Upload
donald-clark
View
218
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
1/18
Another twitter commentread, "I tried to be
authentic but.. I couldn't
find any yellow ochre at
the paint store".
Despite the light-hearted
nature in which many
people have reacted to Mr
Abbott's comments, Ms
Heiss admits there's a
more serious issue at
stake.
"There's a form of
politics in this country that
feeds other people's
intolerance and fear, and
it appears to divide us as
a people. But this week,
we just jumped up straight
away and said: 'we're
together on this, we're not
even taking it seriously',"
she said
ABC World News
15 November 2012
The controversy
following Tony Abbott's
comments about
Aboriginal identity turned
into a twitter forum on
what it is to be an
Indigenous Australian,
under the hashtag
#Itriedtobeauthentic.
Opposition Leader Tony
Abbott's comments about
Aboriginal identity have
already created plenty of
controversy, but now
many are turning to social
media to tackle the
subject.
On Tuesday, Mr Abbott
suggested that Indigenous
Australians from Central
Australia were more
authentic than their urban
counterparts - comments
which have resulted in an
influx of reaction on
Twitter.
"I think it would be
terrific if, as well as having
an urban Aboriginal
member of Parliament, we
had an Aboriginal person
from Central Australia --
an authentic
representative of the
ancient cultures of Central
Australia in Parliament,"
Mr Abbott stated.
While some, like West
Australian MP Ken Wyatt,
have described Mr
Abbott's words as
"unhelpful and
unfortunate", others have
used social media to
highlight the funny side of
the subject.
The hash tag
#Itriedtobeauthenticbut "
has attracted a variety of
comments, with writer
Anita Heiss one of the
more enthusiastic
contributors.
"I tried to be authentic
but I've thrown more
parties than boomerangs,"
Ms Heiss tweeted.
Aboriginal identity forum with a twist on Twitter
>
Babana News
Babana Aboriginal Mens Group Inc.
Volume4Issue6
November2012
Inside this issue:
From the Chair 2
St John's patron in racial outrage 3
Too quick to take offence 6
Carers WeekBabana celebrates
in Martin Place
6
Balnaves Place - Home of Nura Gili 8
Daniel Geale to fight in Sydney 12
Babana News is the official Newsletter ofthe Babana Aboriginal Mens Group Inc.,and is produced in the main as an e-letter.A copy will also be produced in
the Babana Myspace site and a limitednumber will be available at our GeneralMeetings.
Opinions and conclusions contained inthe Your Word section are those of thewriter and do not necessarily reflect theopinions, policies, aims or objectives ofBabana Aboriginal Mens Group.
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
2/18
Its almost Christmas already? I
just dont know where time goes.
But it is going faster every year for
me. I am still getting over last year
(so is my wallet).
The one, constant thing about
being here at Babana is that there
is always change and new
challenges. Since the last edition
of the newsletter there have been
such important events as Carers
Week at Martin Place, takingmembers to Calga to see important
sites of interest, joining with Tribal
Warrior for an awards event, and
many other actions to keep us all
interested and interesting.
Members of the management
committee and others attended the
official opening of Balnaves Place,
the new home of Nura Gili at the
University of NSW, and we have
been asked to comment on racist
remarks for the mediawhich
indicates a growing recognition of
Babana by the mainstream media.
There have been sad times in our
community too. The passing of
Isabel Coe, a long time campaigner
for Aboriginal rights and social
justice is greeted with sadness.
Isabel will be missed by her family
and friends. However, she will also
be missed by the Aboriginal
community here in Redfern
Waterloo and across Australia. A
strong woman of a strong people.
And what about Christmas? How
will we all spend it. Many of us
have family and friends to share
From the Chair
Page 2
BabanaNews
Volum
e4Issue6
Mark Spinks Chair of Babana
.So come
along. Be
with us. Join
in the
conversation
Christmas with. However, there are
those who are not so fortunate. I
hope we will all spare some thought
to those who are alone at this time
of year. And I do hope that there is
forgiveness and reconciliation
between family members where it
is possible.
Dont forget that Babana will be
joining with Tribal Warrior to hold a
Christmas party on the harbour.
This event will take place on 7thDecember. All of you who have
attended other events on the
harbour with Babana will know
what a great day it is. Our
Christmas do will even bigger and
better than ever.
Babana has one more meeting for
this yearat the end of this month.
Its an opportunity for all men to
come together once again in that
spirit of friendship and mutual
support that has made Babana
what it is; a mens group that is
about men, for men and, through
that, for the community as a whole.
So come along. Be with us. Join
in the conversation. The
conversation that assists and
supports men, their families and
community to walk further in our
journey for betterment and
recognition.
We are making a difference. We
are being recognised for creating
better opportunities for men to take
part in our community. Come
along, join, share and have a say.
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
3/18
Page 3
St John's patron in racial outrageremains ''deeply traumatised''.
Mark Spinks, a respected member of
Sydney's Aboriginal community and
chairman of the Aboriginal men's group
Babana, said: ''How disgusting, how
disgraceful, how disrespectful are
those comments. I am outraged and I
am disturbed. For that to have been
said at the university, in a room full of
students, I am almost speechless.''
The sociologist Eva Cox said: ''It's
totally unacceptable but what he's
saying is acceptable, or has been
deemed acceptable within the culture
of the college. It's just an indication of
how deep the rot goes.''
Last night, the University of Sydney's
vice-chancellor, Michael Spence,
condemned Mr Phillips' remarks. He
said: ''The university is very proud of
the fact that it stands on land where
indigenous peoples have been
teaching and learning for many
thousands of years before us and we
acknowledge this publicly whenever we
can.''
St John's College has been in a virtual
state of limbo since Tuesday, when
the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney,
George Pell, asked the five
remaining priests on its council to
resign, arguing he no longer had
''confidence in the capacity'' of the
council to ''reform life at the
college''.
The move followed a Fairfax Media
investigation that exposed the once
proud college tobe in a state of
anarchy, with
widespread
vandalism,
furniture being
smashed and set
on fire and faeces
routinely left in
common rooms.
The story
demonstrated
that nothing had changed since
March, when a first year student
was rushed to hospital with a
bleeding stomach after being
pressured to drink a toxic cocktail
containing shampoo, alcohol and
dog food.
Technically, the college council
has ceased to exist, as no meeting
or action can take place without at
least one clerical fellow present. But
Fairfax Media understands that
several of the non-clerical fellows -
or lay fellows - have refused to
resign in the hope they can survive
(Continued on page 7)
Eamonn Duff
Sun-Herald senior investigative writer
11 November 2012
Jeffrey Phillips speech
A leading Sydney barrister and
senior counsel at the trouble-
plagued St John's College is in
hot water over comments
'comments which appeared to
mock the aboriginal community.
A leading Sydney barrister and
senior counsel at the trouble-
plagued St John's
College has sparked
outrage after
mocking the
Aboriginal
community at an
official dinner at the
University of Sydney.
Jeffrey Phillips, SC,
stood in the college's
150-year-old Great
Hall and, in front of more than
250 staff, students and guests,
paid tribute to the ''traditional
custodians of this place'' whom
he identified as being the
''Benedictines who came from
the great English nation''.Good times ... Jeffrey Phillips
with the student house
committee's Liam Condon and
the chairwoman of St John's
college, Christine Liddy.
The comment was made in the
presence of several indigenous
students, one of whom has
lodged a formal complaint and,
according to senior staff,
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
4/18
BabanaNews
Volum
e4Issue6
defended the rights of Aboriginal
protesters in Canberra who burnt
the Australian flag.
"You've got to start asking why
people have taken this attitude,
where they've got to do these
things to try and get people on our
side or upset."
One of Ms Coe's long-time friends
and fellow activists, Michael Ander-
son, was one of the founders of the
Tent Embassy and first met her
when she was 16.
"There was a time period in the
1960s, all these young, well-educated young Aboriginal people
were the first sort of the class of
year 12 or a higher school certifi-
cate, as it was known then, to
achieve that and we all turned up
in Sydney," he said.
"We came from a background I
guess collectively where there was
a lot of racism and a lot of strug-
gles for human rights at the time.
"And so we grew up in that period
and then we all landed in Sydney
and we formed a militant move-
ment similar to that of the African
Americans in terms of fighting for
land rights in Australia."
Mr Anderson says Ms Coe was
deeply committed to the cause.
"Isobel was a very powerful,
staunch young black woman who
was there with all us rough and
tumble.
"When you talk about women's
liberation, I think Isobel liberated a
lot of us young fellas
because she was
such a powerful
young lady.
"Mind you, all of us
were saying that she
was so beautiful,
she was a very at-
tractive young
woman, and we told
her that 'you could
make a lot of money
modelling', but no,
she was committed
to fighting for her people."
Lead role
In the 1990s, Ms Coe took a lead
role in the Tent Embassy when ru-
mours emerged the Federal Gov-
ernment wanted to get rid of the
protest site.
(Continued on page 5)
ABC Radio
The World Today
Lindy Kerin
12 November 2012
Australians are today mourning
the death of one the country's
most prominent Indigenous lead-
ers, Isabel Coe.
For decades, Ms Coe played a
key role in the campaign for In-
digenous sovereignty and was
instrumental in keeping the Abo-
riginal Tent Embassy in Canberra
going.
The Wiradjuri woman died on
Saturday in Cowra at the age of
61.
Today, she has
been described
as a mighty war-
rior and a re-
markablewoman.
Ms Coe was a
tough talker. She
spent her life
campaigning for
Indigenous
rights.
Back in the late
1990s she made headlines
around the globe when she called
for a boycott of the Sydney Olym-
pics.
"From the Tent Embassy, we're
calling for a boycott on the Olym-
pic Games if things don't improve
here in Redfern," she said at the
time.
And earlier this year, Ms Coe
Determined' Aboriginal campaigner Isabel Coe dies
Page 4
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
5/18
tral west.
Ms House says she had been
battling diabetes for some time.
"She not only tried to look after
her own health, but neglected it in
some ways because she wanted to
just get on and do things," she said.
"And that probably was the worst
thing, that she thought that could
have happened to Isobel was a
lack of not looking after her own
self, to move on a make things bet-
ter for other people."
Coe lauded for role in Aboriginal
politicsNew.com.au
AAP
12 November 2012
ABORIGINAL activist Isabel Coe
was a standout among her contem-
poraries, Aboriginal Tent Embassy
co-founder Michael Anderson says.Ms Coe, a Wiradjuri Ngunnawal
woman, died on Saturday.
She grew up at the Erambie mis-
sion run by the NSW Prisons Board
near Cowra in central NSW and
moved to Sydney in the late 1960s
to get a formal education.
It was in Sydney that she met Mr
Anderson.
"We met up with all these young
people who had great spirit and
spunk and determination and Isa-
bel was one of them," he told AAP.
"She was a standout, Isabel, be-
cause she was such a force to be
reckoned with in terms of her as a
lady.
"Her commitment and passion
certainly stood out.
"She towered over some of the
young fellas in the Black Power
movement back in those days."
Mr Anderson said Ms Coe was
there when the idea was born to
take a protest to Canberra, which
later spawned the tent embassy.
"She came back to the house in
Erskineville where we made the
decision," he said.
"We were looking for volunteers
to go down to Canberra and start a
protest."
Ms Coe was one of those.
Mr Anderson said her death, aged
61, was anticipated.
But he was saddened it coincided
with the 40th year of tent embassy
activism.
"Everybody dreaded the day but
we knew the day was coming."
Ms Coe was also instrumental in
establishing the Redfern Aboriginal
Children's Service.
Page 5
"Well, we've been sitting her for
27 years and we're going to con-
tinue to stay here," she said at the
time.
"We're here in sovereignty, we
have never signed a treaty, we
have never relinquished sover-
eignty to our country and that's
what this Aboriginal Tent Embassy
is all about and that's why they
want to remove us."
Ms Coe's cousin, Matilda House,
says she had been instrumental in
keeping the Tent Embassy going.
"She kept it going because she
believed that all things would come
right, which they didn't, and she'd
still be sitting there today because
she knows the job was a never-
ending job," Ms House said.
Legacy
Ms Coe also played a key role in
setting up many of the Aboriginal
organisations in Redfern in Sydney.
Her cousin Ann Weldon says she
leaves behind a huge legacy.
"She was a Wiradjuri woman, she
was a founder and a leader that
established organisations in Red-
fern, that's her legacy, that she's
built on for every Aboriginal person
and indeed every Australian per-
son."
Ms Coe spent most of her time
between Redfern and Canberra,
but most recently she went back to
her home town of Cowra in the cen-
(Continued from page 4)
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
6/18
Page 6
BabanaNews
Volum
e4Issue6
Too quick to take offence
woman, Bess Nungarrayi Price, has
spoken out about Aboriginal people
being easily offended, and has been
verbally attacked herself for doing
so. These attacks do not prevent her
doing her job. She is bigger than her
critics and encourages others to get
on with the job of addressing the real
problems facing Aboriginal people.
So who is Aboriginal? It has been
claimed that only Aboriginal people
can decide. There are two problemswith this. First, there is the circular
nature of Aborigines defining
Aborigines.
Imagine if the government
announced a stimulus payment of
$10,000 for the poor, and that it
was only the poor who decided who
were poor? We could have
millionaires claiming to be poor with
a justification of "I believe in my
heart I am poor and I will be
offended if you disagree with me".
Clearly, more objective criteria are
needed than self-identification.
Further, some of the Aboriginal
people I know from remote parts of
Australia have a very different
definition of what it means to be
Aboriginal from that of their city
cousins. Whose definition should we
accept? Second, when deciding who
is Aboriginal, you are by default
deciding who is non-Aboriginal. As
such, it is surely illogical to deny
"other Australians" any role in these
determinations.
It is strange that if someone has
seven Caucasian great-grandparents
and one Aboriginal great-grandparent, they are able to identify
as Aboriginal. That is their right, but
could this be considered racist, or
even a form of ancestral genocide
against non-Aboriginal people
because it is denying a person's non-
Aboriginal ancestry?
The usual argument that gets
trotted out whenever reference is
made to a person's appearance of
"fair skin" is that "being Aboriginal is
not related to skin colour". I agree
being Aboriginal is not about skin
colour, but it should be about having
substantial Aboriginal ancestry, andone's appearance is often a
reasonable indicator of one's
Aboriginal ancestry. People have a
right to identify however they like, but
they should not be surprised or
"offended" when they are questioned.
This is especially important given
that self-identification is a key factor
determining how Aboriginal
disadvantage is addressed through
the allocation of public spending.
Let's not lose sight of the fact that
while some people are getting upset
(and seeking payouts to ease that
upset), many Aboriginal people,
especially in remote Australia, have
basic needs such as housing and
health, that need attending to. Can we
please get our priorities right?
Anthony Dillon is an academic atAnthony Dillon is an academic atAnthony Dillon is an academic atAnthony Dillon is an academic at
The University of Western Sydney andThe University of Western Sydney andThe University of Western Sydney andThe University of Western Sydney and
identifies as a partidentifies as a partidentifies as a partidentifies as a part----AboriginalAboriginalAboriginalAboriginal
AustralianAustralianAustralianAustralian....
The Australian
Anthony Dillon
16 November 2012THE contentious issue of Aboriginal
identity has come up again with
people getting upset because certain
words were spoken that were
deemed racist.
We live in an age where people can
be offended by almost any word or
phrase, particularly if is there is
some social mileage in it for them or
a financial gain.However, words are neither
offensive nor inoffensive in
themselves; they are simply words,
and this is true even if a judge says
otherwise. People choose to make
words offensive to themselves, which
is why one person can be offended
and another amused by the same
word.
Those who make certain words
offensive do so because there is
something to be gained. For many, to
feel offended is to feel important,
validated.
It is sad and strange that 200
years ago this country's first peoples
were strong and adaptive, able to
live under harsh conditions. But
today, some of them claim they are
traumatised, simply because
someone remarks about their skin
colour.
Many of the people identifying as
Aboriginal today lack not only the
culture and colour of Aboriginal
Australia, but the strength and
determination. Many may claim that
my last sentence has offended them,
and will do so as long as someone
will reward them for being offended.
Thankfully, a strong Aboriginal
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
7/18
Page 7
down, down, down.''
The students also hold deep affectionfor their patron because he is opposed
to the college's rector, Michael
Bongers, and his crusade to stamp out
outdated traditions.
As one senior college insider put it:
''He is king of the kids at the college
and wild horses couldn't keep him
away.''
But while some fellows and staff have
overlooked his close-knit relationship
with students, his performances with
the microphone have grown
increasingly hard to ignore.
Numerous sources have said that
around the last election, he stood
before staff and students at a formal
dinner and referred to the Prime
Minister, Julia Gillard, as a ''red-headed
witch''.
Fast forward to September 3 this year
and Mr Phillips addressed the entire
student population with the following: ''I
would like to acknowledge the
traditional custodians of this place the
Benedictines who came from the great
English nation.''
The comment drew a combination of
laughs, gasps and disbelieving groans
from those present.
While he continued to spark
controversy by referring to the college's
original founder, archbishop Bede
Polding, as someone ''who looks like
he's on his way to a Lady Gaga
concert'', it was his opening remarksthat continued to linger with many.
Fairfax Media understands there
were four indigenous students
present, one of whom is taking thematter further.
Yesterday, Mr Phillips said his
comments had been taken out of
context, adding that he had sent the
upset student a letter.
''It is a great pity that my speech
was misinterpreted by one student,''
he said in a statement. ''The speech
was not intended, nor delivered in
any way to disrespect or mock
indigenous people. On the contrary,
the speech had an important
message of forgiveness and
tolerance. Neither the rector, Mr
Bongers, nor anyone else present at
the speech complained. In fact, the
Rector personally thanked me
warmly for my speech. Whilst I
apologised to the student, as she
had been offended, it is important,
especially in an environment of
vigorous debate, such as a
university, that simple
misunderstandings by one student
not be blown out of proportion."
the turmoil. One of those hoping
to stay is Mr Phillips. In the
moments before his
controversial comments on
September 3, student house
president Matt Sunderland had
described him as ''a mentor'' of
the student club and a ''great''
and ''fair man''.
Mr Phillips graduated from the
college more than three decades
ago but today he is back and, on
occasions, reliving the good old
days. The students appointed
him as patron of the student
club in 2009 and he is always a
phone call away. He drinks and
sings with them at formaldinners. He invites a select
group to long lunches and
''networking'' events in the city,
including a recent cigar and
whisky appreciation night. He
helps to find work for the law
students of the college and
hosts an essay competition each
year, with a prize of $500.
The current Johnsmen even
tweak the words of a traditional
college ditty, normally sung
about each other, as if to the
include the middle-aged old boy
as one of their own. The song
goes: ''Here's to Jeff, he's true
blue, he's a pisspot through and
through, he's a bastard so they
say, tried to get to heaven but he
went the other way, drink it
(Continued from page 3)
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
8/18
Page 8
Vol
ume4Issue6
BabanaNews
Awards made
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
9/18
Page 9
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
10/18
Page 10
Vol
ume4Issue6
BabanaNews
[
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
11/18
Page 11
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
12/18
Carers WeekBabana celebrates in Martin Place
Page 12
NewsletterTitle
Volum
e4Issue6
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
13/18
Page 13
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
14/18
Page 14
NewsletterTitle
Volum
e4Issue6
NAIDOC celebrations at Nura GiliUniversity of NSW
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
15/18
Page 15
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
16/18
Page 16
NewsletterTitle
Volum
e4Issue6
Balnaves Place - Home of Nura GiliIndigenous education has taken
its rightful place at the heart of
the UNSW campus with the
opening of Balnaves Place -
Home of Nura Gili.
Balnaves Place -- Home of Nura
Gili was made possible thanks to
a generous donation of $1.5
million from The Balnaves
Foundation.
The new centre provides a
central hub for Indigenous
programs on campus, increasing
UNSW's capacity to provide
Indigenous student support
services and courses and
research using state-of-the-art
technological facilities with work
and study spaces. The centre has
been officially opened by NSWGovernor Professor Marie Bashir.
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
17/18
Page 17
winning two world titles from German
fighters on German soil. Daniel is
desperate to avenge his controversial
loss to Mundine in 2009."
Geale outpointed Sebastian Sylvester
via split decision to win a 160-pound
belt in Neubrandenburg, Germany in
May 2011, made two title defences and
then unified two belts by winning a split
decision against Felix Sturm on Sept. 1
in Oberhausen.
One of Geale's mandatory defences
was due against Gennady Golovkin. But
rather than face him, the 31-year-old
Geale elected to go for revenge against
the 37-year-old Mundine in a more
lucrative fight, forcing him to give up one
of his belts.
Mundine (44-4, 26 KOs) handed Geale
(28-1, 15 KOs) his lone career defeat by
12-round split decision in May 2009.
Geale has won seven consecutive fights
since the loss, including winning both of
his world titles.
"I'm happy we are able to move
forward with the promotion now that we
have a date and venue sorted,"
Geale said. "The Sydney
Entertainment Centre is a fantastic
place to hold this fight. The whole
country is talking about this fight,
and I can't wait to put Mundine in his
place after all the trash talking he's
been doing."
Mundine, a
former super
middleweight
titlist, will be
fighting at the
venue, which he
calls his
"spiritual home"
for the eighth
time.
"I've had some
of my best fightsin this venue
and I can't wait
to get back here again on Jan. 30,"
Mundine said. "I made my pro debut
and won my first world title here. It's
a special place for me, and in
January I'm going to write another
chapter in my legacy by stopping
Daniel Geale."
ESPN.com
13 November 2012
Middleweight titleholder Daniel
Geale's defense against
Australian countryman Anthony
Mundine was announced in mid-
October, but the date and venue
had not been finalized -- until
Tuesday.
The much-anticipated rematch,
heralded by many as one of the
biggest fights in Australian
history, will take place Jan. 30 at
the 11,500-seat Sydney
Entertainment Centre in Sydney,
promoter Gary Shaw announced.
"In all my years in boxing, this is
the biggest fight in Australian
boxing history, and we are
delighted to be able to bring it to
Sydney," said Shaw, Geale's
promoter. "This city has a proud
history of
"Daniel Geale is considered tobe, by many, one of the best
middleweights in the world after
Daniel Geale to fight in Sydney
7/30/2019 2012 November Final
18/18
BabanaAboriginalMensGroupInc.GeneralMeeting
Babanainvitesmembersandinterestedmento
joinusatourgeneralmeetingFriday30NovemberNCIEGeorgeStreetRedfern12:00midday
Allmenofgoodwillwelcome
Babana Aboriginal Mens Group Inc.
PO Box 3292
Redfern NSW 2016
Phone: 0402 567 473
Email:
Babana Aboriginal Mens Group Inc.
Our web sites
http:www.myspace.com/
babanaboriginal
http://www.facebook.com/
profile.php?id=1715072238&ref=profile
Babana members, guests and friends
Tosupport,enableandempowerAboriginalmenandfami
liesinourcommunity
What is the Dreaming?
"The Dreaming means our identity
as people. The cultural teachingand everything, that's part of our
lives here, you know?... it's the
understanding of what we have
around us."
Merv Penrith, Elder, Wallaga Lake,
1996