NIRS NEWS STORIES 6am-9am 22 JANUARY 2014
Story 1
Aboriginal advancement organization ANTAR has announced Andrew Meehan will take the role of National Director as of May this year.
Mr. Meehan currently works as Indigenous Rights Policy Advisor for Oxfam Australia and says he will continue to work on the big campaigns of constitutional recognition and the justice campaign.
Mr. Meehan says he believes education is a big part of closing cultural gaps.
GRAB
Story 2
A large number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events will be held this weekend around the country.
As Cassandra Tim reports, our mob has a long history of marking the 26th of January each year as a celebration of survival.
GRAB
Story 3
The Yolngu Nations Assembly is in talks with the Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion to work on programs that link school attendance to culture by integrating members of the community into the school system.
Reverend Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra says it is important Indigenous children learn to live in two cultures and is advocating the employment of local teachers to teach local knowledge to the kids.
Dr. Gondarra says Minister Scullion will work with the community to tackle school attendance.
GRAB
Story 4
A Perth company has been selected to complete a water treatment project in the remote Pilbara community of Jigalong after a year-long wait by residents.
In late 2012, the Western Australian Government allocated $10 million to rectify the town’s water and electricity problems.
Currently, the community’s tap water contains high levels of nitrate and is unsafe to drink, leaving most of Jigalong’s residents relying on bottled water.
The Department of Housing says the project is set to be complete by June this year.
Story 5
To Western Australia,
A place of connection and identity for local Noongars at Busselton in the south-west is being closed by the local Shire.
Elder John Pell says two-and-a-half acres of Bardimia was in the hands of the Noongar community for 19 years after many decades of being controlled by the former Federal Native Mission Board.
Mr Pell says the local Shire has made managing Bardimia unaffordable and untenable for the First Nations community.
He says the area is on Noongar Country and should not finish up with non-Aboriginal owners and he’s disappointed that the peak representative body, the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, has not assisted them.
GRAB
Story 6
A founder of the Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner Commemoration Committee has praised the Melbourne City Council for agreeing to build a memorial for the resistance warriors.
The Council has passed a resolution to establish a permanent monument to honour the two men, who became the first people to be executed in Victoria in 1842.
They were hanged for the murder of two whalers as part of a six-week resistance campaign against colonial occupiers.
The Committee’s Dr. Joseph Toscano says it’s been a long battle for recognition to honour the men who fought for their country.
GRAB
Story 7
The Northern Territory Shadow Indigenous Policy Minister has slammed the Federal Government’s proposed inquiry into alcohol into Indigenous communities, calling it a ‘race-based’ approach.
The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Nigel Scullion, has called for the investigation after initially announcing a nation-wide inquiry, focusing on all sections of society.
But Labor’s Ken Vowles says problem drinking affects more than just Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
GRAB
Story 8
With the 26th of January approaching and communities across the nation preparing for Survival Day events, Sydney’s Koori Radio will be again be presenting the annual Yabun Festival.
Emma Donovan, Kutcha Edwards and the Bart Willoughby Band headline Yabun 2014 and a Speak-Out Tent will offer talks and panel discussions throughout the day.
The event is the largest one-day Indigenous festival in the country.
Arrernte, Worimi, Kurinji man, Kieran Satour of Koori Radio, says it’s a day to celebrate our past, present and future.
GRAB
Story 9
The Federal Government is reportedly undertaking major reforms in the structure of Government programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
The Australian newspaper reports today 26 programs, including over 150 Indigenous-specific activities and services, will be lumped into five or six broad areas in order to cut down in costs related to administration.
It’s reported to cost almost 2.4 billion dollars to deliver the programs.
The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion says the shake-up isn’t about cutting spending, but rather to eliminate red tape costs around funding applications and reporting processes.
Senator Scullion says programs previously spread across eight departments have already almost all been absorbed by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Story 10
A grassroots campaign is urging Indigenous youth to learn about the land, in a bid to tackle soaring suicide rates across the country.
Uncle Max Harrison is Project Leader at Culture is Life, a project that is promoting community led solutions to Indigenous youth suicide.
Uncle Max says the problem is big in many communities and says bringing kids out to land and teaching them about country will help close a cultural gap and alleviate trauma.
GRAB
[Website]
A collective of 32 elders has compiled a report into youth suicide in is currently raising funds to send the report out to governments and institutions.
For more visit http://www.cultureislife.org/
To donate visit http://startsomegood.com/Venture/culture_is_life/Campaigns/Show/culture_is_life_elders_report
Story 11
A Perth Magistrate has found two police officers who Tasered a man in the watch house guilty of assault in relation to the incident.
Kevin Spratt was subject to repeated Taser use in 2008 by senior constables Aaron Strahan and Troy Tomlin, but the court found their actions were not excused or authorized by law.
They were found guilty of three charges of assault.
In a statement, Mr. Spratt says it’s relief to be granted justice and the court has confirmed no-one is above the law.
He says a Taser should only be used as a last resort.
Story 12
The New South Wales Government has been accused of ‘passing the buck’ between departments in dealing with a group of elders’ concerns about destruction of sacred sites.
Gomeroi Elders of Gunnedah say they’ve been sidelined in their attempts to halt development at Whitehaven’s Maules Creek coal mine because of disturbances to burial and other significant sites.
The company has continued with the development despite on-going protests by the elders and supporters.
Gomeroi spokesperson Stephen Talbott says the Office of Environment and Heritage has failed in its responsibility to the group.
GRAB
Story 13
To North Queensland,
Townsville police have reported an 18-year-old Murri woman has died as a result of a crash involving a stolen car.
Police say she died at the scene.
A 14-year-old Murri boy remains in a critical condition at Townsville Base Hospital.
It’s believed two other boys aged 16 and 14 were also taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Acting Inspector Graeme Paterson says police are investigating reports that up to three youths fled from the scene.
Insp Paterson Insp described the consequences as tragic.
Townsville Police are continuing their investigations.
Story 14
The Federal Government is reportedly undertaking major reforms in the structure of Government programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Warren Barnsley reports.
GRAB
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
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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
