Traditional owners of Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory have launched a federal court challenge over a proposed nuclear waste dump on their land.
A small group of traditional owners signed a deal for $12 million in exchange for roads, housing and infrastructure, but senior elders from all five of the clan groups for Muckaty maintain that they did not consent to the waste dump proposal.
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On June 11 at the close of climate talks in Bonn, Germany, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer tried to put a positive spin on the outcome. 鈥淭his all in all is a big step forward making much more possible in Cancun鈥, he said, referring to the next big climate conference that takes place in Mexico in November.
However, big step or not, the conference outcomes kept the world sprinting headlong towards a climate catastrophe.
British Petroleum (BP) has admitted it may not stop the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico until August 鈥 at the earliest. But despite the catastrophe, the US government鈥檚 Minerals Management Service (MMS) has given BP new leases for deepwater drilling.
The MMS has rubber-stamped 198 new deepwater drilling leases in the gulf since the BP spill began on April 20. It awarded BP 13 of these.
55 people attended a June 11 forum with Peter Inverway, a Gurindji worker from Kalkaringi, who said Gurindji people are being forced to work up to 30 hours a week for Centrelink entitlements.
100 people picketed the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs on June 18 to protest the third anniversary of the Northern Territory intervention.
Kevin Bracken from the Maritime Union of Austrlalia said 鈥淭he intervention has turned the clock back 50 years to when people were working for rations.鈥
The rally also heard from Alistair Nicholson, former Chief Justice of the Family Court, the Greens, the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union and local indigenous activists Richard Kennedy, Sharon Firebrace and Robbie Thorpe.
The National Rugby League (NRL) establishment is in damage control once again after one of the game's stars took a courageous stand against racism in the sport.
Star centre Timana Tahu quit the New South Wales State of Origin team on June 11 in protest against racism directed towards an opponent.
NSW assistant coach Andrew Johns described Queensland centre Greg Inglis, an Aboriginal man, as a 鈥渂lack cunt鈥 in his training instructions to the team, and has been accused of making racist remarks about other Queensland players.
Muckaty Voices is a 10-minute video documentary that tells the story of the Muckaty traditional owners opposed to a radioactive waste dump on their country.
Traditional Owner Dianne Stokes said: 鈥淲e made the video throughout the Warlmanpa land. It is all of the Milwayi story. Along with that, we have some songs and dances to represent the country.
鈥淢artin Ferguson has avoided us and ignored our letters, but he knows very well how we feel. He has been arrogant and secretive and he thinks he has gotten away with his plan, but in fact he has a big fight on his hands.鈥
It鈥檚 an unlikely scenario, but former refugee and now human rights advocate Riz Wakil says he鈥檚 even willing to take a surfing lesson from Tony Abbott if that means he has the chance to knock some sense into the Coalition leader鈥檚 head about his racist refugee policies.
On June 15, GetUp! won a charity auction prize 鈥 a surfing lesson with Abbott 鈥撯 and donated it to Wakil, who arrived on Ashmore Reef in 1999 and was held in Curtin detention centre for nine months. Now a permanent resident, he runs a printery.
On June 16, the Queensland Nurses' Union (QNU) condemned the new computerised payroll system that has caused ongoing problems with wage and allowance payments to staff in the public health system.
In a statement the QNU said: "This week will mark the seventh pay run under Queensland Health's new payroll system. It is a debacle of monumental proportions.鈥
A recent survey, the results of which are published in Speaking Out: Stopping homophobic and transphobic abuse in Queensland, was yet another reminder that that Australia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex (LGBTI) community continue to suffer abuse and victimisation in silence.
Dr Alan Berman of Griffith University and Dr Shirleene Robinson of Bond University collected almost 1100 survey responses from the LGBTI community and focus groups throughout Queensland. Their findings exposed a shocking frequency of verbal and physical abuse suffered by queers.
Lesbians, gays, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people across the world have rejected Israel鈥檚 brutal occupation of Gaza and are coming out in support of the boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) campaign.
In the wake of Israel鈥檚 bloody attack on the Freedom Flotilla and murder of peace activists on May 31, the myth that Israel is a liberal democratic state has been dispelled. But Israel continues to try to market itself as the only 鈥済ay haven鈥 in the Middle East.
Protests will take place across the country on July 17 to demand the federal and Victorian state governments close down Australia鈥檚 dirtiest power station and replace it with clean energy by 2012.
The call for a national day of action was issued by groups active in the 鈥淩eplace Hazelwood鈥 campaign, including Melbourne鈥檚 Climate Action Centre and Environment Victoria.
The call has been endorsed by the Community Climate Network, which brings together more than 100 climate action groups nationwide.
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