Indigenous Affairs

The Northern Territory will soon be without a single full-time Auslan interpreter, stranding the deaf community – and particularly its Indigenous members – without the support they need to navigate the health and legal systems.

As crossbencher Rebekha Sharkie pushes to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, experts point to the long-term detrimental effects of early incarceration and a disproportionate racial factor in detention rates.

Last weekend, Yorta Yorta grandmother Tanya Day would have turned 57. As the inquest into her death in police custody continues, her family is pushing for justice and holding the Andrews government to its promises for change.

With an expansion of the welfare crackdown signalled this week in parliament, experts warn the government’s measures will lead to collateral damage.

With the Queensland government extinguishing native title rights over Wangan and Jagalingou land, the traditional owners have moved onto their ancestral Country to declare their sovereignty.

While Ken Wyatt tries to find a model for recognition that will appease his party, a grassroots movement is hoping to win public support for a voice to parliament.

Since retiring from the judiciary, former High Court justice Michael Kirby has been busier than ever – lending his lofty intellect to, among other things, campaigns for a bill of rights and an Indigenous voice to parliament.

With a stunning election victory behind him, Scott Morrison has further consolidated his power by elevating key allies into his ministry.

A recent coroner’s report into the deaths by suicide of Indigenous children and young people in remote WA, linked to intergenerational trauma and racism, mirrors the findings of a 2008 inquiry. With little achieved in the interim years, experts claim the government is not only misdiagnosing the problem but is also unable to come up with productive solutions.

The federal government is preparing an action plan after a senate inquiry found stillbirths are occurring disproportionately among Indigenous and migrant women.