A moment ago I read some commentary by Noel Pearson, published on December 30, 2006 in the Australian. (link).

I think it was a sincere attempt to provide some solutions to a pretty serious problem - that being the disproportionately high number of Aboriginal People in jail — but he also said a few things that troubled me greatly.

I would I’d like to talk about these things, in addition to the broader issue of problem solving in Colonial Societies.

Coming to Terms with Problems and Solutions

First, it’s important to understand that in Colonial society, alot of very big assumptions …

FIFTEEN years after the royal commission, the appalling handling of the death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee has reignited controversy over policing in indigenous communities. The Palm Island police station was destroyed in the riots following his death in 2004.
In the past week there has been rioting against police in two other remote indigenous communities. In Aurukun on Queensland’s Cape York, up to 300 people are reported to have attacked the police station and patrol cars after an Aboriginal man claimed he was assaulted in police custody.

In Maningrida in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, more than 100 people reportedly …

Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra
Press Statement, 1st January 2007

1901-2007 They Are Still Dancing on Our Peoples Graves

The 1st January 2007 marks the 106th ‘Birthday’ of Australian Federation 1901. In the same year, Sir Edmund Barton endorsed the commonwealth government’s participation in the legislation of an archaic, barbaric act of genocide. Derived from the Papal Bulls of 1445 and their partnership with the Crown to “globally zone the black, red and yellow races of the world.” [Edmund Barton, Parliamentary Debate 7th August 1901]. The First Prime Minister, quoting and supporting Professor Pearson in the wiping out the non Christian …

Rioting mother jailed, By Peter Michael
EMOTIONS ran high on Palm Island yesterday as a mother-of-four was jailed for throwing a rock in the November 2004 riots.

Alissa Norman, 32, hugged and kissed her children goodbye in an emotional outpouring at the island’s airstrip yesterday before she was flown to Stuart Creek Women’s Correctional Centre, near Townsville, for her four-month prison stint.

Ms Norman, affectionately known as Minnie, handed herself in after being allowed to spend Christmas with her family and was taken into custody, handcuffed and flown off the island on a police charter flight about 11am.

Her three youngest children Keifer, 13, …

(petition below) Crown V Hurley - NIHRCA Rejects DPP Hand Down. Black Friday for Aboriginal Peoples and another Black mark on the history of the Crown, Commonwealth and the Australian Justice System.

The hand down from the DPP in relation to the indictment of QLD Police Officer, Chris Hurley, for the murder of Palm Islander, Kumuntjuy Mulrunj Doomadgee has been rejected by the NIHRCA, accusing the QLD government with the offence of perverting the course of justice. The Commonwealth, their state governments and Territories have been rejecting …

Brisbane, Australia:The Queensland Dept of Public Prosecution’s disgusting decision to ignore the Deputy Coroner’s findings that the Qld police killed Mulrinji,an indigenous man, in November 2004 while he was in police custody –has been met with community disbelief. The DPP wants us to believe that Mulrinji “fell” (getting 4 broken ribs and a liver split in two through the “fall”)and that the cop who arrested him — the 6?7? tall Chris Hurley — played no role in his death.

(1) Messages of support
(2) On line petition
(3) Background resources on the murder

(1) Messages of support to the local Murri community can be …

Goodooga (NSW) - - Michael Anderson, leader of the Euahlayi Nation and spokesperson for the Gumilaroi Nation, has accused Australian governments of “not having the intestinal fortitude to stand against the multi-nationals who seek to destroy Aboriginal culture”.

He was commenting on the destruction of ancient Aboriginal rock art by industry in the Burrup Peninsula (or Murrijuga by its Indigenous name).

The peninsula is the site of a liquefied natural gas plant (LNG) jointly owned by the largest petrochemical companies in the world and managed by Woodside Energy Ltd. It’s a $20 billion venture, which currently provides almost two-thirds of WA’s gas …

PERTH, November 24, 2006: The West Australian government says today’s granting of native title by the Federal Court over a large part of the East Kimberley region marks the start of Australia’s “largest and most comprehensive land use agreement”.

The Miriuwung Gajerrong Number 4 Native Title claim encompasses 6,758 square kilometres of land around Kununurra and Wyndham, on the border with the Northern Territory.

Speaking at the on-country determination in Kununurra, WA Deputy Premier Eric Ripper said the ruling ended half a decade of negotiations with the native title holders which has resulted in the Ord Final Agreement on land use.

“We have …

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ CAUCUS,
UNITED NATIONS General Assembly, 61st Session
NEW YORK
13 November 2006

COMMUNIQUE

The Indigenous Peoples’ Caucus held an emergency meeting this morning due to a report that a few States will take procedural actions to derail the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This report is evidenced by the Government of Botswana’s statement delivered to the Third Committee on 10 November, which contained a highly inaccurate and prejudicial interpretation of the Declaration provisions. Upon review of this written statement, we note that Botswana has adopted the words and views of the governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, …

The following is a list of recent news and information regarding the ongoing situation in Palm Island, Australia - somethig that began, as far as media coverage goes, after the death of Mulrunji.

Most of us are probably aware of the background here, but for those who aren’t, some background information will follow.

Rally 11am Saturday Nov 18
Rally Queens Park Corner of George and Elizabeth Sts, Opp casino
March through the city to Musgrave Park
For Info or endorsement Ph: Sam Watson 0401227443

National Day of Action:
Justice for Mulrinji Stop Black Deaths in Custody
Stop Police Brutality, Stop Police Brutality, Murder & Racism

WE …