A leading Aboriginal activist, Ghillar Michael Anderson, is calling for a mass walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge on Monday 6 July to oppose the right-of-centre government’s plans to write indigenous people into the Australian constitution. Anderson and a growing number of other critics argue that the way it is intended would cause enormous harm to Aboriginal people. He’s calling out for people to assemble from 8.30am on Monday for a 10 am protest march over the iconic bridge.
[Gather in park next to Museum of Contemporary Art, Circular Quay, Sydney harbour to march to North Shore, bring 'no vote' banners, megaphones, flags etc.]
Anderson is Convenor of the Sovereign Union, co-founder of the Aboriginal Embassy in Canberra and Head of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic.
“I am aware that this is short notice, but important none the less. We need to show how corrupt and evil this Commonwealth government is. In a so-called democratic state such as Australia one would not expect the veil of secrecy now being applied to a so-called public call for a referendum for recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have always been free and independent sovereign states with proprietary rights and interests over all natural resources in this country. We have been cheated and continue to be cheated out of our true rights. The colonial governments have never at any time gained our patrimony through our free prior and informed consent for us to be governed by the occupying colonial power, but simply tried to mould us and create an environment where we disappear into the quagmire of Australian multiculturalism.
“Now our numbers and knowledge have increased and we have become visible all over this continent. You can no longer miss us, whatever our colour. Through eugenics they may have lightened our skin colour, but have never taken away our Aboriginality, our pride in our ancient culture and dignity in ourselves.
“This Commonwealth government cannot get away with governing Aboriginal Nations and Peoples by stealth with the faceless so-called 'leaders' of Aboriginal people. Our culture, our society and our Law do not permit the western style mafia-type leadership. Under our Law we punish these sorts of people with a spear through the leg. This is why we have faceless 'leaders' who hide behind white authority.
“The protest being called for Monday 6 July is vital to show that Aboriginal Sovereign Nations and Peoples are fighting back and will no longer be dictated to. This is our future and cannot be decided by the white majority with a multicultural mix. It has been said in the past that we have been too passive in our resistance, so let us reassure Australia and the rest of the world that we have never accepted their assimilation. We can remain for the moment under the generic term 'Aboriginal', but Australia will learn that we are many Nations and Peoples, we are not a single homogenous pan-Australian community as is being promoted by the government at present.
“We have one common objective – this Country is ours, always was and always will be. It is time to pay up and we are coming to collect. We will not be wiped out by a deceitful 'Recognise' referendum. We are now rebuilding our pre-existing nationhood. They know it and they fear it. This is what they don't tell the public.
“Locating the venue for the Constitutional recognition gathering of Abbott, Shorten and 40 'Indigenous Leaders' who are all unknown, is like looking for a needle in a haystack, so much for the democratic process.
“According to our information the meeting is taking place on Monday 6th July and in my conversation with Les Malezer (at 8pm on 1 July) he advised me that the meeting was on the North Shore somewhere and he was not sure himself. But Shaun Gordon from the Darkenjung Land Council informed me that the meeting was taking place at Kirribilli House. Presumably Kirribilli House has been chosen for the heightened security surrounding it. When you look on the Prime Minister for Aboriginal affairs website there is still no location identified, nor have they been brave enough to put up the list of the invited guest Aboriginal 'leaders' in this country.
“Information gathered today suggests that the only people who are invited to this conference are those currently being paid and working for the government to promote the Recognise campaign. In other words, Abbott and Shorten are confirming their bipartisan approach for them to continue promoting this bogus dream of a Final Solution for Aboriginal people in Australia.
“I had earlier asked Les Malezer by way of a phone conversation of Congress' meeting on 4th and 5th July in Sydney on this topic, only to be advised by Les that Congress' meeting was to take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney, but I have since learnt that this is not the case. The meeting will take place, I've been informed, at the Australian Museum in Sydney.
“To rub salt into the wound Les Malezer informed me that despite public notification of Congress' meeting, Congress is limiting their conference on the consideration for Constitutional recognition to their invited guests only. The rest of us are locked out of both conferences.
“If submissions and complaints were made to the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee in relation to promoting a referendum from taxpayers money without a Parliamentary Bill finalised in both Houses of Parliament, it would be found that Tony Abbott and his cronies do in fact have a cause to answer. Secondly, I believe if the Parliamentary Estimates Committee were to hear complaints and submissions they too come to the same conclusion and ask them to justify the government's expenditure of millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on a campaign that is yet to be debated in both Houses of Parliament. Furthermore, under the Australian Constitution, in respect to plebiscites, no money can be spent on promoting a referendum where there is no Bill approved of by the Parliament. To complicate things even more when a Bill for a plebiscite is approved by the Parliament, it is obligated to pay the opposition for the campaign at around 80% of the pro campaign. This has certainly not been done in this case at this point in time.
“We now have a very clear understanding of the faulty Recognise campaign that now exists. If their program is to veil this in secrecy and somehow expect to get support then they are failing miserably. The Commonwealth government has now shown their true colours and in fact by acting in a secretive manner and being not willing to publically announce their chosen Aboriginal 'leaders' promotes the 'No' campaign without anyone having to get on the streets at this point in time. But it suffices to say that from here on in we will pick up the 'No' campaign with or without financial support. We will not allow the Commonwealth to steal our patrimony with the approval of the selected 40 'leaders' authorising, through their consent, for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to be governed by this colonial government and all future white colonial governments.
“What Abbott and Shorten are doing with this conference is making a mockery of the diplomatic processes they espouse in Australia. It is not possible to conduct a successful plebiscite if the whole process is camouflaged and hidden from the public. Then to restrict the participation in something of this magnitude is criminal. We expect this in countries where people are governed by dictators, but then are Australians really comfortable with the Abbott government's governance? Just take for example the veil of secrecy around the 'boat people' and shutting down the media's ability to report on the issue of boat people; and is the rumour true that any adverse reporting on the boat people and the Navy's operations will be prosecuted for sedition?
“Then we have the veil of secrecy over the detention centres and what is going on. Clearly, even the Greens' members who visit these centres are gagged from making full public comments on their return. Maybe we need to ask the Australian public to take a long hard look at the way the Third Reich operated its governance, because right now if the Australian public doesn't speak out about the wrongdoings by this Liberal government, then electing them back into office at the next election could give them a Hitler-type mandate.
“I reiterate the point that millions of dollars are being spent on the Recognise campaign to recognise Aboriginal people as the First Nations, but what does this mean in terms of identifiable beneficial factors? Even the Final Report handed down creates enormous ambiguities and uncertainty as to the subject matters.
Background – previous media release of 30 June 2015: Final Report of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people which is available for all to read.
Ghillar Michael Anderson, Convenor of Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia and Head of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic,
Mogila Station, Goodooga NSW 2838, ghillar29@gmail.com, 0427 292 492.
Sovereign Union: Callout: 6th July Darling Harbour, Sydney, protest
against assimilation into the colonial Constitution
On 6 July 2015 [Prime Minister] Tony Abbott, [Labor Opposition leader] Bill
Shorten and
the selected 40 government-appointed 'Indigenous Leaders'
will be meeting together at Darling Harbour Sydney to
discuss advancing the referendum proposal, but the exact
time and location has not been released by the organisers,
Prime Minister and Cabinet. The meeting is not even listed
as an 'upcoming event' on their website www.dpmc.gov.au
(link is external). We need a united protest outside to
demonstrate our opposition to this corrupted process.
After a call for a journey of truth and justice, Arrente-Amatjere woman, Rosalie Kunoth-Monks OAM asks the people of Australia to consider a Treaty. "Treaty is not a scary word, have a look at it and look at it truthfully. We are the First People of this country."
YouTube How Would You Like to be Me? Part 1
WGAR News: Decolonisation:
to be or not to be included in the Constitution?: Ghillar Michael Anderson,
Sovereign Union
WGAR Background
to the Aboriginal Sovereignty Movement (last updated: 26 June 2015)
WGAR Background
to Treaties with Aboriginal Sovereign Nations of Australia (last
updated: 26 June 2015)
Michael Anderson, Sovereign Union: 'That Word'
Treaty - The Value of Historical Insights - 2009
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The
daily struggle to survive for Darwin's growing number of homeless Indigenous
people
Despite a resources boom, there are more people
sleeping rough in Darwin than ever before. They are waiting
longer for public housing and are subject to new laws that,
critics say, are designed to target the homeless and
criminalise public drunkenness. Here, homeless people are
known as "longrassers". These are some of their stories.
YouTube: Homeless
friendly precincts campaign
Homeless friendly precincts and homeless
friendly cities and towns are the very least that at any
decent society should ensure for those without shelter, for
those children, families and individuals homeless on our
streets. The campaign for homeless friendly precincts, just
that little sliver of human dignity, has begun. To find out
more go to thestringer.com.au
and to join the campaign;
contact Gerry Georgatos and Jennifer Kaeshagen
- contact@thestringer.com.au
.
Thousands
of homeless children, toddlers are the forgotten on Australia’s streets
Thousands, tens of thousands of children are
forgotten by far too many, by our governments, in this
nation, in the world’s 12th largest economy - one of the
world’s wealthiest nations. In general, Australians have
little idea of how many children under the age of 12 years
are on our streets – homeless – of how many large families
are on our streets - homeless. More than 20,000 children
under the age of 12 years are homeless - this is a moral
abomination.
Child,
youth and adult suicide on the increase
We cannot continue on the quiet about suicidal behaviour – it is on the increase. It is estimated that daily a thousand Australians think about suicide. It is only going to get worse. Why? Contextually, we are doing ever so little about suicide prevention – and a good part of suicide prevention is improving the lot people live within. The causes to suicide are multifactorial but the major underlying factor in far too many suicides is extreme poverty. This continent’s First Peoples are dying by suicide at among the world’s highest suicide rates. Their poverty is a racialised one. When we disaggregate demographically, we find the Kimberley’s First Peoples and far north Queensland’s First Peoples are dying of suicide at the world’s highest rates.
Western
Australia to introduce Custody Notification Service - at long last
Not there yet, but getting there – the long haul
to introduce the Custody Notification Service in Western
Australia – where it is truly needed – has culminated in the
announcement that the CNS will soon be implemented.
Most importantly the Custody Notification Service will help
all those far too many people who are arrested and detained
in police lockups. The Custody Notification Service will
also be welcomed by the Western Australian Police Union of
whom many of their members believe the CNS protocols will
relieve many of their officers of a heavy burden of
judgement calls they should not have to make – on health,
welfare and legal issues.
WGAR Background
to Suicide and Self-harm in First Nations Communities (last updated:
21 June 2015)
WGAR Background: Justice
Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal deaths in custody (last
updated: 21 June 2015)
