NITV Radio - On Air Program 1/08/2025
And as Indigenous leaders gather on Yolŋu Country for this weekend's Garma Festival, we reflect on its powerful legacy and continuing mission to shape a better future for First Nations people.
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Australia due for 'massive reckoning' with its history
Australia needs a "massive reckoning" with the injustices of its own colonial past, human rights advocates say. Speaking at the Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said people must be mindful about political leaders favouring "practical measures" over truth-telling. "What people don't understand is that it's the practical measures that got us to the situation that we're currently in," she said. "We've got to be really mindful about that fact when we hear this narrative about truth-telling is symbolism." The importance of truth-telling was also highlighted by Human Rights Commission president Hugh De Kretser. "In mainstream Australia there is a need for a massive reckoning around the injustice," he said. "That's why truth-telling is so important." Ms Kiss pointed to youth justice legislation in the Northern Territory and Queensland, saying those jurisdictions have been wilfully opposing their human rights obligations. "If we do not exercise our rights, they are not held accountable to them," she said. "If we do not challenge governments on the fact they have obligations to our rights, they will continue to violate them." Her comments come after Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves called out the Northern Territory government and the NT Police at the Garma Festival. Mr Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister, Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. During his speech Mr Albanese also acknowledged the work of Victoria's truth-telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which Mr De Kretser said was good to see, and could "open the door a little" to truth-telling on a national level. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 Australia needs a "massive reckoning" with the injustices of its own colonial past, human rights advocates say. Speaking at the Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said people must be mindful about political leaders favouring "practical measures" over truth-telling. "What people don't understand is that it's the practical measures that got us to the situation that we're currently in," she said. "We've got to be really mindful about that fact when we hear this narrative about truth-telling is symbolism." The importance of truth-telling was also highlighted by Human Rights Commission president Hugh De Kretser. "In mainstream Australia there is a need for a massive reckoning around the injustice," he said. "That's why truth-telling is so important." Ms Kiss pointed to youth justice legislation in the Northern Territory and Queensland, saying those jurisdictions have been wilfully opposing their human rights obligations. "If we do not exercise our rights, they are not held accountable to them," she said. "If we do not challenge governments on the fact they have obligations to our rights, they will continue to violate them." Her comments come after Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves called out the Northern Territory government and the NT Police at the Garma Festival. Mr Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister, Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. During his speech Mr Albanese also acknowledged the work of Victoria's truth-telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which Mr De Kretser said was good to see, and could "open the door a little" to truth-telling on a national level. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 Australia needs a "massive reckoning" with the injustices of its own colonial past, human rights advocates say. Speaking at the Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said people must be mindful about political leaders favouring "practical measures" over truth-telling. "What people don't understand is that it's the practical measures that got us to the situation that we're currently in," she said. "We've got to be really mindful about that fact when we hear this narrative about truth-telling is symbolism." The importance of truth-telling was also highlighted by Human Rights Commission president Hugh De Kretser. "In mainstream Australia there is a need for a massive reckoning around the injustice," he said. "That's why truth-telling is so important." Ms Kiss pointed to youth justice legislation in the Northern Territory and Queensland, saying those jurisdictions have been wilfully opposing their human rights obligations. "If we do not exercise our rights, they are not held accountable to them," she said. "If we do not challenge governments on the fact they have obligations to our rights, they will continue to violate them." Her comments come after Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves called out the Northern Territory government and the NT Police at the Garma Festival. Mr Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister, Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. During his speech Mr Albanese also acknowledged the work of Victoria's truth-telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which Mr De Kretser said was good to see, and could "open the door a little" to truth-telling on a national level. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 Australia needs a "massive reckoning" with the injustices of its own colonial past, human rights advocates say. Speaking at the Garma Festival at Gulkula in northeast Arnhem Land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said people must be mindful about political leaders favouring "practical measures" over truth-telling. "What people don't understand is that it's the practical measures that got us to the situation that we're currently in," she said. "We've got to be really mindful about that fact when we hear this narrative about truth-telling is symbolism." The importance of truth-telling was also highlighted by Human Rights Commission president Hugh De Kretser. "In mainstream Australia there is a need for a massive reckoning around the injustice," he said. "That's why truth-telling is so important." Ms Kiss pointed to youth justice legislation in the Northern Territory and Queensland, saying those jurisdictions have been wilfully opposing their human rights obligations. "If we do not exercise our rights, they are not held accountable to them," she said. "If we do not challenge governments on the fact they have obligations to our rights, they will continue to violate them." Her comments come after Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves called out the Northern Territory government and the NT Police at the Garma Festival. Mr Hargraves said his community of Yuendumu had lost trust in the police after the deaths of his grandson Kumanjayi White in May, and Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. Kumanjayi Walker was 19 when he was shot by then-constable Zachary Rolfe at close range at a home in Yuendumu. A coronial inquest found Mr Walker's death was preventable, and coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she could not rule out that racism may have played a part in the teenager's death. The Northern Territory government is yet to commit to any of the coroner's recommendations, handed down in Yuendumu in July. In May, the community was left reeling after the death of Kumanjayi White at a supermarket in Alice Springs. The 24-year-old, who had a disability, died after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes officers. "Kumanjayi Walker was murdered in broad daylight," Mr Hargraves said. "In the same way my jaja, my grandson, was done, he was killed by the law. "The police has done enough. Enough is enough. We have to put a stop to it somewhere." Reading from a letter he penned to the prime minister, Mr Hargraves said Anthony Albanese had the power to turn around the outcomes for his community. "This genocide must stop," he said. "We are asking you, the prime minister, to do something about it." Mr Albanese visited Garma for a few hours on Saturday, making a speech and meeting with senior Yolngu leaders. He announced an economic partnership with Indigenous organisations, which he said would allow Traditional Owners to advocate for infrastructure, housing and energy projects on their land, with millions promised for First Nations clean energy projects and for native title reform. During his speech Mr Albanese also acknowledged the work of Victoria's truth-telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which Mr De Kretser said was good to see, and could "open the door a little" to truth-telling on a national level. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
SBS Australia
3 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'A threat no one else sees': The daily, invisible burden of racism for First Nations Australians
Reconciliation Australia published a report in June charting a 15 percent increase in Indigenous people's experiences of racism over the past decade. It concluded that racism is an everyday reality for First Nations people. Kelleigh Ryan, a psychologist and descendant of the Kabi Kabi people and Australian South Sea Islanders, said the failed Voice Referendum brought up a lot of challenges for First Nations people. LISTEN TO Rumours, Racism and the Referendum "It was a great loss. And so it became this invisible blanket of aggression that people had a lot of difficulty with and those who didn't have time and space to grieve were still having to work through that grief," she said. Reconciliation Australia's research found young people and multicultural communities were the most likely to participate in truth-telling activities and celebrations of First Nations culture. Celebrating, reflecting, mourning: Indigenous and migrant perspectives on January 26 Jordan Young, a Darambal man, runs workshops that teach Indigenous culture to schools and businesses. He told SBS Examines it's helped break down negative stereotypes. You're not born with racism, it's a learned trait. "So being able to give these kids another viewpoint, another perspective on Aboriginal culture, is very, very important." This episode of Understanding Hate looks at the rising racism towards Indigenous Australians, and how we can combat the harms.
The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
Collapse in private-sector job creation as public sector surges
Private-sector job creation has collapsed as employment funded by federal and state governments soars to five times the normal rate, sparking warnings of unsustainable distortions in the labour market that are at the heart of the nation's productivity slump. Analysis of labour-market data shows that 82 per cent of all jobs created over the past two years were government-funded positions, with the private sector adding only 53,000 jobs in 2024. This marks a dramatic reversal of normal labour market trends, in which the private sector typically contributes about two-thirds of total job creation. While Jim Chalmers has ruled out discussion of industrial relations at this month's economic and productivity summit, employer groups are demanding that dysfunction in the labour market needs urgent attention. Australian Industry Group analysis shows that the historically low unemployment rates maintained since the pandemic are masking a fundamental shift in the composition of job creation, which lies at the heart of the nation's productivity slump. It warns that labour-market resilience, as shown in official unemployment data, was being supported almost entirely through government spending, leading to an excess of job vacancies in the private sector. This was unsustainable, according to the Ai Group, which also pointed to a dramatic fall in mobility rates – the frequency of workers changing jobs or roles – to a record low in 2025 that was directly linked to productivity. The analysis showed that the number of new jobs needed for the economy to maintain an unemployment rate of about 4 per cent was approximately 400,000 a year. 'Since the pandemic, this has been achieved, however, the composition of job creation has changed dramatically,' the Ai Group analysis said. 'Typically, the private-market sector accounts for about two-thirds of job creation in Australia. However, as the economy has slowed since 2023, private-sector job creation rates have collapsed. 'In 2024, the sector only added 53,000 new jobs – about a fifth of its normal level of job creation. In its place, two government-supported sectors took up the slack. 'Employment in these government-supported sectors has boomed since the pandemic, adding an additional 670,000 jobs over the last two years. This is over five times higher than the normal growth rate, and ultimately accounted for 82 per cent of all job creation in Australia. 'It was driven by significant uplift in public-sector staffing levels, as well as the rapid expansion of the private-sector (but government-funded) care-economy workforce. One of the Albanese government's key election boasts was its maintenance of low unemployment and job creation. But the bulk of those jobs have been in the public sector (where workers are directly employed by government), and the non-market sector (industries such as healthcare and education) which are driven by government funding decisions. 'Job creation has become unsustainably dependent upon government spending,' the Ai Group research said. 'Growing regulatory burden has raised the costs of private sector employment generation. Job mobility rates have rapidly declined, while excess vacancies and skills shortages have disrupted business operations and efficiency.' The public sector was the least productive part of the economy and, with public spending showing signs of easing, unemployment rates have begun to rise. Last month, the jobless rate surprised experts by jumping from 4.1 to 4.3 per cent. This prompted economists to call for the central bank to lean in further on interest-rate cuts, following its surprise decision last month to keep them on hold, to protect the economy. Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said the historically low headline unemployment rate had created a 'blind spot to labour-market trends that are decreasing our productivity, our wellspring to national wealth'. 'While the labour market has remained resilient, with the jobless rate around 4 per cent for the past three years, in many other respects it is failing to meet the broader needs of our economy or productivity,' Mr Willox said. 'There are four key areas that are a material drag on productivity: job creation has become almost entirely dependent on government spending; a growing regulatory burden has increased private sector costs; there is a persistent overhang of excess job vacancies; and mobility is declining. 'These all make job creation more expensive and difficult, reduce the efficiency of matching jobs to employers, while disrupting productivity and sapping business growth.'' Mr Willox said there was an urgent need for the private sector to resume its role as the primary job creator 'or our labour market resilience will be at risk'. 'Regulation has pushed up employment costs since the pandemic, with growth in superannuation, workers compensation and payroll tax adding $14bn to the annual wage costs,' Mr Willox said. 'The regulatory costs for employment, on top of wages, have grown to 15.6 per cent from 14 per cent in the past three years. 'We have a plague of excess job vacancies, which disrupts business operations, make it harder to allocate resources properly and less likely to pursue new opportunities for growth.' Mr Willox said the intervention by governments to prop up job creation through their budgets had starved the private sector with about 330,000 jobs remaining unfilled at the beginning of 2025. This was 100,000 more than the historical average. 'This persistence of excess vacancies has exacerbated a further challenge for employers: a crippling skills shortage,' Mr Willox said. 'The sectors with the most chronic shortages – healthcare and social – also delivered the worst productivity outcomes, so there is a clear link between the two.' Mr Willox said the issue needed to be a central piece of the productivity debate at the Treasurer's roundtable this month. Nation A massive pro-Palestine protest brought Melbourne to a standstill as activists clashed with riot police, harassed officers, blocked traffic, and targeted fashion brand Zara – defying Premier Jacinta Allan's warning of swift action. Nation The PM's energy infrastructure tsar and a pro-renewables independent are worried concerns about one of Australia's largest proposed solar farms are being ignored.
