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West Australian
a day ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
WA Young Achiever Awards: Noongar Wongi rapper and youth mentor Joshua ‘Flewnt' Eggington named overall winner
When he's not under the bright lights on stage, he spends his time with young people in custody at Perth's Banksia Hill and Casuarina prisons. Proud Noongar Wongi man Joshua 'Flewnt' Eggington, 29, was the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Western Australia Young Achiever of the Year Award presented by Minister for Youth Hannah Beazley. Mr Eggington was selected from the nine category winners, who were announced at the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Gala Presentation Dinner. He founded FN Focus, a First Nations-led music label supporting Indigenous artist development and sustainable careers, in 2023 and is known worldwide for his songs Flip the Shame and Never Forget Since breaking into the Australian hip-hop scene in 2010, the father of five from Palmyra has used his music to pay homage to his family and culture. 'Hip-hop comes from the voiceless and the oppressed,' he told The West Australian in 2024 after being crowned the City of Melville's Auspire Young Citizen of the Year, for dedicating hours at Melville Library helping budding musicians write songs. 'Just by it's nature, hip-hop has this sort of attachment of being able to give people a chance to speak their truth. 'Music has always been one of the great forces behind political change, so I feel like I'm contributing to that through music. 'For me, it's always been about my community and the things I've observed as a young Aboriginal man, like all the rallies and protests I went to when I was a kid with my uncles, marching through the streets and protesting for our rights and Aboriginal equality and change and all these different issues that face my community.' Mr Eggington is a youth worker — mainly in the prison system in Banksia Hill and Casuarina — who teaches songwriting and music therapy. Many of the young people he works with are Indigenous and he previously told The West music is a way for the kids to connect with their culture. 'When you're working with young people who are disconnected from culture, they yearn for it,' he said. 'I am trying to give them a contemporary channel to be able to connect back to their culture and to their people and to be able to speak on their thoughts of what's going on.' In between youth work and music, Mr Eggington has found himself as something of a mentor to young artists across WA, and a vocal advocate for West Coast hip-hop. The award winner's eldest son, Ethan, is also a hip-hop artist, named Inkabee who recorded his first track at seven years old. Their family double act was busy last year touring regional WA as part of the Perth Festival and Mr Eggington appeared on America's Got Talent with his now 13-year-old son. All of the WA Young Achiever Award winners were announced on Friday at Pan Pacific Perth, in front of an audience of almost 400 people, hosted by 7NEWS presenter Jerrie Demasi. Mr Eggington also won the National Indigenous Times Indigenous Community Leadership Award. Each category winner received a free mentoring and strategy session with DMT Coaching, valued at $400, and will feature on a TV ad campaign that will be aired on the Seven Network across Western Australia.
NZ Herald
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Travel Alerts: Brisbane Festival 2025, new luxury accommodations, flight routes, and water journeys
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Celebrate Brisbane Festival and join one of 100 events in the festival lineup. Each week in Travel, we check out some of the latest happenings from Aotearoa and beyond to inspire your next adventure. Brisbane Festival 2025 The Brisbane Festival 2025 is back, promising an electric celebration of arts, culture, and creativity. From September 5 to 27, the festival will transform the city into a playground of performances, installations, and events. This year's lineup features more than 100 events, including 14 world premieres and 20 Queensland exclusives, turning Brisbane's theatres, parks, rooftops, and riverbanks into vibrant creative playgrounds. Start your festival itinerary with a colourful walk in one of Craig & Karl's inflatable art installations across Neville Bonner Bridge, Goodwill Bridge, and Kangaroo Point Bridge. Spend your days hopping through the various events throughout the whole month of September, starting with Gatsby at the Green Light, a glittering recreation of a 1920s party reimagined for the 2020s through cabaret. Watch artists in their element with shows like Baleen Moondjan, a breathtaking First Nations-led outdoor performance by the river, or the Undercover Arts Festival, Australia's premier disability-led performing arts festival. Expect free outdoor concerts, large-scale public art, comedy, circus, cabaret, and concerts. End your festival experience with a 400-drone light show above Festival Garden in South Bank with the crowd favourite Skylore. See the full programme at
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Concerning rise triggers mandatory DV sentencing laws
Mandatory sentencing for domestic violence order breaches have been restored under a territory's new laws after a concerning rise in incidents. The Northern Territory's Country Liberal Party government has pushed through the laws, with Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby saying they would ensure domestic violence perpetrators faced real consequences for offending. "For too long, the rights of offenders have been prioritised over the rights of victims," she said. The new laws restore mandatory minimum sentence provisions repealed by the former Labor government in 2022, with Ms Boothby saying domestic violence incidents since then had increased by 82 per cent across the NT. "The previous Labor government neglected our justice system, they let crime spiral, backlogs grow, and left victims behind," she said. The new laws were aimed at addressing this as part of last week's record budget announcement of $1.5 billion on law and order. Offenders who harm or threaten a victim will go to jail if they have previously breached a domestic violence order, or if they breach an order multiple times in a short period (28 days). The new measures include a tiered mandatory sentencing framework from two to five years of imprisonment and an increase in the levy for guilty offenders by around 40 per cent to bolster funds for victims' services. They also expand a victims' register to more frequently notify victim-survivors when perpetrators breach orders and introduce a new electronic application process to fast-track applications for victims seeking financial relief. "We must do everything we can to protect victims and keep them safe from their perpetrators," Ms Boothby said. But legal reform and social support groups have disputed the impact of the new mandatory sentencing laws, saying they would not reduce offending. Justice Reform Initiative NT co-ordinator Kirsten Wilson said the laws were a "knee-jerk" tough-on-crime approach that would not work to keep women and families safe in the long term. She said the CLP government needed to recognise that imprisonment failed to address the drivers of offending, with evidence showing mandatory sentencing did not deter crime. "The evidence shows us that imprisonment increases the risk of reoffending and often entrenches underlying issues by worsening employment prospects, health outcomes, and cutting people off from their community." Fellow Justice Reform co-ordinator Rocket Bretherton urged the NT government to shift focus to support frontline services that address the causes of violent behaviour and explore alternatives to imprisonment to ensure women's safety. "Mandatory sentencing has been shown to increase women's incarceration rates alongside men's and disproportionately impact First Nations women," she said. Law changes must be balanced with investment in community programs and First Nations-led initiatives that work to address offending behaviours to keep women and families safe, Ms Bretherton said. The NT Council of Social Service CEO Sally Sievers said all 21 submissions to the parliamentry committee that scrutinised the new laws opposed them, but they still passed. "Mandatory sentencing without meaningful rehabilitation is not a solution. It's a missed opportunity for prevention," she said in a statement. The community services sector was ready to work with the government to ensure victims and offenders had access to programs to prevent violence and improve community safety, Ms Sievers said. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
Perth Now
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Concerning rise triggers mandatory DV sentencing laws
Mandatory sentencing for domestic violence order breaches have been restored under a territory's new laws after a concerning rise in incidents. The Northern Territory's Country Liberal Party government has pushed through the laws, with Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby saying they would ensure domestic violence perpetrators faced real consequences for offending. "For too long, the rights of offenders have been prioritised over the rights of victims," she said. The new laws restore mandatory minimum sentence provisions repealed by the former Labor government in 2022, with Ms Boothby saying domestic violence incidents since then had increased by 82 per cent across the NT. "The previous Labor government neglected our justice system, they let crime spiral, backlogs grow, and left victims behind," she said. The new laws were aimed at addressing this as part of last week's record budget announcement of $1.5 billion on law and order. Offenders who harm or threaten a victim will go to jail if they have previously breached a domestic violence order, or if they breach an order multiple times in a short period (28 days). The new measures include a tiered mandatory sentencing framework from two to five years of imprisonment and an increase in the levy for guilty offenders by around 40 per cent to bolster funds for victims' services. They also expand a victims' register to more frequently notify victim-survivors when perpetrators breach orders and introduce a new electronic application process to fast-track applications for victims seeking financial relief. "We must do everything we can to protect victims and keep them safe from their perpetrators," Ms Boothby said. But legal reform and social support groups have disputed the impact of the new mandatory sentencing laws, saying they would not reduce offending. Justice Reform Initiative NT co-ordinator Kirsten Wilson said the laws were a "knee-jerk" tough-on-crime approach that would not work to keep women and families safe in the long term. She said the CLP government needed to recognise that imprisonment failed to address the drivers of offending, with evidence showing mandatory sentencing did not deter crime. "The evidence shows us that imprisonment increases the risk of reoffending and often entrenches underlying issues by worsening employment prospects, health outcomes, and cutting people off from their community." Fellow Justice Reform co-ordinator Rocket Bretherton urged the NT government to shift focus to support frontline services that address the causes of violent behaviour and explore alternatives to imprisonment to ensure women's safety. "Mandatory sentencing has been shown to increase women's incarceration rates alongside men's and disproportionately impact First Nations women," she said. Law changes must be balanced with investment in community programs and First Nations-led initiatives that work to address offending behaviours to keep women and families safe, Ms Bretherton said. The NT Council of Social Service CEO Sally Sievers said all 21 submissions to the parliamentry committee that scrutinised the new laws opposed them, but they still passed. "Mandatory sentencing without meaningful rehabilitation is not a solution. It's a missed opportunity for prevention," she said in a statement. The community services sector was ready to work with the government to ensure victims and offenders had access to programs to prevent violence and improve community safety, Ms Sievers said. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
National Observer
15-05-2025
- Politics
- National Observer
First Nations call on Carney to deliver on clean water and housing in first 100 days
Prime Minister Mark Carney's government faces its first major test on Indigenous infrastructure when Parliament resumes — First Nations leaders are demanding reintroduction of stalled water legislation and new investments in community-led housing within the first 100 days. Senator Paul Prosper, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, and other First Nations leaders unveiled seven 'Canada Strong' priorities in Ottawa this week. They identified clean water and housing as urgent areas for immediate federal action, among other priorities for economic development and fisheries management. Clean water legislation Indigenous Services Canada has issued 32 long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations communities. Neskantaga First Nation has been under a boil water advisory for almost 30 years. In 2024, the former Liberal government introduced Bill C-61 to establish enforceable national standards for drinking water and wastewater, safeguard freshwater sources, and create a First Nations Water Commission. The bill died on the order paper when Parliament was dissolved for the election, and will have to be reintroduced if it is to become law. 'The promise of introduction of a bill to address long-standing drinking water issues is more than just a promise,' said Kerry Black, an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Calgary, during the press conference. 'It's a legal requirement embedded in the class action settlement." 'Prime Minister Carney has said that Canada must spend less and invest more, and First Nations-led solutions are exactly the kind of smart investment that delivers real returns in housing, jobs and long-term economic strength,' said Candace Larsen. Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, and Neskantaga First Nation filed a national class action lawsuit against the federal government, resulting in an $8-billion settlement and a legal commitment to modernize First Nations drinking water legislation, making reform a binding requirement of the settlement. 'Canada is a developed country, is a first- world country, and we shouldn't have our own people, the first peoples of this country, that don't have safe drinking water yet. There's something wrong with this picture,' said Myrle Ballard, a University of Manitoba professor and Anishinaabe scholar focused on Indigenous science and environmental issues. Beyond Bill C-61, the government is expected to make substantial investments in infrastructure and ongoing funding to support water treatment systems and personnel training. 'It's not just a one-time thing; it has to be an ongoing commitment,' Ballard said. Ken Coates, a professor of Indigenous governance at Yukon University, said that governments already have the authority and resources to upgrade drinking water systems, just as they routinely repair roads. Failing to fund those upgrades would be a clear sign Indigenous Peoples are not being treated equally, he said. Indigenous-led housing initiatives Housing on reserves is still a crisis, according to the Assembly of First Nations report. Over 150,000 new homes are needed to address overcrowding, mould and deteriorating infrastructure. The previous Parliament's $4.3-billion Indigenous Housing Strategy has funded 74 projects so far, but thousands of families are still on waitlists. 'If we invest in First Nations to close the infrastructure and housing gap, we can propel ourselves from being at the bottom of the G7 countries to number one worldwide. I believe this represents a smart approach for Canada, investing in First Nations,' Woodhouse Nepinak said at the press conference. Housing experts say there is a disconnect between policy design and on-the-ground community needs, pointing to fragmented supply chains, gaps in infrastructure and lack of skilled trades. Leaders at the conference pressed for funding to flow directly to Indigenous-led housing projects. 'Prime Minister Carney has said that Canada must spend less and invest more, and First Nations-led solutions are exactly the kind of smart investment that delivers real returns in housing, jobs and long-term economic strength,' said Candace Larsen, executive director of One Bowl Housing Corporation, during the press conference. One Bowl, led by Missanabie Cree, Chapleau Anishinabeg, and Brunswick House First Nations in Ontario, builds modular homes from local timber. Since 2019, it has built 22 homes and sent 15 DIY kits to Kashechewan First Nation, where residents are trained to assemble energy-efficient houses suited for northern climates. The organization is also trying to build community capacity and self-sufficiency by involving local people in every stage of the housing process. Direct investment is needed not only in such housing projects, but also in capacity-building grants, streamlined approvals and technical support for First Nations communities, said Coates. Other priorities discussed include investing in Indigenous-led economic development initiatives, finalizing overdue disability income support for Mi'kmaw communities, expediting self-government fiscal negotiations and launching the external review into DFO's treatment of Mi'kmaw fishers. As Parliament prepares to open on May 26, the government's response to these priorities will be closely watched by First Nations leaders. 'The path to a stronger Canada runs through real partnership with First Nations Peoples. That means funding First Nations-led solutions with the same urgency and the same seriousness that we give to every other national priority,' Larsen said.
