Latest news with #Aboriginal-led
Perth Now
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Territory "underwhelming" in tackling domestic violence
A territory government's response to a coroner's report on the deaths of four Aboriginal women fails to address "critical gaps" in combating domestic violence, a coalition of community services says. Coroner Elisabeth Armitage investigated the violent deaths of Kumarn Rubuntja, Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk and Miss Yunupingu. They were among at least 83 Indigenous women killed by their partners in the Northern Territory since 2000. In November the coroner delivered 35 recommendations to address the Territory's domestic violence crisis, saying they reflected initiatives the sector had called for. But in delivering the NT government's response to the report on Tuesday, Domestic Violence Prevention Minister Robyn Cahill said the recommendations were "uninspiring" and failed to hit the mark. She accused the coroner of not being "brave enough" to make recommendations related to Aboriginal culture, noting findings in the report of cultural pressure used as a form of coercive control. Calling out such behaviour could have paved the way "to empower communities to take a stand on this very sensitive and challenging issue," the minister said. She said the government was investing a record $36 million a year to tackle domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV). But a coalition of community services in the sector has in turn accused the government of failing to hit the mark in its response to the coroner's recommendations. The specialist services said critical gaps remained, with no Territory-wide workforce strategy, no long-term indexed funding, no coordinated sector plan across justice, housing, health and child protection and no resourcing for Aboriginal-led initiatives. In a statement they said domestic, family and sexual violence was the NT's biggest criminal issue but the government response was "underwhelming". "The vast majority of people incarcerated in the NT are there for DFSV-related offences, yet the services best placed to prevent this violence, community-based, specialist, trauma-informed programs, continue to be overlooked." One of three coronial recommendations rejected by the government was to establish a peak body, with the NT being the only Australian jurisdiction without one. On the release of the coronial findings in November Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said a peak body was "a powerfully important tool". "When a sector can come together and speak as one voice and can be engaged with it makes government's job easier," she said. The services group said the government's lack of genuine consultation with the sector was helping make the NT one of the most dangerous places in Australia to be a woman. Cindy Torrens, CEO of the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service, said real safety for Aboriginal families meant resourcing culturally strong, community-based legal and support services, not just responding after the harm is done. Sally Sievers, CEO of the NT Council of Social Service, said without coordinated system reform, without a stable workforce, without sustained funding for the services already doing the work, more lives would be lost. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14
Eyewitness News
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Aboriginal-led inquiry calls for redress for genocide of Indigenous Australians
When the state of Victoria in Australia was colonised in the late 1830s, the Indigenous population was decimated. Within 20 years the population was reduced by three quarters due to violence and disease - from 60,000 to just 15,000. This was uncovered in an Aboriginal-led inquiry, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which is investigating systemic injustices again Indigenous Australians. The report declared that this was a genocide after two months of public hearings, and put forward recommendations for redress.
Perth Now
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Decision on new name for ‘offensive' park nears
Six years after first determining a Mullaloo park's name was no longer appropriate, the City of Joondalup is yet to settle on a replacement name for Blackboy Park. However, there may finally be an end in sight after the council last week voted to base the new name from an adjoining street after Landgate rejected the city's preferred option. When the matter arose in 2019, the previous council decided not to adopt a local street name as the park's new name, opting to seek appropriate Aboriginal place names instead. It wasn't until early 2024 that the city engaged with an Aboriginal-led consultancy and the name 'Koorlangka Park' was selected, meaning 'children's park' in Noongar. Despite spending more than $26,000 on the name and holding community consultation earlier this year, where broad support for the change was found, the city cannot proceed with 'Koorlangka Park' as Landgate said it was too similar to a nearby street. City of Joondalup council members ultimately voted last week to not support any more spending on consultancy about the renaming of Blackboy Park, unless identified and approved by council, and voted to support progressing with either Karalundie or Koolyanga Park — and if those names are not approved, to go with 'Laurel Park'. Cr Russ Fishwick, who initiated the renaming motion in 2019, expressed frustration with how long the process has taken. 'When I first raised this notice of motion some six-and-a-half years ago, I didn't really believe it would take this long, and it still hasn't been resolved,' Cr Fishwick said. 'I referred to President Kennedy when he said that at some stage 'I want to lob a man on the moon within 10 years', and that was done within about nine, so for us to take six-and-a-half years is really an issue with me.' Despite this, he was against choosing a local street name without proper consultation with Aboriginal elders. 'I still think we should relate it to an Aboriginal name preferably, and for that we need to rely on elders or the engagement people representing the Aboriginal community,' Cr Fishwick said. During last week's meeting, other councillors took issue with Landgate, criticising its decision to reject the city's preferred option after initially offering support. 'It is regrettable that Landgate raised no objection to that name until completion of the community consultation process,' deputy mayor Adrian Hill said. The park is named Blackboy Park due to the presence of a handful of xanthorrhoea plants, more commonly known today as grass trees. Credit: Simon Santi / The West Australian Speaking to PerthNow, a Landgate spokesperson confirmed Koorlangka Park was initially considered suitable but an official evaluation later found it too similar to a nearby street. 'In September 2024, Landgate advised its support for the removal of the name Blackboy Park and suggested the city use Landgate's online name pre-verification tool. This tool provides a high-level suitability check of a proposed name but does not guarantee approval,' the spokesperson said. 'When the city contacted Landgate again in April 2025, a formal assessment identified that Koorlangka Park was too similar to the adjoining Koolyanga Road. 'As a result, Landgate advised the name could not be supported at that location but may be suitable for an alternative location.' The streets immediately surrounding the park are Koolyanga Road, Karalundie Way, Laurel Street, and Balga Way. Blackboy Park is in Mullaloo. Credit: Google maps Landgate said consultation with Indigenous communities was usually required for Aboriginal place names but isn't needed if the names are already used as local street names. 'Landgate requires evidence of appropriate consultation with Aboriginal communities when approving new Aboriginal place names,' they said. 'However, as Koolyanga is already an approved name for the adjoining road, further consultation would not be required to apply the name to this park.'
Saudi Gazette
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Inquiry finds British committed genocide on Indigenous Australians
SYDNEY — British colonists committed genocide against Australia's Indigenous population in Victoria, a landmark Aboriginal-led inquiry has found. The Yoorrook Justice Commission found violence and disease reduced the local Indigenous population by three quarters in the 20 years after the state was colonised, in the early 1830s. Its report included 100 recommendations to "redress" harm caused by "invasion and occupation" - though several of the authors disagreed with unspecified "key findings". The Commission was set up in 2021 as Australia's first formal "truth-telling" inquiry, and tasked with examining past and ongoing "systemic injustices" suffered by the Indigenous people in the state. It is part of a wider national push for Australia to engage in a reconciliation process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which community leaders say should include inquiries into the nation's history, treaty-making, and granting First Nations people greater political say. Held over four years, The Yoorrook Justice Commission gave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the opportunity to formally share their stories and experiences. The commission's brief covered a wide gamut of issues including land and water rights, cultural violations, killing and genocide, health, education and housing. The report found that from 1834, "mass killings, disease, sexual violence, exclusion, linguicide, cultural erasure, environmental degradation, child removal" as well as assimilation contributed to the "near-complete physical destruction" of Victoria's Indigenous community. The population dropped from 60,000 to 15,000 by 1851. "This was genocide," the report said. The report, which drew from more than two months of public hearings and over 1,300 submissions, called for "redress" to acknowledge a range of human rights violations, which could include reparations. Among it's other recommendations were a significant overhaul of the education system to include greater input from Indigenous people, and a government apology for Aboriginal soldiers who served during the world wars and were excluded from a scheme gifting diggers land when they returned from the battlefields. On the state's health system, the report found that racism was "endemic" and called for more funding for Indigenous health services and policies to get more Aboriginal staff in the system. Three of the five commissioners - Sue-Anne Hunter, Maggie Walter and Anthony North - "did not approve of the inclusion of the key findings in the final report", however no further detail was provided. In response to the report, Victoria's Labor government said it would "carefully consider" the findings, with Premier Jacinta Allan saying they "shine a light on hard truths". Jill Gallagher, head of Victoria's peak body for Aboriginal health and wellbeing, said the genocide finding was "indisputable". "We don't blame anyone alive today for these atrocities," she told the ABC, "but it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth - and all Victorians today must accept, recognise and reconcile with these factual findings." The commission's report is the first of its kind in Australia, though similar inquiries are happening in other states and territories with varying degrees of progress, depending on which party is in government. For example, in Queensland, a truth-telling inquiry was cancelled after the Labor government was replaced by a new Liberal-National government. In recent years, the national dialogue on how to recognise the traditional owners of Australia at all levels of governments has prompted heated debate. Australians voted against a historic referendum in October 2023, rejecting a change to the constitution that would have created an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, a national body for Indigenous people to give advice on laws. — BBC
Perth Now
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Controversy over ‘offensive' park name getting ‘woke' change
Blackboy Park in Mullaloo is set to be renamed by the City of Joondalup after community consultation showed broad support for a change — but it will need to come up with a new name after a proposed one was rejected. The city held public consultation on the proposed name change earlier this year after years of debate and an 11-1 council vote in December approving the change to Koorlangka Park. Just more than 1800 submissions were received, with 55 per cent backing the name change, while 43 per cent supported keeping the original name. Your local paper, whenever you want it. Of the 1802 submissions, 40 per cent (746) were from people living outside the City of Joondalup. Despite public support, the city will need to return to the drawing board for a new name after Landgate said 'Koorlangka Park' would not be supported due to its similarity in pronunciation and spelling to the nearby Koolyanga Road. The park is named Blackboy Park due to the presence of xanthorrhoeas, plants more commonly known today as grass trees. Credit: Simon Santi / The West Australian City officers have recommended the city pursue an alternative Aboriginal place name through an Aboriginal-led engagement process. The decision comes despite Landgate, the authority responsible for place naming in WA, previously expressing general support for the proposed name. The city had engaged Aboriginal consultancy Nyungar Birdiyia in early 2024 to provide a recommendation for the renaming. Koorlangka Kallip, which loosely translates to 'children's park' in Noongar, was initially suggested by the group, though city officers advised keeping 'Park' based on feedback from Landgate. The park is named Blackboy Park due to the presence of xanthorrhoeas, plants more commonly known today as grass trees. Currently there are only a handful of these grass trees in the 20,750sqm park. Common points raised by those in support of the changes during the community consultation included that the current name was 'offensive, outdated, derogatory and racist', and that renaming the park would be 'more respectful and welcoming'. The main arguments of those opposed to the change were that the current name was 'not offensive', that it referred to a plant name, and that changing it was seen as 'woke'. City officers believe the council should still consider changing the park's name as the community expected it. 'The community consultation undertaken revealed that, overall, a majority of those who responded support the renaming of Blackboy Park,' city officers said in a report. 'Actions undertaken by the city and decisions of council on this issue to date have raised an expectation with the community that Blackboy Park will be renamed, and more specifically renamed with an appropriate Aboriginal place name. 'Not proceeding to rename Blackboy Park, or renaming the park with a non-Aboriginal name, creates a reputational risk with members of the community that consider reference to the term 'blackboy' is outdated and offensive.' The Joondalup council will consider the city's recommendation at their meeting on June 24, following discussion at the agenda briefing on June 10.
