Hervey Bay/Maryborough for Yes

Save the dates…

Please sign the petition below showing support for Qld process forr Treaty. Community support Is now crucial as the LNP have withdrawn their support.

“As Allies of First Nations Peoples, we support the government in its integrity in establishing the First Nations Treaty Institute and the formal Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry. Promoting self-determination and co-design in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social programs affecting Indigenous peoples and communities is overdue.”

| Queensland Parliament Queensland Parliament welcomes all visitors. Find out how to visit the public gallery, take a tour or learn about parliament at one of our educational programs here.

Here a thing some of you might be interested in… Join Collaboration for Impact and guest speakers Mark Yettica-Paulson (CFI), David Hanna Inspiring Communities (NZ) and Angela Rutter (CFI) for the ‘Reframing our Collaboration Work Towards Peacebuilding and Healing’ webinar 13 February, 12pm - 1.30pm AEDT.

Hear from, and engage with speakers as they dialogue on the inner and collective leadership required to cultivate new ways of thinking about peacebuilding and healing in our respective countries. Particularly navigating across difference and polarisation - in the systems we are a part of: family, organisational, community, nationally and internationally.

The webinar continues our work in the post-referendum context, drawing on the experiences and striking parallels of two significant national days for both our countries. The conversation is a way to offer insight and affirmation of the leadership work that we continue on with across the year ahead.

Participants will be invited to reflect and join in the conversation, during and post the webinar. ➡ To register your participation please visit

Reframing our Collaboration Work towards Peacebuilding and Healing | Humanitix Get tickets on Humanitix - Reframing our Collaboration Work towards Peacebuilding and Healing hosted by Collaboration for Impact. Online. Monday 12th February 2024. Find event information.

“Redneck Economic Theory…” 😊 Marcia Langton on excellence in spite of all the impediments.

The facts about redneck economic theory There’s redneck economic theory and then there’s what works. Take one example. During the 2023 referendum campaign against Indigenous recognition, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton decided to attack Indigenous relationships with the business sector. In July 2023, he accused major corporations of be...

ℹ️ ! 🙌 to and in QLD ℹ️

Last year the Queensland opposition party withdrew their support for a Treaty process in Queensland.

The process of Truth, Healing and Treaty provides a unifying opportunity to build a better, fairer and stronger Queensland.

Please sign the following petition in support of a the full Path to Treaty process:
👉 https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Petitions/Petition-Details?id=4001

🙏 Truth and Treaty Queensland ✊

When we’re not quiet - seems like we’ve got a lot to share! 😊😊

Thomas Mayo On Why Equality Depends On Familiarity In an essay for Esquire, First Nations activist and author Thomas Mayo writes of the key to ending entrenched inequalities in this country.

A little more information…

Why we should celebrate Australia Day on March 3 – the day we became a fully independent country Many believe Australia became it’s own country at federation in 1901, but that’s not strictly true. Instead, it happened more than 80 years later. Why don’t we celebrate it?

Changing traditions… perhaps we could do something like this here next year???

As dawn broke over Bondi, rising gum smoke marked the start of a day of mourning and reflection Solemn events held at sunrise around the country to acknowledge Invasion Day and Indigenous Australians

We have a friend who crunched some numbers on Aust Day honours … he says “Indigenous Australians have 3/31

Mick Dodson solely as an Indigenous leader, Cathy Freeman and Adam Goodes as Sports + Indigenous leadership

Three of the last five Senior Australian of the Year for Indigenous Australians might look like a nascent trend.” And the trend continues…

Yolngu cultural teacher Yalmay Yunupingu named 2024 Senior Australian of the Year Teacher, linguist and community leader Yalmay Yunupingu is named the 2024 Senior Australian of the Year.

Farmers or foragers? Pre-colonial Aboriginal food production was hardly that simple

INTERVIEW: POWERFUL DOCO ON WARLPIRI ELDER SET TO PREMIERE ON NITV

In the Central Australian Desert, there lives an incredible Warlpiri elder, artists and actor named Audrey Napanangka.

A documentary about her will premiere on NITV this weekend.

It’s called 'Audrey Napanangka', and tells a story about the power of kinship and family. It’s also a beautiful love story, about Ms Napanangka and her Sicilian partner Santo.

The film’s director, writer and producer Penny McDonald spoke to Ngaarda Media’s Marion Cheedy about the doco and how it came to be: https://www.ngaardamedia.com.au/news/interview-powerful-doco-on-warlpiri-elder-set-to-premiere-on-nitv

'Audrey Napanangka' will premiere on NITV on Sunday 12 November at 8.30 pm and be available to stream at SBS On Demand.

Are you a First Nations artist ? Then this could be for you…

If you are an artist, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA), Australia's longest running and most prestigious celebration of First Nations art, is now officially open for entries.

What are you waiting for, find more info here 👉 https://brnw.ch/21wEcT8

Walk With Us is inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and invites readers to find out more about the First Nations Country where they live. From Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, former journalist Ellie Laing, and Barkindji illustrator David Hardy.

Harvey and Mum are heading to their favourite park for a walk on Cammeraygal land.

'Time to awaken the ancestors,' says Uncle Boris. 'Every time we sing or acknowledge Country, the ancestors are listening.'

What do you know about the Country where you live?

Inspired by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, Walk With Us is an invitation to go on a journey of learning and appreciation – with family, with friends, and with our nation – together.

https://www.rileycallieresources.com.au/aboriginal-childrens-books/walk-with-us-welcome-to-our-country

We are certainly keen to keep the conversation going. Change takes time, but this is worth fighting for. This is a great opportunity to hear from Dean Parkin and Rachael Perkins about what we all achieved in the campaign and what else we might all do.

Yes23 Supporter thank you and information session | Humanitix Get tickets on Humanitix - Yes23 Supporter thank you and information session. Online. Dates from Sunday 5th November 2023. Find event information.

“ The day the proposal for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice was rejected by the majority of my fellow Australians will be remembered by many as a sombre day in our country’s history.

After the result, there is much pain to process. However, more than 200 years of cruel and wanton dispossession has clearly revealed that the people of our First Nations are resilient and enduring. We will heal and we will forge the way ahead through other ways and means.”

June Oscar AO is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission Close the Gap

We must find strength in the groundswell of support. Millions of Australians mobilised around First Nations justice throughout this referendum year. They are still there with us.

People like my non-Indigenous brother who called me after the result, give me great hope. He and others like him have become more engaged through this process. They have developed a deepened understanding of our shared histories, the difficulty of making substantive change, and the barriers that need to be overcome.

Now is the time for action. There is so much that we can do together to educate and inspire the next generation.

As we look forward to future opportunities, it is valuable to reflect on the origins and subsequent trajectory of the referendum.

I was there at the momentous constitutional gathering in 2017 on the ancient lands of the Anangu, standing with other First Nations leaders from across this vast nation of nations, as the Uluru statement from the heart was presented.

We united in hope, striving to chart a path forward that would extend an invitation to all Australians to join us in putting an end to the exclusion of our people from the constitution – the birth certificate of the modern Australian nation state.

We aimed to underscore that policies designed and enforced by those who are unfamiliar with our lives only serve to undermine our rights and harm our communities.

We were determined to rectify the wrong of our lived experiences and knowledge being excluded from decisions that profoundly affect us, a terrible indignity we have endured since colonisation of this continent began.

The truth is, from that pivotal moment until early this year when the referendum campaign was set in motion, I genuinely believed the majority of Australians had come to embrace the generous offer to right the historical wrongs of our exclusion, and to recognise that our sovereignties could coexist, with no loss to any Australian, and much to be gained in our shared healing.

The referendum was meant to unify us, but instead, during months of campaigning, we found ourselves mired in intense conflict. What we have experienced makes it abundantly clear that we need a Makarrata process, a period of truth-telling, healing, and dialogue as a nation – as fellow Australians – so we can reset and move forward together.

We now have a clear mandate to establish regional and remote voices

This process will necessarily be difficult, especially because the referendum and the merciless politics around it have underscored a harsh reality: it is increasingly challenging, if not impossible, to engage in reasonable and safe public discussions in today’s political and media climate.

The impact of this civic dysfunction cannot be overstated. It threatens the very core of our democracy. This is a significant challenge we must now confront and endeavour to overcome.

There is no denying that the wildfire of mis- and disinformation that permeated physical and online spaces played a significant role in sowing fear and uncertainty among Australians. In turn, this fuelled unprecedented levels of racism and intolerance against First Nations peoples and communities.

Perhaps one of the most egregious pieces of misinformation of the campaign was the false assertion that Indigenous peoples in regional and remote Australia did not support the voice.

The results from relevant polling booths unequivocally demonstrated that we do indeed support the proposal for a voice. We now have a clear mandate to establish regional and remote voices. This should inform the agenda for structural reform.

The repercussions of the referendum and the tsunami of prejudice it unleashed will reverberate through the generations, far beyond the polling booths. Already we see the rejection of the voice deployed as a weapon, whether it be by schoolyard bullies or by those in the political sphere who wish to pathologize our cultures, to dismiss the harms that colonisation has wrought, and to deny us the realisation of our rights as Indigenous peoples.

However, my fellow First Nations peoples as well as our allies and supporters, please do not despair for our future. Despite how we feel in the aftermath, this was not a referendum on our human rights, our rightful place in this nation or our self-determination. They are not privileges to be granted or denied by a simple majority.

Our rights are the bedrock of justice, equality and respect. They are not contingent on the outcome of a single vote but are an integral part of our shared commitment to building a fair and equitable society.

With meaningful investment in social and emotional wellbeing and healing mechanisms, our communities will regroup and join forces with our supporters to chart the way forward.

I express my gratitude to all of our people, and to non-Indigenous Australians, who boldly and courageously campaigned for the voice. I assure you your efforts were not in vain.

A momentum for change has been created with millions of Australians, and there are numerous paths ahead. With open hearts and open minds, we can unite as a nation and navigate our way towards truth, justice, and a better future for all who now call these lands home.

• June Oscar AO is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission

Lots to think about in our post referendum world…

View from The Hill: is the political system letting down the Australian public? At a time when many are disillusioned with politics, Michelle Grattan’s Speakers Lecture explores how the political system is letting down the Australian public and how it can do better.

A permanent First Nations gallery space…

Wurrdha Marra means many mobs in Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung.

It's the latest exhibition at the NGV's Ian Potter Centre. It is a permanent First Peoples' gallery space and shows a collection of existing First Nations Australian art and design, alongside newer works.

It's great to see further exposure of First Peoples' in the arts, especially permanent displays like these ❤️

Great things happening in Brisbane…

There are only two weeks until Clancestry returns to QPAC in a celebration of everything that is beautiful, Blak and deadly about First Nations arts and culture.

Special Community priced tickets are being offered for all Clancestry events.

Book now at https://www.qpac.com.au/clancestry or call 136 246 with the promo code MOBTIX (limited amount you mob so get in quick!)

Yarn then! ✊🏾♥️🌸

Oombarra Productions

Bob wasn't allowed to speak his language growing up. Now he's helping to revive it The Malgana and Yinggarda elder's mother feared her children would be taken away if she taught them their language, so he is learning it now with members of his coastal WA community.

ICYMI…

It was truly wonderful to gather together yesterday as a collective of people who had worked together and learnt together to support the Voice in this community. There was much sorrow - but also much hope as we reflected on the connections and the progress we had made. We thank Aunty Veronica Bird for her heartfelt and beautiful words that give us encouragement to keep going and help us understand the depth of Butchulla culture and the connection to land, sea and skies. Always was. Always will be.

So much to celebrate…

Nadine Hunt | 15.10.23 | IRONMAN

“The moment we showed the world our strength, our beauty, our pride. This one was for all of us.”

Congratulations Nadine 🖤