Well, the bills which grant the government of Australia power to encroach upon, invade, and determine the lives of Indigenous People in the Northern Territory came to pass in a near-unanimous vote of 56 to 6.

Among many new privileges, the government effectively owns all Aboriginal Land. All Indigenous on Welfare have automatically had 50% of their payments ‘quarantined.’ The government can ‘observe’ any meeting held by Aboriginal or non Aboriginal organizations in the Territory which provide services to Aboriginal communities. The government can seize the assets of Aboriginal or …

Here are some quotes from interviews and speeches from NT Traditional owners over the last few weeks on the intervention/invasion. Audio Recordings of these and other speeches or available at online at www.asen.org.au, or you can obtain them by contacting holly@asen.org.au. Two of the audio files can be found below

Thanks to Holly for putting all this together, and Anne for sharing it with me. It is greatly appreciated.

See here for what you can do to support the Indigenous People and to help make sure this intervention is not legislated. The Senate is voting tomorrow

Voices of Resistance - …

This was just forwarded to me from a friend — It’s from a couple days ago but as she says, it’s still important—this is regarding the Australian ‘intervention.’ There were two attachments in the email, a draft letter and a ’snapshot of the Northern Territory.’ Both can be found below. Following that is some contact information for the government — Ahni.

The Combined Aboriginal Organisations met in Alice Springs today. We discussed the Commonwealth intervention in our communities in the NT. The bills introduced by Mal Brough on Tuesday were available to the few delegates who were able to get to …

Between 1910 and 1970, a massive campaign of assimilation was carried out in Australia. Up to 100,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their homes and families, creating the Stolen Generation

One of those Children taken was Bob Randall, an Yankunytjatjara Elder and Traditional Owner/Representative of Uluru (Ayers Rock)

In the following clip Bob talks briefly out his experience, but focuses more on his Peoples Traditional Relationship with the Land, a relationship that’s inverted in Colonial Society.

Bob was the main subject for the 2006 documentary film Kanyini, which discusses the consequences of colonizing Australia, and explores what needs to …

This is a 7 minute film from the rally held in Melbourne on Saturday 14 July, as part of the International Day of Action in opposition to the government’s escalation of attacks on Indigenous communities and the denial of justice for Mulrunji and other Indigenous people who have been killed in police custody.

A statement from Black GST & Camp Sovereignty:

The Howard Settler Governments invasion of the Northern territory is land-grabbing racism nothing more. This invasion is part of the neo liberal structural adjustment programme of Intuitions such as the World, Bank, the IMF & APEC to diminish and extinguish …

The Australian government likes to think it’s in a position of absolute power. Like many governments around the world, they go ahead doing whatever they want with little regard for law or for how their actions will effect the people. Why should they care? They tell us they are the law, and that we are their people.

The sad irony is Governments are not all-powerful sovereign entities. In fact, they are nothing more than corporations, made up of various individuals whom of course hold various common interests. Two of those …

Below you will find three open letters from the National Indigenous Human Rights Congress Australia. The first is addressed to the President of the Senate Committee Parliament House; the second is to the World Council of Churches, and the final letter is to all Foreign Representatives Who Reside in Australia.

All letters are regarding "Aboriginal Policy", (recent & current events, aswell as the historical & ongoing approach towards indigenous people) The latter 2 (which are one in the same, though addressed differently) focus specifically on what Indigenous people

…

In Australia, a group of women came together and started a campaign to end sexual violence in their communities. They received no government funding, they made no threats against the entire community, there was no invasion or theft of land… There was just a group of women taking a leadership role in their community to end sexual violence. Their vision is spreading now, being realized through common effort…

In light of what Government is currently doing to Indigenous people, I want to say that this is work not …

He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future — Adolf Hitler

One more line on an endless list of repugnant schemes, John Howard recently announced a “national emergency” plan to impose draconian measures on as many as 60 Indigenous communities in the Northern territory of Australia, under the guise of protecting children from Sexual abuse.

The plan, as pointed out by the Socialist Equality Party of Australia, is as follows:

1. Welfare and family payments will be halved, with the seized portions transferred to food and clothing vouchers. All payments will …

Sgt Chris Hurley, the Officer who beat Mulrunji (Cameron Doomadgee) in 2004, inflicting injuries so great that the injuries cleaved his liver in two and later died as a result - has been found not guilty.

Media Release - “Death of justice in Queensland”
The acquittal of Snr-Sgt Chris Hurley - despite him admitting he caused Mulrunji’s death, despite him changing his story, despite overwhelming medical evidence likening Mulrunji’s fatal injuries to a high-speed car crash - is the lowest point in Australia’s judicial system for Aboriginal people,” said Aboriginal …