International Women’s Day: For ALL Women and Girls
This International Women’s Day, we are facing challenges making women and gender diverse people more vulnerable than ever. Bizzi Lavelle writes, how can this day go back to its UN roots supporting intersectional feminism, and steer away from the corporate day it’s become?
Indigenous organisations need more support to respond to climate change, and the disasters it causes
As we make our way into 2025, Australia has been battling multiple climate change driven disasters. Bhiamie Williamson writes, Indigenous people bear the brunt of damage to our lands, amidst governments and the general population turning a blind eye to climate change affecting all of us.
Why Invasion Day is different this year, and how to look after yourself
Every January, Blakfullas barely get a chance to embrace a new year, before being met with the dread and racial violence that surrounds the Day of Mourning. This year, Caroline reflects, our mobs are carrying more than their fair share, and it's a reminder of the importance of looking after ourselves.
Jailed at 10, Sheltered at 16: The Double Standards of Growing Up in Australia
Children as young as 10 can be jailed, and this is a symptom of a systemic failure that criminalises Aboriginal children and makes them more vulnerable to an unfair justice system. But in this recent discourse on teenagers’ interactions with social media, children are seen as impressionable, in need of protection, and too young to understand the potential harm of their actions. Shawna Pope writes, why is there such a stark difference in how Australia views kids, based on their race?
Sovereignty is a coloniser concept. We need Law in Country
Uncle Jim Everett - puralia meenamatta Elder and philosopher has been defending native forests in Tasmania from logging. In the face of colonial law, Uncle Jim writes, First Nations people need to honour our commitment to Country, and fight for the future of our lands, before colony-imposed climate change becomes a death sentence for our world.
Survivance: How can mob protect cultural narratives in our arts and practices?
Earlier this year, Wiradjuri Blak Queer artist Clinton Hayden was confronted with cultural and professional harm at the hands of an arts organisation he was commissioned to exhibit with. His experience, Clinton writes, is not an isolated incident, and shows a need for not just acknowledgement of cultural significance, but guaranteed survivance for First Nations artists and cultural practitioners in so-called Australia.
Keeping the Fire Burning: Collective Resistance, Sharing Culture, Creating Community and Speaking Truth to Power
From colonised Australia to the ethnic-cleansing of Eelam Tamils and the occupation of Palestine. University students across the world have expressed their solidarity in standing against the genocide in Gaza. Here in so-called Australia, university students have been doing the same, with the establishment of camps on campuses. Udaya Shanmugam and Jaala Ozies share the stories behind the solidarity.
The NT election is a lesson for Labor: Govern for the good of people and planet or make way for progressives who will
Historically, people elect Labor governments because they want better conditions for people and planet. Larrakia artist Laniyuk and Māori political organiser Te Raukura write, when Labor politicians prioritise policies that favour multinational corporations while neglecting vital public services, they lose trust and votes.
Reflections on Yoorrook and Palestine
Today (June 7th) marks the final day of the Yoorrook Justice Commission hearings investigating injustices in housing, health, education and economic life for First Nations peoples in Victoria. These hearings are providing space for First Nations peoples’ to give evidence in a larger act of Truth-telling, to acknowledge and hold account the institutions that contribute to genocidal and discriminatory practices. But, Sissy Austin writes, we can not be selective of which genocides we choose to be outraged over.
Yoorrook Justice Commission: Jarvis’ Story
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has been travelling across Victoria as part of its work to put the true history of the state since colonisation on the public record. The Commission has heard from thousands of First Peoples during the truth telling process – the first of its kind in Australia. Commissioner Maggie Walter shares one of the testimonies being presented today, from a First Nations man named Jarvis. Commissioner Walter has shared this with his permission.
