I’m exhausted. The constant background noise of the ‘debate’ on Marriage Equality has had a toll on me and on a lot of queer Australians. As a member of a strong, but marginalised community, this debate has been devastating.

The small township of Bourke in far western New South Wales is a small speck of dust swimming in a vast ocean of ruby red dirt and is home to the Barkindji people since time immemorial.

Tony Birch’s latest collection of stories is full of hard lives lived along side-tracks, on back-roads, in cobbled bluestone allies and laneways.

New South Wales will soon be the first Australian jurisdiction to introduce Aboriginal languages legislation. The draft bill contains statements recognising Aboriginal peoples’ right to “learn and maintain” our languages, and acknowledging “the need to take action…to ensure the survival of Aboriginal languages”.

On September 13 the United Nations will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Australia was initially opposed to the Declaration, but now supports it. Bidding for seat on the UN Human Rights Council, our government also promotes itself as a model human rights citizen.

As a light skinned Koori, when you first meet me you probably won’t realise I’m Indigenous. Throughout my life that’s led to some interesting situations, especially as a journalist reporting on Indigenous issues for nearly five years now.

The past few weeks in Australian media and political life have been a bit of a blur. Even trying to recount them now sounds far fetched.

There has been a lot of talk from both the Northern Territory and federal governments recently about the rivers of royalties, jobs and other benefits they claim will come from opening up the Territory to vast new shale fracking gas fields.

Australia Day and meaningful acknowledgement of First Peoples continue to be debated across the nation, with signs of traction. Unfortunately, the current federal government’s responses have been woeful. As has the continuing poor performance of their Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS).

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a Whovian. Even when the original series of Doctor Who came to an end in 1989, I continued adding to my collection of memorabilia, reading the novels and hoping that one day, the show might come back.

“The 10 year legal battle preceding the Mabo decision demonstrated resilience by the plaintiffs and the importance of not accepting injustices, even where those injustices are enforced by law.”

Over three years ago, I began a PhD in Indigenous women’s leadership in Australia, specifically looking at the current era we are in. What an era it is: not a day goes by without a story coming up on my Twitter feed about yet another issue that directly affects us as Indigenous people (with our voices largely ignored).

Changing Australia Day isn’t the end game, it’s just the first move. So if you aren’t willing to see it through to the end then maybe just don’t even bother.

Today is World Indigenous Day and because #WeAreIndigenous we’re celebrating with this timely reminder of our rights as set forth in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Brought to you with the support of Kalinya Communications and Amnesty International Australia.

Now that Malcolm Turnbull has killed any hope of a referendum for any Aboriginal “voice”, it is time for the Indigenous disciples of constitutional recognition to turn their eyes to legislation. But first, those who so blindly believed a referendum was likely to be announced at Garma, need to take a hard look at themselves and the way they operate.

Bill Shorten has raised the issue of a republic once again when he released his plan at the Australian Republican Movement gala dinner on Saturday night to put the question to the public. The predictable knuckle-dragging has ensued due to the shortsighted who continue to see value in pledging allegiance to a foreign head of state.

To celebrate the 115th birthday of Albert (Elea) Namatjira, Google has published a doodle painted by his granddaughter, Gloria Pannka, but for all the acclaim that the Western Arrernte artist was showered with during his lifetime, Namatjira still found himself being regarded as less than the average white man.

After hearing last Friday’s news, I was left reeling with a frenetic bundle of nerve endings and emotions. When I spoke to Luke, he instantly picked up on it.