Stand for Freedom

Feb 28: Parliament House protest against 'Stronger Futures',
new NT Intervention legislation

For the poster: please click here

For the Media Release: please click here

For some video clips and speeches: please click here

For the Hon Alastair Nicholson's excellent commentary on the Stronger Futures, please see http://www.concernedaustralians.com.au/ or
direct link at http://vimeo.com/37587868

Petition to the Attorney General: Stop Stronger Futures and support Aboriginal self-determination in the NT: please click here

For further info on the 2011 NT Consultations: please click here

At noon on Tuesday February 28 at Parliament House in Canberra, Aboriginal leaders, human rights organisations and community activists will rally against the Stronger Futures legislation scheduled for debate in the House of Representatives.

This legislation will extend the NT Intervention for a further ten years and expand Income Management across the country.

The rally is part of a campaign, 'Stand for Freedom', which has been launched online and is demanding Aboriginal self-determination and an end to the NT Intervention and Income Management.

Speakers include:
Barbara Shaw, Aboriginal leader from Alice Springs
Dr John Falzon, CEO St Vincent De Paul National Council
Daphne Lake, Aboriginal Elder from Bankstown, where the government plans to introduce Income Management

When: 12 noon, Tuesday February 28
Where: Authorised Assembly Area, Parliament House, Canberra
Contact: Paddy Gibson, Stop the Intervention Collective 0415 800 586

More information: www.standforfreedom.org.au

STAND FOR FREEDOM

No More NT Intervention
Moratorium on Income Management

Noon, Tuesday 28 February, Canberra.

Buses have been booked from Sydney! Details are below.

Donate: If you cannot attend, please consider making a donation towards transportation costs for those who can attend. Contact Penny at 0402 355 205 if you are able to make a donation, no matter how small.

Carpool: If you are considering driving to Canberra for the rally, please let us know if you can take other passengers, or if you would be willing to co-drive a minibus.

Bus from Redfern: meet at Aboriginal Medical Services, 107 Redfern Street, near Redfern Station, Sydney. Be ready to leave at 7am on Tuesday 28 February, arrive back in Sydney approx 7pm.Cost: $25 to (partly) cover van rental and petrol, we will be fundraising to cover the rest.
Places on the bus are limited and booking is essential.
Call Penny at 0402 355 205 by Thursday 23 February at 5pm to book a seat.

There is also a bus from Woodville Community Centre near Villawod, however, this bus is now full.

Petition to the Attorney General: Stop Stronger Futures and support Aboriginal self-determination in the NT: please click here

Stand for Freedom campaign video: please click here

WHY WE ARE DEMONSTRATING

In coming months the Labor government is expected to pass, with the support of the Liberals, legislation which extends the race-based NT Intervention powers for another 10 years.

On February 28th, as debate on the legislation resumes in parliament, members of the Stop the Intervention campaign in Sydney and the 'Say No to Government Income Management - Not in Bankstown Not Anywhere' committee will travel to Canberra to voice our outrage at the extension of the intervention. We will be joining representatives from 'prescribed' Aboriginal communities in the NT, national human rights organisations, and the team from the film 'Our Generation'. Confirmed speakers so far include Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra, Monica Morgan from Amnesty International and Dr. John Falzon, CEO St Vincent de Paul Society.

We invite supporters to come to Canberra with us if possible, or to help promote this protest and make it strong. Please print and distribute the poster.

Stand against Macklin's Decade of Discrimination

- Stop the Second Intervention!

Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation currently before parliament would extend the NT Intervention for a further ten years. Explicitly racist laws, which vilify Aboriginal people & culture are being kept or strengthened including:

* "Star Chamber" powers held by the Australian Crime Commission for investigations in Aboriginal communities, including removal of the right to silence.

*Prohibition of consideration of Aboriginal customary law and cultural practice in bail and sentencing. * Blanket bans on alcohol on Aboriginal Land, despite consistent opposition from the Aboriginal Peak Organisations of the NT (APO NT) who have said, "The decision regarding alcohol restrictions should be for relevant residents to make... The principal effect of these widely flouted laws has been to further criminalise and alienate many residents".

* Increases in penalties for possession of alcohol on Aboriginal Land, including 6 months potential jail time for a single can of beer and 18 months for a 6-pack.

* Blanket bans on "sexually explicit or very violent material" on Aboriginal Land. These restrictions serve no purpose other than the perverse stigmatisation of Aboriginal men.

* Continued suspension of the operations of the permit system in communities

* Complete Commonwealth control over regulations in Community Living Areas Proposed amendments to the Social Security Act will see further attacks on the rights of Centrelink recipients. These measures will initially be targeted at NT Aboriginal peoples, but have national implications, especially in areas such as Bankstown where Income Management is being rolled out:

* An expansion of the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure (SEAM) means chronic school attendance problems could see families cut off certain Centrelink payments entirely.

* Staff from any nominated organisation will have the power to order people onto Income Management in the same way that Child Protection agencies currently do.

* Staff from nominated government agencies will be able to pass on information about clients to Centrelink, even if doing so contravenes State or Territory law.

* Income Management will follow you even if you move out of an Income Management area.

STICS is working with campaigners in Bankstown and the NT to organise a major rally in Canberra on Feb 28, when the new Intervention and Income Management legislation is set to be debated in parliament.

For the 28 February Canberra poster: please click here