En Passant

Costa A nails it.  

Details of Rallies for Justice this Saturday across Australia for the children tortured in Don Dale and all prisons.

Aboriginal leader Murrandoo Yanner lets Pauline Hanson know what’s what.

Today our good mate Thomas Wales came to the Refugee Art Project studio in Parramatta. Thomas is a traditional landowner and spokesperson for the Thanakwith people in the Weipa area of far north Queensland. ‪#‎LetThemStay

Australia Day perpetuates the country’s ‘founding’ racist myths and is part of the system that enslaves our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters and, as a consequence, all of us. In the spirit of true reconciliation let’s abolish this celebration of genocide. Let’s instead celebrate the 65000 years of indigenous history and stewardship of this land. Recognise Aboriginal sovereignty, negotiate a treaty and pay the rent. It is time to fight for justice. It is time for justice.

Let’s ditch the Queen for a Presidential Council made up of elected representatives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Council would have the right and duty to pass or reject legislation. Membership of the Presidential Council would be decided democratically by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voters in the process of electing the Council. The Council would negotiate with the Parliament a treaty recognising prior sovereignty and paying the rent.

Stan Grant tells us about the genocide and racism against Aborigines. IQ2 Racism Debate: Stan Grant

In an article in the Canberra Times on our anti-Reclaim Australia rally on Sunday at Parliament House, Christopher Knaus quotes me. The report itself doesn’t mention the strong Aboriginal Tent Embassy presence at the anti-Reclaim rally. Here is one of my poor photos of the 25 or so Aboriginal comrades at the beginning of the protest against racism.

Aboriginal dispossession served capitalist interests, argues Paddy Gibson in socialist magazine Solidarity, but Aboriginal people have remained a “problem” from the point of view of Australia’s rulers ever since. To read whole article click here.

Here was a great opportunity to build a united mass movement against the oppression of women and indigenous Australians. Instead the focus was on getting the state to take top down action that does absolutely nothing to address domestic violence, anti-abortion bigotry, racism or women’s oppression. This is the very state which drives and reinforces that racism and oppression. There is nothing to cheer about in banning Brown and Newman.