Time again for stewards to do a moral health check-up
Jack Waterford

Time again for stewards to do a moral health check-up

Was there ever anything more predictable, and more shameful than the detached and independent — and, of course, apolitical — decision by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt that damage caused to Aboriginal Australian heritage values could not weigh as heavily as the economic interest of Woodside’s Northwest Shelf project, worth billions of dollars, potentially trillions?

Recent articles in Indigenous-Affairs

Bridging now to next – seeking to rise from the ashes of the Voice referendum
Frank Brennan

Bridging now to next – seeking to rise from the ashes of the Voice referendum

During this Reconciliation Week (27 May – 3 June), with the theme Bridging Now to Next, the nation is aware that there is still unfinished business on the national agenda when it comes to the due recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.

Sydney Harbour Bridge walk – unsuspected joy and hope
Frances Letters

Sydney Harbour Bridge walk – unsuspected joy and hope

At the end of reconciliation week it is time to look back at a extraordinary event. While Aboriginal people remained quiet and uncomplaining, most of our leaders showed very little interest in them. And average Australians, they believed, were right behind them. Didn’t social media and talkback radio prove that?

Voice rejection sends Australia backwards
Henry Reynolds

Voice rejection sends Australia backwards

It was a dramatic return to the political stage! With the election underway, indigenous activist Noel Pearson broke a self-imposed silence which he had kept for 18 months since the failure of the referendum on the voice to parliament.

The Racial Discrimination Act at 50
David Lee

The Racial Discrimination Act at 50

The passage 50 years ago of the Racial Discrimination Act, Australia’s first substantial piece of human rights legislation, laid the basis for the recognition of native title in the common law in the 1990s.

RSL stands up for Welcome to Country while Dutton weaves and dodges
Noel Turnbull

RSL stands up for Welcome to Country while Dutton weaves and dodges

On 25 April, a group of Neo-Nazi protesters booed Uncle Mark Brown’s Welcome to Country at the Melbourne ANZAC Day Shrine service.

From welcome to jeering: How disrespect spreads
David O'Halloran

From welcome to jeering: How disrespect spreads

Norms do not sustain themselves. They are shaped, modelled, and sometimes destroyed – publicly, rhetorically, politically.

The Frontier is the way ahead for the War Memorial
David Stephens

The Frontier is the way ahead for the War Memorial

“Sacrifice”, the ABC Four Corners episode of 10 March, was a train-wreck for the Australian War Memorial. Its spokespersons came across as dismissive, timid, or too clever by half. The critics of the Memorial, however, were passionate, regretful, and, in the case of Geoffrey Watson SC from the Centre for Public Integrity, downright angry.

The Pacific is fighting for climate justice: Will Australia listen?
Sindra Sharma

The Pacific is fighting for climate justice: Will Australia listen?

The Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) participated in the final day of the Sydney Climate Action Week, on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and had the privilege of listening to Indigenous and First Nations stories, learning from their wisdom.

Gove and the native title revolution
David Lee

Gove and the native title revolution

The High Court’s judgment in March 2025 in favour of the Gumatj people has reaffirmed the centrality of the Indigenous peoples of Gove in the Northern Territory in the native title revolution that was conceived in a case against mining company, Nabalco Ltd, in the 1960s and continued with the High Court’s Mabo and Wik judgements in the 1990s.

Uncle Robbie Thorpe to raise Australian genocide claim to the International Criminal Court
Paul Gregoire

Uncle Robbie Thorpe to raise Australian genocide claim to the International Criminal Court

Having a legal action one has lodged with a court being refused is not usually the ideal outcome. Yet, the recent attempt by Uncle Robbie Thorpe to launch a private prosecution against so-called King Charles III for the crime of genocide being denied by the Victorian Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Krauatungalung elder to take the matter to a higher court beyond local borders.

The Henty legacy and its ongoing impact
Yoorrook Justice Commission

The Henty legacy and its ongoing impact

In the 1860s, as the new colony of Victoria boomed following the discovery of gold, First Peoples were being moved onto missions and reserves, where their lives were tightly controlled.



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