22 October 2010

'Our Generation' is launched to a packed Capitol Theatre in Melbourne

It was an amazing and inspiring night in Melbourne! The launch of the Our Generation documentary filled out the Capitol Theatre. 500 people in attendance! 
All of MAICs posters and leaflets were snapped up, with people keen to get more of their friends, family and workmates involved in the campaign.

This Friday's rally, part of the National Day of Protest against the NT Intervention, is looking to be an absolute corker! 

But now's the time to step it up a grear. The last week leading up to a rally is crucial. To make the rally as big and as successful as it can be, we need to make sure EVERYONE knows about it. More posters and leaftlets are available to be picked up from outside New International Bookshop. Lets plaster the city with them! And go to our Facebook page and invite everyone to the rally. Copy the text below and email all your friends. Send a viral sms around with the rally details and 'pass it on' at the end. Think creatively!

If you're interested in getting more involved in MAIC, we welcome folks to come to the weekly meetings:  every Monday at 6.30pm at New International Bookshop in Trades Hall (cnr Lygon and Victoria Streets). 

This Monday, we'll be talking over the Jobs With Justice campaign (an introduction for beginners about what this part of the Internvention is all about). We'll also be preparing for the upcoming rally. And we'll perhaps look a bit ahead to what sort of things MAIC can do in the future. Bring your ideas and enthusiasm!


NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST THE 

NORTHERN TERRITORY INTERVENTION



Jobs with Justice NOT Work for rations!

Apply the Racial Discrimination Act in Full!

Self determination now!


RALLY: 5.30pm, Friday, 29th October at the STATE LIBRARY, cnr Swanston & La Trobe Sts, Melbourne

Contact:    Sharon 0401 414 967 or  Lucy 0404 728 104
www.maicollective.blogspot.com
 www.jobswithjustice.wordpress.com


Come along to our next meeting on Monday night, 6.30pm at the New International Bookshop in the basement of Trades Hall. Or drop us a line at melbourneaic@gmail.com to ask us what you can do in your community to support the event.

19 October 2010

Banner Painting

Meredith from MAIC is inviting anyone interested to join her for some banner painting for the upcoming National Day of Protest against the NT Intervention.


Get in touch with someone at MAIC to express interest, and find out when and where!  

Or call Alex on 0406 685 43 if you get stuck, or want help painting your own banner closer to you.

Gurindji strike against Government Intervention: “History is being repeated here”

On Wednesday 20th October Gurindji workers and residents from the remote Aboriginal communities of Kalkaringi and Dagaragu will stop work and stage a protest against the NT Intervention.

Gurindji leaders are saying that the closure of the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP), local government reforms and the seizure of land and assets under the Intervention have had a devastating impact on the community. The Labor government promised to phase out remaining CDEP programs and transition Aboriginal workers into ‘real jobs’ but instead hundreds have been forced onto income management and local services are struggling or have collapsed.

Dagaragu is the site of the original Wave Hill walk-off, where Gurindji stockman went on strike against Vesty’s station to fight for equal wages and the return of traditional homelands. The Gurindji people have a proud history of standing up for Aboriginal rights. They say that since the Intervention these hard won rights have been stripped away.



Protest spokesperson John Leemans says the community is sick of being bullied by the government and wants control of local employment, housing programs and Aboriginal Land handed back to the community:

“Prior to the Intervention we had nearly 300 CDEP workers employed in municipal services, construction and maintenance roles. When the government took over and abolished the community council and CDEP everything came to a halt. We went two years without regular rubbish collection because the truck was seized. Houses and buildings are in desperate need of repair but there’s no funding for workers or materials.”
“If you go out to Dagaragu you’ll see the evidence these cuts have had on our people. Everything we built has gone - the old CDEP office, the brick making shed, the nursery, the health clinic, the old family centre. Soon we may lose the bakery. Houses that are now under Territory Housing control are overcrowded and falling apart. The damage is just overwhelming.”

“We now we have around 40 workers left on CDEP and training programs. Many are working 35 hour weeks but under the new laws they’re working for nothing but a Centrelink payment. It’s worse than working for the dole, because half goes onto the BasicCard and can only be spent at approved stores. History is being repeated here, with our people forced to work for rations again.”

Representatives from trade unions and residents of neighbouring communities will join with the Gurindji people on October 20th.



Many Gurindji will also travel to Alice Springs to join national rallies on October 29th calling for ‘Jobs with Justice’ for Aboriginal workers and an end to the Intervention. These protests are being supported by numerous organisation including Unions NT, the CFMEU, Tangentyere Council and the National Association of Community Legal Centres.

“The government has got to listen to the Australian people, the churches, the unions, the UN. Everybody around the world is condemning this intervention and the government can’t ignore the world. They have to demolish this law”, concluded Mr Leemans. The protest will begin outside the store at Kalkaringi at 11am on Wednesday October 20

Contact:
John Leemans on 0438 345 155

Endorsements are flooding in for 'Jobs with Justice'

LATEST endorsements: 

ANTaR Victoria, Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc, Australian Nursing Federation, Australian Services Union (SA/NT) Concerned Australians, Ethnic Child Care Family and Community Services Cooperative Ltd, Greens NSW, Intervention Rollback Action Group, LHMU (NT), Liberty Victoria, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Commission (NATSIEC), National Association of Community Legal Centres, National Tertiary Education Union, Socialist Alliance, Tangentyere Council, The Greek Orthodox Community of NSW Ltd, The Network of Immigrant and Refugee Women of Australia Inc, Unions NT, Women for Wik, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF), CFMEU, National Tertiary Education Union, 3CR, RMIT University Student Union...


Add your organisation now!
The Intervention Rollback Action Group in Alice Springs is requesting support for a statement demanding 'Jobs with Justice for Aboriginal workers' that will be launched on October 29 with protest rallies around the country.

The statement highlights the serious breaches of workers' rights and massive increases in unemployment that have taken place under the NT Intervention. We are aiming to print it in 'the Australian' newspaper on the day of the launch. The cost of the public notice is expected to be around $11,000.

The closure of Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) has been one of the main tools used by government to push through their current agenda of assimilation. Without access to proper employment programs in their own communities, the pressure builds up on Aboriginal families to move away.

Similarly, without access to the funding and workers previously provided by CDEP, many Aboriginal organisations are suffering drastically reduced capacity.

Recent revelations of widespread starvation in Aboriginal communities provided to an NT government child protection inquiry underscore the complete failure of the NT Intervention to address acute social problems.

Unless the resources currently being spent on discriminatory bureaucracy can be redirected to employment opportunities and programs based in Aboriginal communities, the well-being and living conditions of Aboriginal people in the NT will continue to sharply deteriorate. Please follow the links provided in the footnotes to the attached statement, or get in contact if you require any more information about these issues.

Pressure is mounting for change. As highlighted in this statement, the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has recently issued another strong condemnation of NT Intervention. And in the recent federal election, strong Greens candidates Barbara Shaw and Warren H Williams outpolled both Labor and Liberal in Aboriginal communities in Central Australia standing on a clear anti-Intervention platform.

The call for support for the 'Jobs with Justice' statement came from a major conference held in Alice Springs in July. Aboriginal community leaders, human rights activists and union members and representatives from across the NT and Australia all pledged support. Other early endorsements include the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union (LHMU) NT who cover many Aboriginal workers affected by the Intervention and Aboriginal leaders such as Barbara Shaw and Larissa Behrendt.

This letter is requesting:-

1.      Your public endorsement of the 'Jobs with Justice' statement;

2.      A donation of at least $100 to help with the cost of publication. Please email your endorsement to jobs.w.justice@gmail.com<jobswithjustice@gmail.com>or phone Marlene Hodder from the Intervention Rollback Action Group (Alice Springs) on 08 89525032.

Please forward your donation to:
Intervention Rollback Action Group PO Box 8488 Alice Springs
NT 0871

Or by direct deposit to:
Bendigo Community Bank
A/c Name: Intervention Rollback Action Gr.
BSB No: 633-000
A/c No: 134 157 049

Please send a notice to  jobs.w.justice@gmail.com
& jobswithjustice@gmail.com ; when you have made a donation.

Many thanks for your ongoing support.

in solidarity,
Intervention Rollback Action Group Alice Springs








Has your organisation supported the following statement? Do it now! 
Stop the NT Intervention – Jobs with Justice for Aboriginal workers
Worse than Workchoices
The NT Intervention promised to deliver ‘real jobs’ for Aboriginal communities. Instead, thousands of waged jobs have been lost and Aboriginal organisations have been crippled as Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) close down.i
Under the new CDEP scheme designed by the federal Labor government, Aboriginal people no longer receive wages. They are being forced to work providing vital services such as rubbish collection, school bus runs, sewerage maintenance, construction and aged care in exchange for quarantined Centrelink payments.ii
People are compelled to work 16 hours a week for $115 cash, plus $115 credit on a ‘BasicsCard’ which can only be used on ‘priority items’ in government approved stores. Aboriginal workers have described this as a return to the “ration-days’ when they were paid in food instead of cash.
Centrelink is threatening to cut off payments entirely if people do not participate. Unclear guidelines and the vulnerable position of many workers have seen cases of people working 30 hrs or more for no extra money.[iii] This is far worse than anything the Liberals inflicted on workers under Workchoices.
The Labor government committed to halving the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in a decade. But due to a continuation of Howard era policies such as the Intervention, Indigenous unemployment has drastically worsened from 13.8% in 2007 to 18.1% in 2009.[iv]
500 ‘real jobs’ created to replace some of the lost CDEP positions in remote NT shire councils face the axe next year. The Commonwealth is refusing to guarantee ongoing funding of $8.5 million per year needed by the NT government to keep the jobs.[v] Many Aboriginal communities serviced by these shires already suffer atrocious living conditions – 500 more job losses will be devastating.
The NT Intervention shames Australia. Despite recent amendments, the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) ruled in August that Intervention legislation provides clear evidence of  “embedded racism” against Aboriginal people. [vi ] The UNCERD report said living conditions had deteriorated for Aboriginal people under the Intervention through loss of land, property, employment, legal rights and opportunities for cultural development. [vii]
Rather than abandon failed policy, the government is planning to spend $350 million (over 4 years) to expand income management across the NT.[viii ] This money is desperately needed to create real jobs in Aboriginal communities and ensure the provision of basic services.
The government must act immediately to:
  • Guarantee the 500 threatened Shire jobs
  • End compulsory income management
  • End current CDEP arrangements forcing people to work for the BasicsCard
  • Turn all CDEP positions into fully waged jobs
  • Provide massive investment in job creation and service provision in all Aboriginal communities.
________________________________
[i] There were approximately 7500 CDEP participants receiving wages in the NT before reforms that came with the Intervention. See Altman, J. Neo-Paternalism and the Destruction of CDEP, Arena90, September 2007 athttp://www.federalintervention.info/docs/issues/Altman_Paternalism.pdf
[ii ] See Gibson, P. Working for the BasicsCard in the NorthernTerritory, Jumbunna Indigenous House of  Learning UTS Briefing Paper at http://www.jumbunna.uts.edu.au/publications/pdf/JIHLBP12.pdf
[vii] A full copy of the UNCERD report is available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/co/CERD-C-AUS-CO-15_17.doc
_____________________________________



Visit MAIC's info stall at the Melbourne launch of 'Our Generation'

Melbourne Premiere of the groundbreaking new documentary on Aboriginal rights, Our Generation.
 Taking place at 7pm on Friday 22nd October at the Capitol Theatre, 113 Swanston Street.




“This is a very important film that everyone must see… It will change your life.” John Butler
 Our Generation is a rollercoaster journey into the heart of Australia’s Indigenous relations, a hidden shame that is pushing the world’s oldest living culture to the edge. Through the stories of the Yolngu of Northeast Arnhem Land, the film examines the Government's ongoing policies of paternalism and assimilation, examines the real issues underlying Indigenous disadvantage, and opens dialogue on ways forward that respect Aboriginal culture and dignity. A fresh and unflinching look at unresolved issues, with music by John Butler Trio, Yothu Yindi and Gurrumul.
 The evening will feature:
 -Live music by national treasures Shane Howard (Goanna) and Shellie Morris (Black Arm Band)
 -Film presentation (73 min)
 - Q&A discussion with the filmmakers, joined by Indigenous elders from Arnhem Land Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra OAM and Djanumbe Gurruwiwi, and journalist Jeff McMullen.
 Link to Official Trailer: http://ourgeneration.org.au/trailer
 Link to ABC News feature: http://www.abc.net.au/news/video/2010/08/17/2985823.htm
 Ticket price: $25 / $15 concessions
 For reservations, please email tickets@ourgeneration.org.au
 All tickets are payable on the door.
Our Generation
 (+61) 420 400 284 / 424 722 705
 info@ourgeneration.org.au
 www.ourgeneration.org.au

22 September 2010

National Protest on 29th of October. It's all coming together!

Currently, we are busy organising with activists around Austrlia, for a National Day of Protest against the government's racist NT Intervention. We have a poster designed and its about to go off to the printers. Keep an eye out on street poles for it soon. If you're not seeing any, that means we need more help putting them up!

We are also making plans to have a banner painting day, we're gonna be printing t-shirts, we are putting a bulletin together with lots of facts and figures. And we have plans for leafletting and stalls and all sorts of stuff.

But! We could do so much more if you were involved. Seriously. So why not come along to our next meeting on Monday night, 6.30pm at Trades Hall? Or drop us a line at melbourneaic@gmail.com to ask us what you can do in your community to support the event.


We are trying to get as many Aboriginal organisations, community groups, unions and workplaces to support this action as possible. There is a 'jobs with justice' statement that you can get signed. We need money to get an ad in the paper, and we want your logo on our stuff. Imagine if you were working under the conditions that people like Peter Inverway were working in? $4/hr plus a ration card to work on a construction site. That's exploitation. It's racist. It's barbaric.

It's people on the ground that make these actions a success. So grab some posters and leaflets from outside the New International Bookshop to put in your workspace, so as many people know about it as possible. It's a great way to get a conversation happening and spread the word to people who might not ever think about Aboriginal politics.

Let's make this protest a big one and show the government that the Aboriginal rights struggle is not going anywhere.

Stop the racist NT Intervention - "Jobs With Justice now!"

Friday, 29 October 2010
5.30pm, State Library of Victoria (cnr Swanston and Lt La Trobe Streets)

19 September 2010

Help us organise the National Day of Protest

Exciting news for the campaign!

Gary Foley, a legend of Aboriginal rights activism, has agreed to support the National Day of Protest against the racist NT Intervention. Gary Foley will be speaking at the rally on Friday, 29 October 2010, 5.30pm at the State Library of Victoria (cnr Swanston and Lt La Trobe Streets).
Gary Foley (centre), with members of The Clash (l-r, Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer)

We encourage anyone interested in achieving justice for Aboriginal people in this country to support their local action. Currently, there are actions planned in Alice Springs, Sydney and Melbourne (note: the Melbourne protest has shifted dates and now ALL PROTESTS around the country will be taking place on 29 October 2010).

Not only does MAIC want you to come to the rally, we want you to tell as many people as you can about it. And if you are especially committed and have the time--we would love you to join us at the organising meetings (every Monday, 6.30pm at Trades Hall).


07 September 2010

MAIC Response to Re-elected Gillard Government

Media Release -- 7 September 2010
The appalling state of Aboriginal affairs has been thrust back into the spotlight with the formation of the new Government.
The announcement of the re-election of the Gillard Government saw Aboriginal self-determination and employment at the forefront of negotiations.
The MP for Lyne, Rob Oakeshott stressed the disadvantage that Indigenous people experience in areas all around Australia. The MP for Kennedy, Bob Katter, is also on record as being highly critical of the state of Aboriginal housing, the lack of self-determination and dearth of employment opportunities for Aboriginal people in rural areas.

The ‘Wild Rivers’ policy was a controversial issue for the Independents and is a policy that reaffirms the broader crisis in Aboriginal affairs. The focus on market driven policies and punitive individualism has only seen ‘The Gap’ between white and black Australia widen.
Noel Pearson, Director of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, has been an outspoken mouth piece for the right-wing ideas implemented by successive governments. Though used as prop for parliamentarians on both sides of politics, his views are widely discredited amongst Aboriginal Australia. Mr Pearson’s punitive approach has been shown to have failed, with clear negative outcomes across the board when resources have been withdrawn from vulnerable Aboriginal communities. 
The Northern Territory Intervention was one of the most significant issues at the last election in 2007. Three years later, the conditions of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory have degenerated even further.
Spokesperson for the Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective (MAIC), Mr Alex Ettling said “There has been no accounting for the disaster that the Intervention has had on Indigenous people in Northern Territory”.
Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective (MAIC) is campaigning for the scrapping of the Intervention and an increase in funding and self-determination for Aboriginal communities. Mr Ettling says “If the Government is serious about improving the conditions of Aboriginal people in Australia, they need to shift away from the racist paternalism that has creeped back into Aboriginal policy making”.
Mr Ettling said “We support ‘jobs with justice’, rather than the arrangements under the Intervention that have seen people like Peter Inverway, a construction worker from Kalkarindji working for $4/hr plus a ration card”.
MAIC opposes the system of welfare quarantining which is punitive, ineffective and a racist throwback to the 1950s. MAIC also condemns the abolishing of bi-lingual education which is undermining Aboriginal culture. MAIC demands Aboriginal communities in the Out Stations and Homelands be fully resourced and serviced, and an end to the ‘hub towns’ policy. Furthermore, MAIC supports the full application of the Racial Discrimination Act to the Intervention laws to allow them to be challenged in the High Court.
On October 30, there will be a protest in Melbourne against the racism of the NT Intervention. This will be part of a national protest that weekend, with demonstrations planned for Alice Springs, Sydney and Perth.

www.maicollective.blogspot.com 

05 September 2010

Plans galore! MAIC is making stuff happen. But we need more people to help--we need you!

Come along to the MAIC meetings. We have plenty of things to talk about, and we want to make stuff happen! We need your zeal--seriously. This is the time to step up the activism and get hands on.




Tonight, Shannon will be discussing a detailed letter that Aboriginal Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has sent to anti-Intervention activists. We'll be going through it all, so we're up to speed.
Also on the agenda:
+ MAIC's planned conference about the cuts to bi-lingual education 
+ The national protest in support of Aboriginal rights planned for late October
+ organising some sort of event at Melbourne Uni?
+ doing some stalls to get the word out there?
+ putting together a bulletin with information about the NT Intervention?
+ something that you want to get happening?
Hope you can make it! And by all means, spread the word, and bring yr mates.
Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective (MAIC) meets every Monday, 6.30pm at the New International Bookshop (NIBS). The bookshop is easily found in the basement of the Trades Hall building (Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton)

26 August 2010

Get the message Labor? Aboriginal Rights, Not the Intervention!



MEDIA RELEASE – MEDIA RELEASE – MEDIA RELEASE – MEDIA RELEASE

August 26, 2010

Event details:
Friday 27 August 2010
12:00pm ALP Head Office
360 King St,
West Melbourne

Get the message Labor? Aboriginal Rights, Not the Intervention!

This Friday Aboriginal rights activists protest against the Northern Territory Intervention.
The action will target the ALP Headquarters, as the Intervention has cost the previous government votes in the recent elections.

The huge swing to the Greens in remote Indigenous communities is a rejection of the paternalistic policies of the Intervention. This is particularly shown in areas affected by then Intervention, where the Greens outpolled the ALP on a platform opposing the NT Intervention.

All aspects of the Intervention have come under increasing criticism following condemnation last year from groups such as Amnesty International and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights.

The protesters have labelled the Intervention as racist and argue that it has had a negative impact on the lives of Indigenous people in the Northern Territory.

Indigenous Activist, Sharon Firebrace, said “The huge swing to the Greens in remote Indigenous communities is a rejection of the paternalistic policies of the Intervention. It is time for the ALP to ditch the Intervention- it has not mandate and it is not working.”

For interviews or more information contact:
Sharon Firebrace: 0401 414 967
Chris Peterson: 0431 311 520

17 August 2010

After the Election: What does it all mean for stopping the NT Intervention?






Monday, 23 August 2010, 6.30pm
New International Bookshop in Trades Hall
cnr Victoria and Lygon Streets

A few weeks ago Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective held a forum asking the question: “Who will stop the NT Intervention?” 


At the event we invited representatives from various political groups and the unions to offer their analysis of how to get rid of these racist policies. 

Following the close of polls on Saturday, we will see either a Labor Government committed to the NT Intervention, or a Liberal Government committed to th...e NT Intervention. It is clear that we can not leave it to parliament to overturn these barbaric laws.



During this special post-election meeting, Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective will be presenting an overview of the NT Intervention and a rundown of what the new political situation means for the campaign. Importantly, we will be discussing the sort of action we can take to fight this latest attack on Aboriginal rights.

All welcome for a night of discussion and action!



03 August 2010

Federal Election 2010 - Who will stop the NT Intervention?


On 9 August 2010, MAIC held a forum which discussed the elections and the NT Intervention. Go to our Facebook group to see some clips of the speakers. Here are some photos from the night.


Shannon Price, Chair of the forum


David Glanz speaks for MAIC






Dr Richard Di Natale from The Greens






Kevin Bracken from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA)




Sharon Firebrace from the Socialist Alliance


The MAIC organisers of the event were pleased with the attendance and the quality of the speakers. There were some particularly good contributions during the questions and comments time as well. Stay tuned for a follow-up event after the election results are in!






Federal Election 2010:
Who Will Stop the NT Intervention?

  
It will take more than voting to get rid of the NT Intervention.

Even if The Greens hold the balance of power in the Senate it will still require the power of grassroots movements, such as the land rights movement of the 1970s to win real Aboriginal rights.

It is no surprise that Tony Abbott is 100% committed to the failed policies of the NT Intervention. If he is elected he will extend the racist Intervention that his party brought in.

Gillard’s Labor government supported the implementation of the Intervention under Howard and have entrenched Intervention policies—Rudd’s apology to the Stolen
Generations rings very hollow.

The Greens are the only party with members in parliament who have consistently opposed the Intervention. It would be good if the Greens increase their vote in this election, and if Labor remains in power rather than Abbott. This will demonstrate a
clear vote against the continuation of racist policies like the NT Intervention.

We encourage you to join us in discussion about what we can do to take a stand against this latest attack on Aboriginal rights.

Speakers:
Kevin Bracken (Maritime Union of Australia)
Richard Di Natale (candidate for The Greens)
Sharon Firebrace (candidate for Socialist Alliance)
David Glanz (Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective)

Monday, 6:30pm
9th August 2010
Trades Hall
cnr Victoria and Lygon Streets
Carlton South

Melbourne Anti-Intervention Collective (MAIC) meets every Monday, 6:30pm at the New International Bookshop. The bookshop is located in the basement of the Trades Hall building located on the corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets in South Carlton. All welcome!

www.maicollective.blogspot.com

Find us on Facebook:
‘Melbourne Anti Intervention Collective’
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