Government withholds funding for Indigenous genetic disease foundation
Mike Seccombe
Despite a Federal Court win over Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion, a foundation supporting sufferers of a crippling genetic disease across remote Aboriginal communities is still waiting on funding promised under the previous Labor government.
As a royal commission probes child protection and detention in the Northern Territory, ongoing issues of alcohol abuse, violence and neglect in Aboriginal families keep delivering new offenders into the system.
Inquest examines infractions of NT domestic violence orders
Kieran Finnane
Prompted by the deaths of two Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory, an inquest has been held to examine ‘extreme domestic violence’ and the seeming inability of the justice system to protect those at risk.
WA still waits for Indigenous Custody Notification
Denham Sadler
The first Aboriginal death in custody for 16 years in NSW has highlighted the effectiveness of a Custody Notification Service, which WA has yet to implement.
A sharp rise in female imprisonment in the Northern Territory has highlighted the broader consequences of men’s violence against women and children in Indigenous communities.
Seeking justice in the Bowraville slain children case
Martin McKenzie-Murray
Police racism and legal flaws stymied the investigation into the murders of three Indigenous children in Bowraville. Finally, 25 years later, a conviction is possible.
Despite the cutting of safety chains and the ongoing protests of traditional landowners, tourists continue to climb Uluru. Now the call has gone out to Malcolm Turnbull to enforce respect of the rock.
Coastal Aborigines claim they are being harassed by police and fisheries officers for harvesting seafood that is their cultural entitlement, with prosecutions then dropped to avoid a native title precedent.
Fresh calls for inquiry into Ayers Rock Resort purchase
Mike Seccombe
Calls for a thorough inquiry into the ill-fated purchase of the Ayers Rock Resort by the Indigenous Land Corporation are being blocked at every turn by the government.
Instead of expanding a successful legal service with proven success reducing Aboriginal deaths in custody, the federal government is cutting its funding.
Indigenous slur sees NAAJA, Daniel Briggs in war of words
Kevin Childs
After a Northern Territory magistrate publicly used insensitive language, Indigenous lawyer Daniel Briggs set out to right the wrong. His quest ended up costing him his job.
Aboriginal future locked up by spiralling incarceration figures
Debra Jopson
A generation of Indigenous youth in remote and regional communities is growing up without parents and leaders because of ever-rising incarceration levels. The next generation isn’t even being born.
The lack of consultation and detail in the WA government’s plan to close up to 150 remote Indigenous communities has left people unsure of their future.