Indigenous Australians

Tough campaignerWA Greens name replacement for Rachel Siewert

The WA Greens have elected a Noongar Yamatji woman to replace outgoing Senator Rachel Siewert, with their charge potentially becoming WA’s first female Aboriginal Senator.

Rangi Hirini

Little lungsGrandma’s intuition saves kids from chronic illness

When Denetta Cox’s granddaughter kept coughing in her sleep, the Kimberley health worker knew something was wrong.

Rangi Hirini

On trackSouth Flank on schedule despite heritage talks: BHP

The mining giant has reiterated expectations for first ore from the $US3.1b sustaining project to be achieved by the middle of next year.

Stuart McKinnon

$400m claimClass action launched over Indigenous stolen wages

A class action has been launched against the West Australian government in the hope of recovering wages stolen from Indigenous workers who laboured in terrible conditions.

Line drawnMining lobby rejects heritage genocide claims

The Minerals Council of Australia has responded to assertions by WA Senator Pat Dodson that the mining sector had embarked on a campaign of incremental genocide of Indigenous heritage.

Stuart McKinnon

Call for better futureFirst Aboriginal leadership conference a success

The Great Southern Noongar Emerging Leadership Group hosted its inaugural Aboriginal Leadership Conference on Wednesday to push for a brighter future for the region’s youth.

Kellie Balaam

Tough questionRio boss stumbles over Perth head office question

Mining giant’s outgoing boss, Jean-Sebastien Jacques, struggles to answer whether the Juukan Gorge shelter debacle might have been different had Rio’s headquarters been located in Perth.

Stuart McKinnon

Jobs wipe-outNew stats lay bare COVID’s impact on households

Among the latest data released by the ABS is the startling revelation that an estimated 580,000 children were living in jobless families at the height of the pandemic.

Paul Osborne

Taking charge‘Tent City’ holds its own homelessness forum

The group of homeless West Aussies who became a trending topic in this year’s City of Perth lord mayoral election have held their own forum on the issue.

Rangi Hirini

Heritage impactsJuukan fallout set to push back Rio’s Winu copper plans

The miner has warned that changes to its Indigenous engagement processes following the Juukan Gorge disaster are likely to delay plans to bring the copper and gold project into production.

Stuart McKinnon

New roleRio seeks WA engineer for ‘cave assessment’

Rio Tinto is looking to hire a senior engineer for ‘cave assessment’ following the Juukan Gorge disaster, which claimed the scalps of three senior executives including its CEO.

Danielle Le Messurier

‘Monumental mistake’Wyatt backs Rio Tinto as AFL cuts ties over gorge blast

WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt says it’s ‘a shame’ the AFL has decided to end their ten-year partnership with Rio Tinto, a sponsor of the league’s three Indigenous football programs.

Rangi Hirini

Olive branchNew Rio iron ore boss seeks to rebuild trust

The mining giant’s new acting iron ore boss Ivan Vella has sought to reassure 12 Traditional Owner groups in the Pilbara by re-engaging with them and looking to modernise its land use agreements.

Stuart McKinnon

Building equalityPilot program to nurture Indigenous entrepreneurs

A pilot program aims to find and nurture Australia’s first known Indigenous angel investors, and equip Indigenous entrepreneurs with skills and capital to turbocharge their start-ups.

Jenne Brammer

opinion
opinion
Grieving process
opinion
Only a bulldozer can break our connection to country

To understand the importance of the destruction of Juukan Gorge, it important to understand why Indigenous people grieve the loss of land. And no, it’s not because we’re losing out on mining benefits.

Rangi Hirini

Home StretchNew program ‘missing link’ in foster care transition

A Fremantle mother of two is using her childhood trauma to help shape a program which aims to reduce youth homelessness.

Rangi Hirini

‘Free the flag’Aboriginal flag ‘should be managed independently’

A Federal parliamentary inquiry into the copyright spat over the Aboriginal flag has rejected the notion the world-famous symbol’s copyright should be compulsorily acquired by the Federal Government.

Annabel Hennessy

‘Disappointed’Fortescue denies failure to engage with Juukan group

The miner insists it met with traditional owners in September about applying for a mining lease in an area close to the sensitive site despite claims they only heard of the plan three days ago.

Tess Ingram

‘When it suits them’Claim FMG owes almost $2million in royalties

A Pilbara Aboriginal group claims Fortescue Metals Group owes them almost $2 million worth of royalty payments, saying the mining giant complies with their agreement “when it suits them”.

Rangi Hirini

Practice ‘failures’Telstra CEO cops pay cut over Indigenous phone sales

Telstra has hit chief executive Andy Penn and two other executives with pay cuts over sales practices involving Indigenous customers at a number of its partner stores.

Daniel Newell

‘Absolute hell’Aboriginal group slams ‘Goliath’ Rio Tinto over blasts

The Aboriginal group at the centre of the nation’s biggest mining controversy has spoken publicly, slamming Rio Tinto for its lack of transparency over the destruction of Juukan Gorge.

Rangi Hirini

Blast backlashJuukan Gorge owners to give evidence

In a scathing submission to the inquiry last month, PKKP said there was a deep-rooted culture within Rio and the broader mining industry of undervaluing Aboriginal heritage.

Michael Ramsey

Role modelsNorthern women shine at Kimberley and Pilbara pageants

Talented young women in the State’s north have side-stepped the pandemic to keep an annual Indigenous beauty pageant on track.

Carly Laden

exclusive
exclusive
Big step forward
exclusive
Tasmania-sized piece of WA gets Indigenous protection

Two new WA sites have been declared Indigenous Protected Areas under Federal Government agreements, including 2.9 million hectares in the Great Sandy Desert and 4.4 million hectares near Norseman.

Annabel Hennessy