a-dozen tram routes were disrupted and roads were closed as they made their way up Swanston Street. [node:read-more:link]

A camp on Perth's Heirisson Island set up in response to the planned closure of remote Aboriginal communities has been granted a stay of execution, after the city extended the deadline on an order to tear it down.
The island camp, which lies just east of the city's CBD, was set up about 10 days ago.Campers had been told to remove the tents, couches, tables and chairs by 12pm Thursday, but the City of Perth has now extended that deadline to 12pm Friday. [node:read-more:link]

City of Perth chief executive Gary Stevenson said on Wednesday that the group seemed to be more of a political protest on broader state and federal issues, rather than on the needs of homeless. The campers had been given until midday on Thursday to leave, but that deadline has now been extended to noon on Friday. A City spokeswoman said the deadline did not mean the council would enforce anything at that time, but that the situation would be reassessed. Two articles and an audio report from Marianne Headland McKay. [node:read-more:link]