Latest news with #colonisation
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
On Country: Photography from Australia 2025
Images taken in the town of Humpty Doo, a rural outpost on Larrakia/Wulna country, where the artist foregrounds country as an active protagonist. Photograph: Liss Fenwick Surat translates from Sudanese Arabic as 'snapshots'. The photographer recreates photos that her parents brought with them to Australia from Sudan. Photograph: Atong Atem This image flips reality, showing the view of a reversed Australian structure and the impact of colonisation. Photograph: Michael Cook A shot from a series exploring Queensland's tourist seaside city, the Gold Coast, examining crime and intense urbanisation. Photograph: Ying Ang The Naabámi (thou shall/will see): Barangaroo (army of me) series uses colonial photographic methods to photograph matriarchs and future matriarchs of Indigenous communities. Photograph: Brenda L Croft A collaboration with Indigenous children from the remote community of Warakurna, who made their own props and costumes. Photograph: Tony Albert, David Charles and Kieran Lawson A cyanotpye print that shows Capemba Bumbarra – a flow of fresh water through country on the Queensland coast. Photograph: Louis Lim/Elisa Jane Carmichael and Sonja Carmichael A self-portrait using white ochre paint from the series Ritual and Ceremony. The artist's work focuses on regenerating cultural knowledge and ceremonial practice. Photograph: Maree Clarke The series Big Sky is a photographic survey of Australia's heartland – an attempt to dispel sentimental and outdated narratives about the 'outback'. Photograph: Adam Ferguson The artist draws on personal experience as an Indigenous Congolese artist, photographing members of Naarm/Melbourne's Africa diaspora. Photograph: wani toaishara Portraits taken in Lutruwita/Tasmania from the series Portrait of a Distant Land explore community and country. Photograph: Ricky Maynard The series Postcards from the Edge, tells the story of an artist through vintage Australian postcards that celebrate queer freedom. Photograph: The Huxleys A photo from a series examining the climate crisis through imagery of the artist's children. Photograph: Lisa Sorgini An image exploring queer intimacy in Melbourne. Photograph: J Davies A shot from a series highlighting the environmental impact of mining on country. Photograph: James Tylor This series communicates the sacredness of country and its infinite and unending connection with the artist and his community. Photograph: Robert Fielding The Kinchela Aboriginal boys training home was a site that received young boys from the Stolen Generations. The artist looks at the trauma of being displaced from country. Photograph: Tace Stevens
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Irish people support Palestinians because they recognise the settler colonial process at play
Settler colonialism describes how imperial states capture a territory, migrate there, displace or eliminate the 'barbarian' indigenous population and dominate its land and resources. Ireland was a pioneer settler colony of England, as was graphically documented in the recent four-part RTÉ documentary series , From That Small Island . Many of the imperial techniques used here in early modern times were replicated by the British Empire in North America, the Caribbean and later in Australia and New Zealand – and by others too, such as the French in Algeria. [ From that Small Island review: Colin Farrell sounds in pain, as if he pressed on despite urgently needing the loo Opens in new window ] But as Jane Ohlmeyer, one of the editors and principal contributors to the documentary points out in her book Making Empire, Ireland, Imperialism & The Early Modern World, 'colonisation was not a single occurrence but an iterative and durable process that impacted different parts of Ireland at different times'. Nonetheless, the agenda of scorched-earth reprisals against resistance, civilising barbarous savages and seizing land for improvement was first practised here – even though many people born in Ireland became soldiers, employees or governing agents of that empire in later times too. Applied to Zionism and Israel , the concept reveals a displacement logic against Palestinians in what one of Palestine 's principal historians, Rashid Khalidi , describes as a radical social engineering project in 'a colonial war waged against the indigenous population, by a variety of parties, to force them to relinquish their homeland to another people against their will'. READ MORE But he too recognises that Zionism 'was and is a very particular colonial project' – like British settler colonialism in Ireland, with which he draws parallels . Zionism relied on successive imperial powers and 'became over time a national confrontation between two national entities, two peoples', amplified by the profound resonance for Jews of the biblical connection to the historic land of Israel. That blinds many Bible-reading Protestants in Britain and the United States to the modernity of Zionism and its colonial nature: 'for how could Jews be 'colonising' the land where their religion began?' [ Jane Ohlmeyer: How Ireland served as a laboratory for the British empire Opens in new window ] This helps explain why settler colonialism is rejected as an explanatory framework by many Israeli historians, politicians and commentators. There are Irish parallels, particularly among unionists who say it distorts the complexities of their role in Irish history. However most Irish people support Palestinians because they recognise a similar process to be at play there as here, notwithstanding the nuances. Critical race theory (CRT) has developed in the US since the 1980s to explain the intersection of law, race and power in US society. It argues that through law, racism is historically embedded there. Like settler colonialism, CRT has been vilified and weaponised mainly by conservative activists who reject its premises and implications for the future of white power. The explicit and implicit links with Zionist defences of Israel against settler colonial theories have become a powerful political force in Trump's US, not least through the same Bible readers. Ireland comes into focus through the links between such offensive academic theories and everyday US politics. Official Ireland must take such arguments seriously since they are part of the explicit US Senate mandate given to the new US ambassador here, Edward Walsh. Jim Risch, the republican chairman of the Senate's foreign relations committee, said Ireland's recognition of the state of Palestine is a mistake , while Senator Ted Cruz attacked Ireland's support for the International Criminal Court's case against Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. [ Fintan O'Toole: Ireland has a proud history of opposing anti-Semitism Opens in new window ] Since objective historical forces place Ireland in this dilemma, there is a limited extent to which canny diplomacy can play a part. The direct experience and memory of imperial violence, coercion and ideology informs Irish perceptions of similar behaviour from Netanyahu's Israel against Palestinians. Our political leaders recognise that, although their actions vary according to contemporary interests and values. Revisionist historians in Ireland applied scientific techniques to Ireland's nationalist historical mythologies of colonial oppression and heroic resistance, concentrating more on those than on the imperial behaviour that gave rise to them. In Israel, revisionist historians similarly interrogated that state's foundational myths. They framed Zionism as a settler colonial project responsible for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians during the 1948 war of independence. Some, such as Benny Morris , defend that as necessary for the Israeli state's survival. Both settler colonial and critical race theory have been validly criticised for portraying the societies they analyse as irredeemably divided – and therefore immune to coalitions of race, ethnic or class interests against the systems of power. Irish historians and citizens have absorbed the revisionist controversy and moved on to fashion a more sophisticated account of imperial power, colonisation and diverse peoples living together in Ireland's history, according to the RTÉ documentary. The same cannot be said for Israel's profoundly polarised debate on its future.
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
What Aboriginal Australians could get under a proposed compensation plan for post-colonisation pain
A landmark truth-telling inquiry's call for redress for the post-colonisation pain and suffering of Aboriginal people has not been ruled out. The Yoorrook Justice Commission's final reports feature 100 recommendations across five volumes and an official public record of Victoria's history since colonisation in 1834. The Australian-first Indigenous truth-telling body calls on the Victorian government to provide redress for injustices. It suggested redress could take the form of restitution of traditional land, monetary compensation, tax relief or other financial benefits. Other recommendations include shifting prison healthcare from the justice department to the health department, more cash to First Peoples-led health services and establishing independent funding streams for the state's self-determination fund. Premier Jacinta Allan indicated none of the ideas were off the table, refusing to rule in or out any of the recommendations. 'We're going to take our time to consider and respond to the report,' she told reporters on Wednesday. 'I am not going to respond to the individual recommendations or the report as a whole through individual questions at a press conference. 'That would not do justice to the years and years of work and evidence.' Yoorrook held 67 days of public hearings, gathering the testimony of Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates. It found there were at least 50 massacres across Victoria by the end of the 1860s, with eight colonists killed compared to 978 First Nations people. The mass killings combined with disease, sexual violence, exclusion, eradication of language, cultural erasure, environmental degradation, child removal, absorption and assimilation brought about the 'near-complete physical destruction' of Aboriginal people in Victoria. The 'decimation' of the population by 1901 was the result of 'a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups'. 'This was genocide,' one of the documents read. Ms Allan said the findings made for 'tough reading' because they 'tell the truth' about how the state was colonised. The recommendations will inform treaty talks between the state government and the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, with enabling legislation expected to be introduced later in 2025. Ms Allan said reparations were not up for discussion as part of treaty talks amid backlash over Yoorrook's findings and recommendations. 'I'm not focused on people who want to divide people,' she said. First Peoples' Assembly member Nerita Waight warned Ms Allan not to let Yoorrook's work go ignored, as politicians have done with previous major Aboriginal-related inquiries. 'The truth has been told and now the government has an obligation to act,' the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive said. Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe called on the federal government to press on with national truth and treaty processes. 'Genocide has not just occurred in Victoria, but has been perpetrated against all First Peoples of this continent,' she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised to set up a 'Makarrata Commission to oversee a national process for treaty and truth-telling' in 2021. His government allocated $5.8million to commence work on establishing the independent commission, but it has not materialised after the failed voice to parliament referendum in 2023.
SBS Australia
03-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
'A gift to the people of Victoria': here's what mob think of Yoorrook's truth findings
As Victoria's truth telling commission hands down its final reports, First Nations leaders across Victoria are reflecting on the landmark findings. Among the key findings, two stand out: that genocide and crimes against humanity were committed against Aboriginal people in Victoria as a result of colonisation. Commission recommends state redress Jill Gallagher is the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. Credit: Supplied: VACCHO Reading the report was an emotional experience for Aunty Jill Gallagher, the CEO of Victoria's peak Indigenous health organisation and a former Treaty Commissioner. The Gunditjmara woman is one of the many who gave evidence before the Yoorrook Commission. 'I was very impressed with all the Aboriginal people that told their stories, but also told their stories on behalf of their Elders and their ancestors," she told NITV. Yoorrook's final recommendation was for the state government to provide redress to Aboriginal people through the state-wide and local treaty processes. It would include economic and non-economic loss for genocide, crimes against humanity, and the denial of freedoms. We don't have access to the bank of mum and dad. Aunty Dr Jill Gallagher AO In just one example of economic exclusion, Yoorrook heard evidence that nearly $290 billion worth of gold has been extracted from Victoria since colonisation began - with none of that wealth being shared with the Aboriginal people whose lands it was taken from. For Aunty Jill, redress is one of the most important issues raised by the report. "My mum is still alive and she lived on a mission here in Victoria and she was not allowed to own property, she was not allowed to create wealth for her family or her community," she said. "We don't have access to the bank of mum and dad. "The only thing my mum can afford to leave me when she goes are her values: honesty, integrity, and strong in culture. Aunty Jill urged the state government to back the report and consider its recommendations, to help heal the wounds of the past. Treaty more important than ever: First Peoples Assembly As the democratically elected representative body for Indigenous people in Victoria, the First Peoples Assembly said Yoorrook's findings demonstrate the importance of treaty. Many of the report's 100 recommendations would need to be implemented via the treaty process - with the Assembly of a state-wide treaty. 'This is a gift to the people of Victoria and I hope they will take the opportunity now to read our truths," said Ngarra Murray, one of the Assembly's co-chairs. Ngarra Murray (left) and Rueben Berg of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria giving evidence during hearings by the Yoorrook Justice Commission related to land, sky and waters. Credit: JOEL CARRETT/AAPIMAGE The Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dhudhuroa and Dja Dja Wurrung woman said treaty negotiations were focusing on the future of the Assembly, and embedding it within the state's parliamentary structure. The other co-chair of the First Peoples Assembly, Gunditjmara man Rueben Berg, told NITV that the initial state-wide treaty would focus on that issue, with many of Yoorrook's recommendations across other areas to be looked at in future talks. 'Many of the things that have been identified by Yoorrook we intend to take forward in future conversations and to make sure we have mechanisms to hold the government accountable,' he said. Senator Lidia Thorpe Independent Senator for Victoria, Lidia Thorpe, told NITV it was important that genocide against First Nations people was recognised by a formal truth telling inquiry. 'Its about time that genocide is acknowledged to have been committed against our people in this country. We have been saying this for decades and decades," she said. The Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman said the Yoorrook recommendations regarding self-determination, the continued mandate of the First Peoples Assembly to hold the state government accountable, and the return of stolen land were important. 'There's been a lot of stolen wealth through resources extraction ... that's gold, minerals, even water that's been sold off, and others have benefited, and their families have benefited. "Where are we left? We're left to be the poorest people in our own country," Senator Thorpe said. "I see churches are mentioned to give land back and so they should be - churches have played a role in harming our people." In the name of reconciliation, which is part of their faith, they should be giving that land back. Senator Lidia Thorpe Senator Thorpe also said there needed to be truth telling inquiries in all jurisdictions, and that the federal government must lead the process. 'Truth telling is fundamental to this nation maturing and moving forward ... truth telling does not take away from anybody, it actually enhances people's lives," she said. 'It is indisputable' Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm is the chair of the First Nations Foundation and chair of The Healing Foundation's Stolen Generations Reference Group, and is himself a survivor of the Stolen Generations. "An enormous sense of relief is probably the first part of it, but the second part is finally our story is being told," he said. "The argument over 'Did stuff happen?' is done - we are done with that. This is documented, it is factual, it is indisputable." Ian Hamm urged politicians to be generous with the report. Mr Hamm also gave evidence to Yoorrook, and he urged parliamentarians from all sides of politics to approach the recommendations of the final report with generosity and good faith. "Having been in the public services of the Commonwealth and the state of Victoria for over 30 years ... the hard work is just about to begin," he said. "It will not be an easy task, it will be a difficult task, but it is not one we should shy away from." How has the government responded? Premier Jacinta Allan has not ruled out implementing any of Yoorrook's recommendations, telling reporters on Tuesday her government was carefully considering the report. "The government will take time to consider the depth of the recommendations, and I'm just not going to rule things in or out through a press conference,' she said. Premier Jacinta Allan has not ruled out any of Yoorrook's reccommendations. Credit: James Ross/ AAP photos Credit: JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE Ms Allan made history as the first head of government to appear at a truth telling inquiry in Australia last year, where she admitted she was ashamed and distressed by how little she knew of Indigenous massacres - only learning of some details while preparing to give evidence. 'I would certainly encourage all Victorians to take a moment or two to look at the Yoorrook Royal Commission to learn some difficult truths, to learn some of the history of our state, to learn as I have through this process about the impacts of colonisation,' she said this week. While her government is considering its response to the 100 recommendations in Yoorrook's final report, it has previously only accepted a handful of recommendations from the inquiry's 2023 interim report into the state's justice system. Just four of the 46 recommendations of that report were accepted in full, with another 24 supported "in principle". The Premier has also promised to formally apologise to Indigenous people in Victoria, however no date has been set.
SBS Australia
19-06-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
End of Walk for Truth begins closing chapter in Yoorrook truth-telling process
In one of the final steps on the truth telling journey, Yoorrook Justice Commissioner Travis Lovett welcomed by over five thousand people gathered at Victoria's parliament house. Gunditjmara man, Travis Lovett finished his nearly 500 kilometre trek across the state. Beginning in Portland on May 25 where Victoria's earliest colonial settlement began, this historic walk has traced the deep scars of colonisation across the state, while also opening space for shared action. Mr Lovett trekked all the way to Naarm, Melbourne. His walk aimed at bringing all Victorians - including Elders, jarjums, community leaders and allies along the truth telling journey. "The walk for truth was about walking with all Victorians in solidarity, encouraging all to come and listen and learn and engage in truth telling. We have worked really hard over the last four years, the documents, it's part of our terms of reference to document the ongoing and systematic injustices experienced by First People's in the state of Victoria. We've engaged with more than 9,000 people through that time." This supporter says truth telling should be led by mob for mob. "This is just a small showing of what mob can do, and its the real way that truth telling should be led, by mob for mob. And in opposition to the state, because the state was never made for us. It was made only to progress colonisation, and they continue genocide - like that's the only thing. These are all arms of the law made against mob, and will trickle down all of the communities that stem from that." Mr Lovett's efforts have been inspiring others, including Mauritian woman Adele. "I understand deeply what the pain of colonisation has been over basically 400 years so we are here for humanity - we want better humanity, progress, future, hand in hand brothers and sisters regardless of what we look like. We want treaty, we want treaty. We want our Aboriginal brothers to be recognised, to say okay yeah you are here before us. We respect you, we love you and we are here to support you." The Yoorrook Justice Commission is the first formal truth-telling inquiry of its kind in Australia. Established in 2021 as part of Victoria's Treaty process, its work has been led by First Peoples, for First Peoples, with a mission to tell the full story of colonisation and its ongoing impacts. For over four years, the Yoorrook Justice Commission has investigated systemic injustices faced by Indigenous people in Victoria. They're also due to release a comprehensive reform report which outlines their recommendations and a road map for change. That final report is likely to make more than 100 recommendations, many of which may be implemented via the statewide treaty process, which is currently being negotiated by the state government and the First People's Assembly. Levi Power is a First People's Assembly of Victoria member. He tells NITV the truths must be told to guide their decisions forward. "We must have these truths told to guide these decisions and to guide our journey forward, not only for this first treaty but going into the future as well." Yoorrook has heard testimony from thousands of people - Stolen Generations survivors, Elders, legal experts, historians, and non-Indigenous allies - across areas such as land, law, education, health and child protection. Its interim report released in 2023 detailed entrenched injustices and called for sweeping reforms to Victoria's criminal justice and child welfare systems. Yet only a handful of those 46 recommendations have received full support from the state government. Victoria's Premier Jacinta Allan says we can't have treaty, without truth. "It is well understood that to drive a treaty process you need to have truth. And truth telling is a part of that which is what the justice commission has been focused on and I want to thank the commissioners, but also particularly thank the hundreds of people who have engaged through the formal hearings process, particularly many of our First People's community here in Victoria who did tell some challenging, challenging stories about their experiences." She says that will be an important part in guiding the truth. "And treaty is all about making the practical common sense changes that are about lifting, lifting the outcomes about First People's here in Victoria, because it is well understood that the best way to close the gap, the best way to get the best outcomes, is by listening to people directly impacted by government decision making policies and programs involving them in the process, and that is the best way to get an improvement in outcomes that we absolutely need to strive towards, here in Victoria and indeed across the nation."
