Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s proposal for a national day to celebrate indigenous peoples, culture and heritage has drawn a mixed response from politicians and the public. Members of Parliament have already lined up on different sides on the issue. Special envoy for indigenous affairs and former prime minister Tony Abbott disagreed with the proposal while […]

Brisbane audiences have opened their hearts to Alana Valentine’s play A Head Full of Love, donating more than $75,000 towards indigenous people with chronic kidney disease. The play, based on verbatim interviews with renal patients, blasts the myth that alcohol is a primary cause of indigenous kidney disease. Recent research by the Australian Institute of […]

Opposition leader Tony Abbott called for responsible conduct by social media site Facebook over anti-Aboriginal comments on a controversial page. “I am strongly in support of Facebook and other social media sites acting in a responsible manner,” he said. He said he was speaking in advance of a trip to North Queensland to visit Aurukun […]

The government will not liberalise indigenous communities’ alcohol management plans in in any way that will put women and children at risk, Queensland Parliament was told yesterday. The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs, Glen Elmes, said revised plans needed to ensure women and children were not bashed or neglected. In […]

Indigenous men who served in the First World War alongside white comrades created the stepping-stones to reconciliation, an Aboriginal war veteran said today. Speaking at the Indigenous Veterans Ceremony at the Shine of Remembrance in Brisbane, George Bostock said World War I was a special chapter in history for indigenous and non-indigenous relations and should […]

After being forcibly removed from Musgrave Park last week to make way for the annual Paniyiri Festival, Aboriginal protestors today joined in celebrations with the Greek community. Indigenous dancers gave a Welcome to Country ceremony to show that their quarrel was with local and state government, not the festival organisers. More than 200 police forced […]

In what could be a major medical breakthrough, an Australian native fruit has been found to offer possible protection against cancer and a host of other diseases. The Kakadu plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana) has impressive potential for protection against cancer, arthritis, neuro-degenerative diseases and diabetes, according to Dr Ian Cock of the School of Biomolecular and […]

Sovereign tent embassy protesters brought CBD traffic to a standstill today when they marched from Parliament to Roma Street watchhouse after their eviction from Musgrave Park. The Aboriginal elders and supporters took over the streets, causing chaos to lunchtime traffic. Around 200 people walked the route yelling slogans and waving signs. “One two three, sovereignty, […]

Thirty-one people were arrested as hundreds of police officers moved to evict protestors from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane this morning. The Brisbane City Council ordered the eviction in preparation of this weekend’s annual Paniyiri Greek festival which uses the park. Police began closing nearby streets and surrounding the camp at […]

Two out of three remaining Aboriginal languages are likely to disappear in the next 30 years. About 100 Aboriginal languages face extinction according to a senior linguist. There are now 150 languages, a drop from 250 in the pre-colonial era, Australian Human Rights Commission figures show. But only a dozen widely-spoken languages survive. University of […]

Young journalists should be critical but not cynical, urged Walkley award-winning journalist Tony Koch at Jschool’s annual graduation ceremony on Friday. Mr Koch, who received an honorary doctorate from Jschool in recognition of his contribution to journalism, said recruits to journalism should uphold the values of the profession and respect their role in society. They […]

The Queensland Health Department has been accused of letting down children by not having nurses in primary schools to detect health problems. Children affected included those with learning-related problems and children in remote regions, according to critics of the state department. School health programs were failing to diagnose children with health problems that affected their […]

Failure by the Brisbane City Council to promote a major indigenous event had resulted in disappointing participation, according to a panel speaker. Family intervention counsellor Theresa Mace said Black History Month had  poor attendance and awareness, which she sheeted home to lack of advertising by the Council. The BCC libraries spent the month of August […]

Torres Strait and Aboriginal people took part in events across Brisbane on Thursday to commemorate the historic Mabo land rights judgment of 1992. Aboriginal community leader Sam Watson said the Mabo decision by the High Court on 3 June, 1992, was of great importance to indigenous people. “Mabo is one of the most significant moments […]

Only three of the 54 recommendations of the “Bringing Them Home” report have been implemented, an indigenous leader said yesterday. The Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, was tabled in the Federal Parliament 13 years ago on Wednesday. Speaking at the National Sorry […]