NIRS NEWS STORIES 6am – 10am 20 JANUARY 2014
Story 1
The City of Melbourne says they’ll consult with Aboriginal community representatives on an appropriate memorial for two early resistance fighters.
Cassandra Tim reports.
GRAB
Story 2
A documentary film discussing white Australia’s fractured relationship with First Nations people has made its first national public appearance at The Block in Redfern.
Award-winning journalist John Pilger’s Utopia takes on the Australian Government’s poor record in Indigenous affairs, while also looking at issues of poverty, disease, justice and the Northern Territory Intervention.
Mr. Pilger says there’s been a positive reaction to the film from our mob so far.
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Story 3
The head of Australia’s peak reconciliation body says there’s no reason for the Federal Government to make changes to the school curriculum in relation to Indigenous content.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne has moved to review the curriculum and flagged his intention to focus more attention to the benefits of Western civilisation.
But Reconciliation Australia Chief Executive Leah Armstrong says the current system is sound.
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Story 4
The creators of public service TV announcements encouraging parents to send their kids to school say they want to get national attention to the issue.
The Education Dreams project, launched by the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council, features local students and the voices of actress Leah Purcell and retired rugby league star Steve Renouf.
Prominent director John Lyons lent his hand to the ads, which are running on Channel Seven Wide Bay, WIN, Channel Ten, SBS and NITV.
Project co-ordinator Marcus Priaulx says they’re aiming to build on improvements in education outcomes in the South Burnett area.
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Story 5
To New South Wales,
The Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council says the state Department of Planning hasn’t produced a proper heritage assessment of a controversial mine expansion.
The Department has approved the expansion of the Rocla sand mining operation at Calga, but Darkinjung claims the expansion would see the disturbance of a large number of significant sites.
Chief Executive Sean Gordon says Department assessors haven’t had the cultural expertise to make a sound decision on the matter.
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Story 6
Senior Federal Government Indigenous policy advisor Warren Mundine has been attacked on social media on the issue of education.
Warren Barnsley has more.
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Story 7
To Tasmania,
Prominent Aboriginal rights campaigner Michael Mansell says the state’s First Nations community would welcome a change of government.
Premier Lara Giddings last week announced a state election date of March 15 and also sacked two Greens ministers who helped her to make up minority government.
Mr. Mansell says the current government has been the worst for Aboriginal people for a number of years.
He says the government failed at seeing through a deal that would have allowed the Indigenous community to gain benefits from the forestry industry.
Story 8
Firefighters across New South Wales and South Australia have been aided by favorable conditions overnight as they battle a large number of blazes.
A watch-and-act alert remains in place for two fires south-east of Wagga Wagga, while South Australian firefighters worked overnight to battle five bushfires across the state.
More than four hundred thousand hectares have been burnt and at least 15 properties lost.
But the Weather Bureau’s Vince Rowland says the conditions have been more favorable.
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Story 9
The New South Wales Cabinet will today consider proposals to tackle alcohol fuelled violence.
Details from the ABC’s Angela Lavoipierre.
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Kind Regards,
Michelle Tuahine | News Director
Gangulu/Ngati Kahungunu
NIRS | National Indigenous Radio Service
Lvl 2 / 2 Ambleside Street, West End QLD 4101
Phone: 07 3226 4200 | Email: michelle@nirs.org.au
Website: www.nirs.org.au | Twitter: www.twitter.com/NatIndigRadio
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NIRS-National-Indigenous-Radio-Service
Get more from your National Indigenous Radio Service here: http://www.nirs.org.au/
About the National Indigenous Radio Service
The National Indigenous Radio Service Limited (NIRS) is a national program distribution service that delivers four radio channels of content produced by First Nations broadcasters via satellite distribution and via the internet.
Operating from a central hub in Brisbane, NIRS receives programs from a majority of the 180+ First Nations broadcasting services across Australia.
Arguably, the NIRS satellite footprint is the largest for a First Nations radio network in the southern hemisphere, if not the world. Given this, NIRS and its programs are unique within the Australian media environment. Over 120 Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services (RIBS) units, 23 Indigenous radio stations and 120 Community Broadcastes receive NIRS. To learn more about our network simply explore our new Google Map interface which show where each and every radio station is located, its website details and even includes a streaming link in some cases.
The reason why NIRS is so important to the sector is because many First Nations broadcasters haven’t the funding support to produce programs for 24/7 broadcasting or possess the funding to employ the number announcers ad producers to make enough high quality programs to support their local community audiences with the style of program that closes the gap.
So for some 15 years, NIRS has delivered its ecletic mix of broadcast programs and a national news service delivered via satellite that all major metropolitan, regional and remote communities via their Remote Indigenous Media Organisations (RIMOs) can receive and add into their regional broadcast schedules.
In this way, NIRS is dedicated to facilitating First Nations voices through broadcasting and internet radio. We achieve this by a mix of programs that provides critical commentary of the strategies directed towards our communities that seek to preserve, promote and maintain First Nations arts, culture, languages and community values. Most particularly, NIRS discusses ‘Closing the Gap’ initiatives that are aimed at achieving quality of life improvements for First Nations communities across Australia.
NIRS also encourages aspirant First Nations broadcasters and RIBS to send their own programs that can be shared and thus opening a ”window” to local community issues to a national audience.
For Broadcasters
For broadcasters who meet the licensing and equipment requirements but lack the funds or resources to provide a full 24-hour service, NIRS will enable them to fill any holes in their schedule with our continuous programming. For community broadcasters who access air time through a CBAA affiliate station, NIRS will provide the opportunity for these areas to hear national Indigenous issues, as well as enabling them to boost local airtime.
The Australia Indigenous Communication Association is also a great way of making contact with First Nations Broadcasters:
http://www.aicainc.org.au/Html/index.html
