National Indigenous Times

Missing in action: Still no sign of jet-setting Johnnie
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: It was former Prime Minister Paul Keating who said that the best way to see the Northern Territory was from 30,000 feet. But it's the current Prime Minister, John Howard who has put it into practice. CHRIS GRAHAM analyses the government response to the 'national emergency' we had to have, but didn't get.

No progress on stamping out porn in NT's black townsIssue 134, July 26, 2007: There has been no ban on X-rated pornography in Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory more than five weeks after the Federal Government announced its intention to impose a porn blackout as part of its "emergency" intervention on child sex abuse.

New Aboriginal art record set as dot painting sells for $2.4mIssue 134, July 26, 2007: A DOT painting by the late Aboriginal artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri has sold at auction for $2.4 million - more than doubling the world record sale price for an Australian Aboriginal art work.

Camp appeal funding will not go ahead: HowardIssue 134, July 26, 2007: PRIME Minister John Howard says he will stop any funding for a further appeal to reopen an Aboriginal camp closed in Perth because of widespread sexual abuse.

New resource to help Indigenous people quit the smokesIssue 134, July 26, 2007: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people smoke nearly three times the rate of other Australians.

NT govt to be accountable for spending: Brough
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE federal government will hold the Northern Territory accountable as a major intervention into the territory's Aboriginal communities is rolled out.

Govt should provide safe houses: prof
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: GOVERNMENTS should provide safe houses for Indigenous
people who speak out about child abuse in their communities, former ATSIC head Lowitja O'Donoghue says.

Uranium reason for NT plan: Vic rally
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: The federal government has sent police into Indigenous
communities in the Northern Territory to access valuable uranium deposits, not to protect children from abuse, a rally was told in Melbourne.

Scraping permits wrong: NSW Rally
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Indigenous people will never agree to the abolition of the permit system in the Northern Territory nor the land rights they fought so hard to earn, a Sydney protest has been told.

Solutions rest with tribal law, not the army: HarrisIssue 134, July 26, 2007: TRIBAL law, not army tanks could solve child abuse and social problems in Aboriginal communities, a West Australian Aboriginal leader says.

Abuse in WA 'normal': Brough
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough believes the sexual abuse of Indigenous children is worse in Western Australia than in the Northern Territory.

'Army debate a distraction'
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: The debate over whether the military should help fight child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities is a political distraction from the need to find long-term solutions, National Indigenous Council (NIC) chair Sue Gordon said last week.

Minister 'clears the air' with WAIssue 134, July 26, 2007: Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough says he has cleared the air with the West Australian government and is now satisfied it is committed to stamping out child abuse in Indigenous communities.

Welfare trials to begin in Cape in 2008 school yearIssue 134, July 26, 2007: THE federal government has pledged $48 million in funding to Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson's plan for welfare reform trials in Queensland's Cape York communities.

Welfare reform trial criticised by insider
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Controversial welfare reforms the government wants to adopt Australia-wide have had ill effects in trials in far north Queensland Indigenous communities, according to a community worker who worked on the trials.

Qld govt starts its own trial
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Indigenous people must look after their homes and ensure their children go to school in return for better Queensland government services, under a new agreement.

Fitzroy Crossing alcohol ban call backed by MP
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE West Australian government would be stupid to ignore calls from Aboriginal women for a ban on takeaway alcohol, Labor MP Tom Stephens says.

Camps back grog bans but want NT commission
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE town camps of Alice Springs have backed a move by the Northern Territory government to ban alcohol in the hotspots notorious for crime, violence and substance abuse.

Tennant Creek drink ban a success: police
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: An emergency ban on the sale of takeaway alcohol in Tennant Creek has been hailed a success by police and looks set to be repeated elsewhere in the Northern Territory as a safety measure.

Govt members under fire over alcohol allegations
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Labor has issued a please explain to two Howard government members following allegations alcohol was taken into a dry community in the Tiwi Islands.

Mutitjulu regains control after feds 'invalid process'
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE sacked local governing body for an Aboriginal community at the centre of a storm over child abuse allegations officially regained control last Wednesday.

McArthur River Mine pays up after 12 years
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE operators of one of world's largest zinc mines has made its first royalty payment to the Northern Territory government ... after 12 years.

Three charged with child rapes in South Australia
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Three Aboriginal men repeatedly raped children in a South Australian Indigenous community over a three-year period, police allege.

CDEP to be phased out in NT
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme is to be phased out of remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.

"Drip feed funding" black organisations: Snowdon
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: THE federal government has adopted a "drip feed funding" policy that is undermining the viability and future of Aboriginal community organisations, a Labor MP says.

Garma Festival keys up for health forum
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Success stories in Indigenous health are expected to penetrate the current national debate on Indigenous health when the Garma Key Forum begins on August 4.

Land ownership forgotten in council mergers: opp
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: AMALGAMATING Indigenous councils in Queensland's far north is a "recipe for disaster", Nationals senator Ron Boswell says.

Aboriginal people look to future: Lynch
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Aboriginal people should expect to have greater opportunities to become political leaders, company directors and scientists over the next 50 years, NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Paul Lynch says.

Searching for answers to big questions in Alice
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: Recently delegates gathered in Alice Springs from all over Australia to wrestle with some of the big questions at two conferences hosted by the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.

Thousands of kids 'miss out' on preschool
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: UP to 57,000 children missed out on going to preschool last year, including one in two Indigenous youngsters, an Australian Education Union (AEU) report shows.

Stolen wages fight receives financial boost from union
Issue 134, July 26, 2007: FAIRA, the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action recently received a funding bolster in the form of $55,000 from the construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) to continue its fight for the recovery of Aboriginal stolen wages.