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Man living in a tent after partner “gave up” on Covid restrictions

A hyper-vigilant man has resorted to living in a “pressurised” tent in a garage to avoid contracting Covid, after his girlfriend relaxed about restrictions. The Aussie man named Jason, who is a self-proclaimed “Covid education activist” caused a stir online after he posted a photo of his unusual sleeping arrangements. The now-viral post shared by Jason featured a picture of the peculiar tent he claims to be sleeping in, with an air purifier sticking out of the door, igniting a firestorm of reactions on Twitter, ranging from agreeance, to humour, to concern. Despite the media storm, Jason defended his decision to maintain strict pandemic precautions, despite never having contracted Covid-19. “This is my bed in the garage because my partner has dropped precautions. I take precautions 100 per cent of the time. Don’t tell me that this hasn’t upended every f**king second of my life,” Jason declared in his original post, which included the image of his extraordinary sleeping arrangement. Taking his precautions to the next level, Jason also revealed that he has experimented with sleeping in a face mask, but he admitted that he found it uncomfortable and could not sleep properly with it. “I’ve tried to sleep in a mask, and I can’t. I know people sleep in CPAP masks all the time, so it’s possible, but I can’t do it,” he shared on Twitter. Despite the flurry of reactions to Jason’s living arrangement, he did receive some support for his precautionary measures, while some even suggested Jason leave his partner, to which he admitted the thought “had occurred to me”. Another Twitter user commended the tent and air filter idea, considering it a cost-effective and potentially effective solution to avoid contracting Covid. “I like the tent+filter idea. It’s cheap and should be effective,” another agreed. A few people shared that they empathised with Jason, and are also maintaining strict pandemic precautions. One person wrote, “Initially didn’t think much of the pic, but this is infuriating. I spend all my salary in-flo mask, enovid (antiviral nasal spray), no social life, so yes, I take precautions 100 per cent of the time.” “I’m sorry you have to live like this. I no longer see my family since they stopped masking,” another added. However, not everyone empathised with Jason’s living arrangements, saying he was being unrealistic about the future of Covid. “I work in senior living, and in the two years we’ve been open, we’ve lost zero to Covid. Even the (85-year-olds) getting it now are mild cases. Why? They’re boosted, so they don’t panic or sleep in a garage,” one commenter explained. “The vaccine is meant to enable you to live normally without worrying. Covid is endemic, so you will be in the tent for the rest of your life, lol.” posted another. In response to the viral post, one Twitter user humorously remarked, “We’re a few years away from a really good documentary on how this virus broke people’s brains.” Image credits: Getty Images / Twitter

Real Estate

Travelling overseas? Here’s what the embassy will – and won’t – do to help if you get in trouble

Australians are jetting back out into the world again. The numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels, but almost <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/tourism-and-transport/overseas-arrivals-and-departures-australia">1.1 million Australians left the country</a> in December last year – compared to 1.3 million in December 2019. According to information provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, passport applications smashed records in 2022, averaging more than 250,000 each month in the second half of the year. International travel is a safe, positive experience for most people, but unfortunately things do go wrong for some travellers. Trouble, when it comes, can involve anything from lost passports and small-scale theft to serious welfare problems, hospitalisation and arrests. In these cases, DFAT’s consular service will be expected to do what it can to assist. But where does personal responsibility begin and end when we leave our shores? What should we expect from our government, and what can we do ourselves to minimise the risks? <h2>Travellers behaving badly</h2> As a former head of the consular service in the early 2000s, I know the caseload involving overseas Australians is not limited to major, news-grabbing situations, like the recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/23/png-hostage-freed-australian-professor-researchers-captive-papua-new-guinea-mount-bosavi">kidnapping</a> of an Australia-based academic by a criminal gang in Papua New Guinea, or the impact of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/11/turkey-and-syria-earthquake-australian-death-toll-believed-to-have-risen-to-three">devastating earthquake</a> in Turkey and Syria on Australians and their families. These were serious situations requiring intensive work from our diplomats, but there is much more to the job than that. <a href="https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/consular-state-of-play-2021-22.pdf">From June 2021-22</a>, an average of four Australians died overseas every day, while an average of two Australians were arrested every day - on matters ranging from immigration breaches to drugs crime, theft and fraud. In total, nearly 16,000 Australians turned to their local Australian overseas mission that year for help in “crisis cases” – more than triple the number in 2018-19 before the pandemic. COVID-related repatriations arranged by DFAT were counted separately – there were more than 62,000 of these in the past three years. Carrying an Australian passport means we can rely on a consular service to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/saturdayextra/what-happens-when-things-go-wrong-for-australians-overseas/13973350">provide support in these situations</a>. But expectations have grown among travellers in recent decades, partly because of the speed of our communications and the instant public feedback we receive via social media. While most Australians are self-reliant travellers, there are still many not living up to their side of the bargain. Most importantly, there are still too many not taking out appropriate travel insurance. Others disregard official travel warnings and then turn to the government for help when things go wrong. Then there are those whose expectations are just inappropriate – asking officials to arrange opera tickets or look after their pets, for example. More seriously, expectations can be very hard to manage in arrest cases overseas. Some Australians are shocked their citizenship doesn’t come with a “get out of jail free card”. But we are all subject to local laws and authority, no matter what notions we might have about the standards of justice that apply in some countries. At any given time, there are between <a href="https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/consular-state-of-play-2021-22.pdf">300 and 400 Australians imprisoned</a> overseas. Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, there are real <a href="https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/consular-services/resources/arrested-jailed-overseas-factsheet">limits to what the Australian consular service can do</a> in these cases. The service will check periodically on the welfare of prisoners overseas, guide them towards local legal representation and monitor their trials. But that’s about it. This applies to foreigners imprisoned in Australia, too. To be sure, there is occasionally a case that is clearly so arbitrary or unjust, our government calls for the release of the individual. This was the case for Sean Turnell, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-economist-sean-turnell-came-to-be-in-and-freed-from-a-myanmar-jail-195419">who was imprisoned in Myanmar</a> for political reasons until being released last year. But unlike Turnell, most Australian prisoners overseas probably have a case to answer. <h2>Three ways to stay safe</h2> 1) Be informed about where you are going Australians have a responsibility to know what’s happening at their planned destinations. The conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere have impacted many travellers, as have major weather events and natural disasters. With international flights returning to normality over the last year, DFAT’s COVID repatriation program has largely wound up. Travellers once again need to look to their own resources – or their travel insurance policies – to ensure they get home. The government’s <a href="https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/">Smartraveller</a> website is a reliable source of up-to-date information on everything from emerging health risks to cultural and legal issues in specific countries to the local security situation. They have recently launched a <a href="https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/news-and-updates/sneak-peek-our-new-ad-campaign">fresh advertising campaign</a> in an effort to highlight the importance of avoiding trouble in the first place. 2) Stay in touch with family back home The consular service deals with hundreds of “whereabouts” inquiries each year. And if disaster strikes when you are travelling somewhere, your family and friends will be worried. In each of the major consular disaster responses I was involved in, including the September 11 attacks and the 2002 Bali bombings, there were people who caused their loved ones untold grief by not letting them know they were safe. In my recent book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Consul-Insider-Australias-Diplomatic-Frontline/dp/0702263494">The Consul</a>, I recount the story of one Australian who worked on an upper floor of the World Trade Center in New York, but took ten days to let his family know he had actually been in London when the attacks took place. 3) Buy good travel insurance If there’s one thing travellers really should do, it’s to take out travel insurance. Most people think about insurance as a way of covering themselves for flight cancellations or for the theft of personal items. But if you get sick or are injured overseas – or even in the case of a death – insurance is critical. The Australian government cannot just step in and pay for a medical evacuation. From my time as consular chief, I know that some Australians were forced to sell their homes to cover their medical costs overseas. People also often find themselves under-insured, or are surprised to learn that certain activities, such as adventure sports, are not covered. Young people are the least likely to take out insurance. <a href="https://insurancecouncil.com.au/resource/aussies-planning-to-travel-more-but-need-to-do-more-travel-planning/">Travel industry surveys</a> indicate about 12% of travellers below the age of 30 do not intend to take out insurance, and the number is higher for those heading to destinations in the developed world regarded as “safe”. It really doesn’t work like that though - hospitalisation in the United States without insurance can mean financial disaster. It doesn’t take much to minimise the risk of difficulties turning into disasters overseas. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/travelling-overseas-heres-what-the-embassy-will-and-wont-do-to-help-if-you-get-in-trouble-198589" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Travel Tips

“I live in a tent”: Horror renovations see woman living in home with no roof

A woman and her son have been left living in a “tent” home filled with mould, exposed wiring and holes after renovation plans went horribly wrong. In February 2020, Jill Harris hired Extension Factory to extend and add a second storey to her Melbourne home. Two years later, she says she has been left living in poor conditions after numerous problems plagued the construction work. With tarps replacing the roof overhead, Ms Harris said the home is flooded by “waterfalls that leak through the light fittings” when it rains and that the only thing her home was good for was Halloween. “I call this the tent. I live in the tent because there is no roof over my room or my son‘s room,” she told A Current Affair. “I have good days where I try to be positive and I have the lowest of lows.” <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/aca-house-damage.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> Exposed wiring, holes, and a lack of a watertight roof have been just some of the issues Jill Harris has faced while living in her unfinished home. Images: A Current Affair Ms Harris said the builders first built the storey out of square, forcing them to knock it all down and start again. “(It) just went completely wrong from there. They built it 160mm out of square, which we didn't find out till 12 months later,” she said. Work was eventually stopped by surveyor Steve Maloney after the builders allegedly continued work without the permission of the inspector. Mr Maloney said work needed to stop because of the “owner(s) and their builders' compliances with the building legislation”. Since then, Ms Harris has turned her unfinished home into a warning against the company, adorning the front with signs reading that the company is “destroying our lives”, “doesn’t care” and that “a contract with them means nothing”. “I’ts (sic) cheaper for the “Extension Factory” to put this in the hands than it is to honour my contract with them and finish my home. Tens of thousands of dollars of mistakes, so they gave up and use lawyers to protect them!” another sign reads. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/extension-factory1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> After no resolution was reached to finish her home, Jill Harris let out her frustration against Extension Factory through signs displayed in front of her home. Image: A Current Affair Gerry Hoggard, the owner of Extension Factory, conceded that there had been issues with the property and said he could appreciate Ms Harris being upset. “It certainly was an error, it was built out of square, we accepted responsibility and took it down,” Mr Hoggard said. “I know what she’s living through. “I don’t like it (my name) being treated that way, but I can appreciate she‘s upset about what’s transpired.” Although he claimed that Ms Harris was advised to vacate the property at the start of the build, her brother Ashley, a former Extension Factory employee, said it wasn’t going to happen. “It’s not the sort of job that you would leave anyone occupying the premises,” Mr Hoggard said. However, Ms Harris said she wasn’t told that she would need to vacate her property. A Current Affair reported that it alerted the Victorian Building Authority to Ms Harris’ situation, prompting the organisation to release a statement. "The Victorian Building Authority takes complaints against building and plumbing practitioners extremely seriously,” it read, adding that the building authority carries out thousands of inspections to ensure work is compliant. "When it doesn't, we use the powers available to us to hold practitioners accountable." Image: A Current Affair

Real Estate

Queen Elizabeth II mural painted over

A mural of Queen Elizabeth II has been painted over with the Aboriginal Flag a few days after the monarch was laid to rest. Queen Elizabeth died on September 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and was buried on September 19 at King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George's Chapel. The day of her death saw local Sydney artist Stuart Sale paint the mural in the inner-west suburb of Marrickville. Bobby, another local member of the community, told OverSixty that Mr Sale had painted the mural at night, and had then come back the next morning to touch it up. “There was quite a crowd around him as he finalised the mural,” he said. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiZohGyPHkA/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CiZohGyPHkA/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Stuart Sale (@stuartsale)</a> </div> </blockquote> The mural was left untouched for almost two weeks until Australia’s National Day of Mourning when it was painted over with the Aboriginal Flag. “It’s a very sensitive issue,” Bobby told OverSixty. Mr Sale shared an update to his Instagram of the altered mural with the caption, “Art can be so powerful”, along with three hearts in the Aboriginal Flag colours. He explained that the mural belonged to the people and that he did not have any plans on fixing it. “It belongs to the people in a way and that’s why I’m torn. I’ve painted this and given it to the street. I might let it stay for now.” Images: Sahar Mourad

Art

Artist reworks the classics to include Aboriginal women

An Indigenous artist is reclaiming her heritage by reworking famous artworks to include Aboriginal women. Brandi Salmon, a Wiradjuri artist from Hobart, was first inspired to attempt these reimaginings after viewing numerous artworks about Aboriginal people that were created by non-Indigenous artists and that portrayed Aboriginal people in a negative light – in particular a 19th-century painting that depicts an Aboriginal person as a servant waiting in the presence of Captain James Cook. These negative depictions then led to the creation of a series of works celebrating Aboriginal people titled The Aunty Collection, which includes five famous paintings that feature Aboriginal women, often in regal positions and as the focal point of the artwork. After discovering her love of art as a child, Aboriginal presence in art became a focus when Ms Salmon attended university, where she studied creative arts. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSJTBTkh32W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CSJTBTkh32W/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brandi Salmon (@brandisalmon.artist)</a> </div> </blockquote> “A lot of the paintings I came across were paintings of Aboriginal people as servants," she told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-13/artist-appropriates-famous-paintings-to-include-aboriginal-women/101394128">ABC</a>. “What you see in a lot of paintings from those periods is a style of art which depicts Aboriginal people in such a way that justifies the colonial project," said Tiriki Onus, head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development at the University of Melbourne. "You will see Aboriginal people depicted in this almost animal-like, grotesque fashion that is indicative of a certain time period and romanticises invasion.” When Brandi first started The Aunty Collection for a university assignment, it evolved further than she ever imagined it would. "I wasn't taught how to do the traditional painting and I felt like I couldn't do it. I felt a need to create my own style," she said. The Aunty Collection now features paintings such as Botticelli's The Birth of Venus and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa re-imagined as strong and proud Aboriginal women. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN42p4fhxAH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CN42p4fhxAH/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brandi Salmon (@brandisalmon.artist)</a> </div> </blockquote> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUH0MSIh2vC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUH0MSIh2vC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brandi Salmon (@brandisalmon.artist)</a> </div> </blockquote> Brandi said, "If you think about the classical works, they often depict people and their everyday world to some extent." "A couple of hundred years ago we were being depicted as servants, and now we have the freedom to do The Aunty Collection." "I don't think I realised how much of an impact that would have." Image credits: Instagram

Art

Landlord overstays welcome sleeping in tent under tenant’s home

A landlord has been ordered to pay $NZ 700 ($AUD 630) in damages for unlawful entry after he pitched a tent and stayed under his rental property. When the tenant living in the home asked him to leave after he slept there overnight, Brian Clement verbally insulted them and came up with excuses as to why he was allowed to stay under the house, as reported by the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/landlord-slept-in-tent-under-tenants-home-refused-to-leave/MSWNZ6WCH3JCTTTXQM7OSQ57VE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NZ Herald</a>. The tenant and partner, whose names are suppressed, told the New Zealand Tenancy Tribunal that Clement repeatedly came “unannounced and overstayed” for up to three days at a time. “The more visits the more it disturbed our sense of privacy at home,” the tenant’s girlfriend told the tribunal. Over two years, she said she saw Clement at the house at least 15 times and that he stayed overnight seven times. In one incident in February last year, the tenant was away and his girlfriend and her daughter were alone at home when Clement refused demands to leave. "I cannot express how uncomfortable and weird I felt that night," the girlfriend said. "I sent Brian a message as I could hear him around the house and asked him once more to leave." On the two occasions she called him, he answered with “verbal insults” and said he was “just under the house catching internet Wi-Fi”. She believed Clement would sleep in his car, only to discover the next morning that he had pitched a tent under the house and slept there. A neighbour who confirmed the account said it was “unnerving” and that she even felt “unsafe at the time”. She described the relationship between the tenant and Clement as “unusual and always ‘grey’”. She said the tenants had been renting the property for over a decade, and that Clement “appeared to come and go” from the property. Clement admitted to staying at the home overnight, but argued the tent was for storing tools and that he only slept in it for one night. He told the tribunal that his rental agreement gave him the right, as the owner, with “access at all times, with reasonable notice, for upgrading repairs … etc” and that the house “may need to be vacated by [the tenant] for occasional visits and staying of friends”. However, the tribunal ruled that the agreement was “entirely contrary to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, which only allows a landlord to enter the property during the rental period with the tenant’s consent, in an emergency, or with minimum notice given. "Importantly, even if a tenant has given consent to the landlord to enter the premises, the tenant is able to withdraw that consent at any time, and if consent is withdrawn, then the landlord would need to leave immediately," tribunal adjudicator Rex Woodhouse said. As well as paying damages, Clement was ordered to pay an additional $1000 ($AUD 900) for the property having no or ineffective underfloor insulation. "There is a very strong interest for tenants, landlords and the public generally, to ensure tenancies are safe and secure, and tenants being able to preclude landlords from entering or staying on the premises falls within that expectation," Woodhouse said. Georgie Rogers, the resident of advocacy group Renters United, said tenants can go to the police if their landlords are harassing or threatening them. "But the convoluted way of going to the Tenancy Tribunal is the only way for tenants to access their rights," Rogers said. But, he said tenants could be named and blacklisted if their claims were unsuccessful. Image: Getty Images

Legal

Sydney icon to be returned to Aboriginal owners

A historic decision has been made to return one of Sydney harbour's iconic landmarks to its Indigenous custodians. The NSW government has begun the official transfer process for Me-Mel Island - also known as Goat Island - which will be accompanied by a nearly $43 million revitalisation of the island. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet described the achievement as a “personal priority”. “Returning Me-Mel to the Aboriginal community is the right thing to do, and it helps deliver on my commitment of improving outcomes and opportunities for Aboriginal people across all parts of Government,” he said. “A big part of my commitment is ensuring the island is remediated before it’s transferred to the Aboriginal community.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Me-mel (Eora): Bennelong's island; little green space in the sea. <a href="https://t.co/HZFslBCkyH">pic.twitter.com/HZFslBCkyH</a> — Carolyn R Galbraith (@CarolynRGalb) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarolynRGalb/status/1530773156536852481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2022</a></blockquote> This remediation, included in the $42.9 million package spread over the next four years, will cover various works such as repairing seawalls and buildings, improving water and sewer services, adn removing contaminants like asbestos, according to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/43m-move-to-return-memel-island-to-aboriginal-hands/news-story/b28de6cc4bc21003aec0e5a801c362b9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>. Me-Mel Island is the biggest in Sydney Harbour and lies north-west of the CBD. The State Heritage-listed island is known for its rich Aboriginal heritage, as well as being home to more than 30 buildings and structures from the 1830s to 1960s. Once inhabited by Wangal man Bennelong and Cammeraigal woman Barangaroo, Bennelong said he inherited it from his father who was born on Me-Mel according to colonial documents. The transfer was first promised during the 2015 election by the NSW Labor Party - who lost to the Liberal Party that year - before officially commencing under the Liberals seven years later. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> I welcome the announcement today by <a href="https://twitter.com/Dom_Perrottet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dom_Perrottet</a> of $43m for restoration work on ME-MEL <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/goatisland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#goatisland</a> prior to this historic land being returned to the Aboriginal community in 2026 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/alwayswasalwayswillbeaboriginalland?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#alwayswasalwayswillbeaboriginalland</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xe3ySXOINf">pic.twitter.com/Xe3ySXOINf</a> — Councillor Yvonne Weldon (@ypweldon) <a href="https://twitter.com/ypweldon/status/1530860098515783682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2022</a></blockquote> Though it has been a long time coming, the decision has been welcomed by Yvonne Weldon, the Deputy Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, who said the transfer will help heal and progress Indigenous issues. “Me-Mel is a place where we can go to be within our culture, pass culture on to our younger generations and share with other people,” she said. Until the transfer, the island will continue to be managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which is calling for <a href="https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/park-management/community-engagement/sydney-harbour-national-park/me-mel-goat-island" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressions of interest</a> for the Me-Mel Transfer Committee. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Franklin said this committee, with advice from legal, heritage, planning and governance experts, will develop a business case and plan for future ownership and management of the island. “The Me-Mel Transfer Committee includes Aboriginal people and NSW government representatives, and importantly, its establishment is supported by the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council,” Mr Franklin said. Nominations for this committee are open until close of business on June 27. Image: Office of Environment and Heritage (Flickr)

Real Estate

Australian government appeals ruling protecting Aboriginals from deportation

The Australian government has made an appeal against a High Court decision that Aboriginal Australians can’t be aliens, claiming the decision threatens to confer “political sovereignty on Aboriginal societies”.Lawyers for the government made the claim in an appeal against the Love and Thoms decision, which bars the deportation of Indigenous non-citizens. They claim that the ruling threatened the position that Aboriginal sovereignty did not survive the colonisation of Australia.<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/feb/01/aboriginal-spiritual-connection-to-land-no-bar-to-deportation-morrison-government-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a> reports that the submissions, lodged on Friday, also contain arguments that the spiritual connection Aboriginal Australians have with the land doesn’t create a “special relationship” to the commonwealth.What is the Love and Thoms decision?In February 2020, four out of the seven judges ruled that Aboriginal Australians were not aliens under the Australian constitution and couldn’t be deported, prompting the release of New Zealand-born man Brendan Thoms from detention.Thoms and Papua New Guinea-born Daniel Love, who both have one Indigenous parent, had their visas cancelled and faced deportation from Australia after serving time in prison.Lawyers for the two men, with support from the state of Victoria, argued that the government can’t deport Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders even if they don’t hold Australian citizenship.In separate judgements, justices Virginia Bell, Geoffrey Nettle, Michelle Gordon and James Edelman made the ruling based on the three-part test established by the Mabo native title cases that assess a person’s claim to be Aboriginal based on their biological descent, self-identification, and recognition by a traditional group.By April 2021, nine people were released from immigration detention as a result of the ruling, with Guardian Australia revealing the government was seeking to overturn the decision in October of the same year.Why is the government appealing the decision?In November 2021, the federal court ordered for the release of Shayne Montgomery, a New Zealand citizen whose visa was revoked by former home affairs minister Peter Dutton after he was convicted of a non-violent aggravated burglary in 2018. The court ruled that Mr Dutton “failed to give any degree of consideration” to Mr Montgomery’s claims of Aboriginality. Though he wasn’t biologically descended from an Aboriginal person, the court said it was “not reasonable” to conclude Mr Montgomery was not Aboriginal since he was culturally adopted by the Mununjali people in Queensland.In an appeal against that ruling, the federal government is now asking that the federal court overrule Love and Thoms.With the retirement of two of the four judges who originally made the decision, assistant attorney general Amanda Stoker has noted in a 2020 research paper that a challenge to the decision could see it get reconsidered by the new bench.In October, immigration minister Alex Hawke <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/19/judge-orders-new-zealand-man-who-had-visa-revoked-by-peter-dutton-to-be-freed-from-detention" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the government had “no intent to deport an Aboriginal from Australia”, despite making an appeal alongside home affairs minister Karen Andrews to restore their power to do so.He said the case was about “a complex question of law, it’s not about an opinion of the government, and it has to be tested and resolved”.“That’s what the government is doing. Of course, there is no intent to deport an Aboriginal from Australia, ever.”Kristina Kenneally, the shadow home affairs minister, has said Labor “respects the decision of the high court” in Love and Thoms, and that the government should “abide by the ruling”.The matter is yet to be listed for a hearing.Image: Getty Images

Legal

Aboriginal flag freely available for public use

In a historic decision, the Aboriginal flag has been made freely available for public use by all. Following long negotiations, the artist behind the flag agreed to transfer copyright of the design to the Commonwealth. Created by Luritja artist Harold Thomas in 1970, the flag represents Aboriginal people and their connection to the land, and has been an official national flag since the end of the late 1990s. The copyright had remained with Mr Thomas since the flag’s genesis, meaning anyone who wanted to use the flag legally had to ask permission or pay a fee. Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt was pleased to announce that the flag now belongs to all Australians following the negotiations. "Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas’ artwork our own — we marched under the Aboriginal Flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride," Mr Wyatt said in a statement. "Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no-one can take it away." Harold Thomas said he hopes all Australians will use the flag with the utmost pride and respect to the Indigenous Australian population. "I hope that this arrangement provides comfort to all Aboriginal people and Australians to use the Flag, unaltered, proudly and without restriction," he said. "I am grateful that my art is appreciated by so many, and that it has come to represent something so powerful to so many." In return for the copyright, the government has agreed to establish an annual scholarship in Mr Thomas’s honour worth $100,000, which will see Indigenous students be given the chance to develop skills in leadership, and to create an online history and education portal for the flag. Image credits: Getty Images

Art

The Aboriginal flag is now ‘freely available for public use’. What does this mean from a legal standpoint?

This week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/free-use-aboriginal-flag-secured-all-australians">announced</a> the federal government had “freed the Aboriginal flag for Australians”. After an extensive social media campaign to <a href="https://twitter.com/clothingthegaps/status/1485762546359762944">#Freetheflag</a>, the federal government has purchased the copyright from Harold Thomas, the Luritja artist who created it more than 50 years ago. The deal reportedly cost $20 million. The Aboriginal flag has long been a symbol of resistance and unity for Indigenous people in Australia. Although the copyright settlement is a practical solution to a controversial problem, not everybody is pleased the federal government now owns the exclusive rights to reproduce the Aboriginal flag. Has it really been freed? <h2>A fight to #FreetheFlag</h2> Controversy over the flag <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-our-copyright-laws-and-the-australian-aboriginal-flag-118687">erupted in June 2019</a>. Clothing the Gaps, an Aboriginal-owned-and-led business, received cease and desist letters from a non-Indigenous company, WAM Clothing, demanding it stop using the Aboriginal flag on its clothing. As the then-copyright owner, Thomas had granted WAM Clothing exclusive rights for use of the flag on its clothing. This meant anyone else wanting to put the flag on clothing – even non-commercially – had to get permission from the company. Clothing the Gaps started a petition to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/let-s-celebrate-a-freed-aboriginal-flag-in-its-50th-commemorative-year-flagrightsnow">#Freetheflag</a>, which gathered more than 165,000 signatures and high-profile supporters from across Australia. Community anger grew when the AFL, NRL and Indigenous community groups were also asked to pay for using the flag, and in some cases, threatened with legal action. In September 2020, a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Aboriginal_Flag">Senate inquiry</a> began examining the flag’s copyright and licensing arrangements. In the meantime, Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt was quietly negotiating with Thomas to purchase the flag’s copyright. Then in the lead-up to Australia Day this week, Morrison announced the flag was now “freely available for public use”. <h2>What’s in the agreement?</h2> The exact details of the agreement are confidential but, according to the <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/free-use-aboriginal-flag-secured-all-australians">government</a>, the agreement transfers the Aboriginal flag’s copyright to the Commonwealth. The agreement also includes: <ul> <li> all future royalties the Commonwealth receives from sale of the flag will be put towards the ongoing work of NAIDOC (the details of this have yet to be seen) </li> <li> an annual $100,000 scholarship in Thomas’ honour for Indigenous students to develop Indigenous governance and leadership </li> <li> an online history and education portal for the flag. </li> </ul> To ensure Aboriginal flags continue to be manufactured in Australia, the current manufacturers, Carroll and Richardson Flagworld, will remain the exclusive licensed manufacturers and providers of Aboriginal flags and bunting. But this only covers commercial productions – individuals are free to make their own flags for personal use. <h2>Thomas still has rights</h2> Under the terms of the copyright assignment, Thomas retains moral rights over the flag. This means he still has the right to be identified and named as the creator of the work, can stop someone else being wrongly identified as the creator of the work, and can stop the work from being subjected to derogatory treatment, which means any act which is harmful to the creator’s reputation. Thomas will also use $2 million to establish a not-for-profit body to support the flag’s legacy. <h2>Just like the national flag</h2> The flag will now be managed in the same way as the <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-flag">Australian national flag</a>. This means it will be free for anyone to use it in any medium and for any purpose (except for making and selling flags commercially). You can place copies on clothing, sportsgrounds and articles, and you can use the flag in any medium, such as on websites or in artworks, including having it tattooed on your body. However, it is recommended to follow the <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-flag/australian-national-flag-protocols">usual protocols</a> for respectful use of the flag. <h2>How free is the flag?</h2> Despite the new provisions, some Indigenous people are <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-say-the-aboriginal-flag-was-freed-it-belongs-to-us-not-the-commonwealth-175623">unhappy</a> control of the flag is now in the hands of the federal government rather than an Indigenous-led body. Others have pointed out that if the flag is “free” for anyone to use, this is likely to benefit large corporations and off-shore manufacturers using cheap labour to make clothing and products featuring the flag, rather than Indigenous-owned enterprises. It is possible the flag is now even more free than the government suggests. As academic <a href="https://medium.com/@David.J.Brennan/some-questions-about-the-australian-aboriginal-flag-copyright-deal-f2f5f33a753c">David Brennan points out</a>, under the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s180.html">Copyright Act 1968</a>, if the Commonwealth owns copyright in an artistic work, then it expires 50 years after the calendar year in which the work was made. This contrasts with the usual term of protection for artistic works, which is the life of the author and 70 years thereafter. If this is correct, it would mean that copyright in the flag (which Thomas created in 1971) actually expired on January 1, 2022, and the flag is now in the public domain. This would throw into question the validity of the exclusive licence to Flagworld and the government’s ability to dispose of royalties. It would also mean Thomas’ moral rights are extinguished, as they last only as long as the copyright does. Without seeing the terms of the agreement, which are commercial-in-confidence, we cannot be certain. Clarification from the government would be welcome. <h2>A final twist</h2> Before he transferred copyright, Thomas says he <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-created-the-aboriginal-flag-as-a-symbol-of-unity-and-pride-20220124-p59qus.html">created</a> a digital representation of the flag, and minted it as a non-fungible token (NFT). NFTs are <a href="https://theconversation.com/nfts-explained-what-they-are-why-rock-stars-are-using-them-and-why-theyre-selling-for-millions-of-dollars-156389">digital certificates</a> secured with blockchain technology, which authenticate a claim of ownership to a digital asset. They have taken off in the art world, and are bought and sold for millions of dollars. But all they can do is provide evidence of authenticity for a specific digital file. They do not afford any other rights, such as copyright, and many find the high prices they command to be baffling. Others are <a href="https://theconversation.com/nfts-why-digital-art-has-such-a-massive-carbon-footprint-158077">concerned</a> by their enormous carbon footprints. Thomas states he will hold the NFT “on an ongoing basis, on behalf of Indigenous communities”. Thomas professes himself happy with the outcome, stating “the flag will remain, not as a symbol of struggle, but as a symbol of pride and unity”. However, the thing about flags is their meaning is made by those who wave them, rather than simply by those who create them.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175626/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/isabella-alexander-294160">Isabella Alexander</a>, Professor of Law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-aboriginal-flag-is-now-freely-available-for-public-use-what-does-this-mean-from-a-legal-standpoint-175626">original article</a>.

Legal

A short history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy – an indelible reminder of unceded sovereignty

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Often people think about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy as something historic, dating back to the 1970s. But it should also be thought of as a site of the longest protest for Indigenous land rights, sovereignty and self-determination <a href="https://www.echo.net.au/2021/10/50-years-of-aboriginal-tent-embassy/">in the world</a>. In fact, this year, the Tent Embassy is set to celebrate its <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/blackfishing-alt-right-pushes-to-co-opt-aboriginal-tent-embassy-to-cause-20220105-p59lzj.html">50th continuous year of occupation</a>. Demonstrating its significance to Australian history, it was included on the <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6068943/the-aboriginal-tent-embassy-has-been-left-off-the-act-heritage-list/">Commonwealth Heritage List</a> in 2015 as part of the Old Parliament House precinct. In this momentous year, it’s worth remembering how the Tent Embassy came to be and what it has continued to stand for since its erection in 1972 – and the significance it still has today. <h2>Aliens in our own land</h2> The Tent Embassy began its public life on January 26 1972. On that day, Michael Anderson, Billy Craigie, Bertie Williams and Tony Coorey left Redfern and drove to Ngunnawal Country (Canberra), where they planted a beach umbrella opposite Parliament House (now known as Old Parliament House). They erected a sign that said “Aboriginal Embassy”. With them on that day was their driver, Tribune photographer Noel Hazard, who captured the event in a series of photos. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440344/original/file-20220111-15-1n5yt6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> The establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on Australia Day in 1972. National Museum Australia The term “embassy” was used to bring attention to the fact Aboriginal people had never ceded sovereignty nor engaged in any treaty process with the Crown. As a collective, Aboriginal people were the only cultural group not represented with an embassy. According to Aboriginal activist and scholar Gary Foley, the absence of an Aboriginal embassy in Canberra was a blatant indication <a href="https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/first-australians/politics-and-advocacy/activists-aboriginal-tent-embassy-lawns-old-parliament-house">Aboriginal people were treated like aliens in their own land</a>. Initially, the protesters were making a stand about land rights following the then prime minister William McMahon’s speech that <a href="https://law.unimelb.edu.au/about/welcome/mls-indigenous/home/mls-classroom-photo-mural-initiative/classroom-photos/tent-embassy">dismissed any hope for Aboriginal land rights</a> and reasserted the government’s position on the policy of <a href="https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/a-white-australia/">assimilation</a>. The Tent Embassy was therefore a public display of our disapproval of and objection to the policies and practices of the government. In later years, it has become an acclaimed site of our continued resistance to the continuity of colonial rule. <h2>Demands of protesters</h2> Police who were patrolling the area at the time of the Tent Embassy’s erection asked the protesters what they were doing outside Parliament House. They said they were protesting and would do so until the government granted land rights to Aboriginal people. The police were said to have responded, “<a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p72441/pdf/article0712.pdf">That could be forever</a>”. As it turned out, it was not illegal to camp on the lawns of Parliament House, so the police could not remove them. Later, on February 6 1972, the members of the Tent Embassy issued their list of demands to the government. The demands were clearly about our rights as Aboriginal people to our homelands, regardless of the fact cities were now built on the land or mining companies were interested in the bounties within. Compensation was called for in the instances where the lands was not able to be returned. There were also demands for the protection of our sacred sites. While the McMahon government cared little about negotiating with the protesters, the leader of the Opposition, Gough Whitlam, visited the Tent Embassy and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/21/gough-whitlam-remembered-a-true-leader-for-indigenous-australians">publicly proclaimed a promise of Aboriginal land rights</a> under a future Labor government. There was widespread support for the Tent Embassy from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and allies across the continent, and indeed the world. Media attention also grew as it became obvious the Tent Embassy and protesters were not going to move on. Other Aboriginal activists joined the embassy, including Foley, Isabel Coe, John Newfong, Chicka Dixon, Gordon Briscoe and many others. <h2>Forced removal and revival</h2> The government was not too keen on being reminded Aboriginal people were demanding rights, so it <a href="https://law.unimelb.edu.au/about/welcome/mls-indigenous/home/mls-classroom-photo-mural-initiative/classroom-photos/tent-embassy">amended</a> the Trespass on Commonwealth Lands Ordinance to make it illegal to camp on the lawn of Parliament House. This gave the police the authority to remove the protesters. The ordinance was but a few hours old when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7j3Rq2Tryo">police attempted to forcibly remove the embassy</a>. They did so to the roar of the crowd chanting “land rights now”. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOIvHE0tJAk">violent confrontation with police</a> ensued. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FOIvHE0tJAk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> On September 12 1972, the ACT Supreme Court ruled against the use of the trespass laws, and the Tent Embassy was temporarily re-erected before being removed again the following morning. Then, at the end of 1972, the Coalition government led by McMahon lost the federal election to Labor. Whitlam was able to keep his promise in part – he did give the land title deeds to the Gurindji people. This was captured in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-01/mervyn-bishop-australias-first-aboriginal-press-photographer/8655130">historical photo</a> by Merv Bishop of Whitlam pouring a fistful of dirt into Vincent Lingiari’s hand. While this iconic image has become a demonstration of what might be possible, the work of the embassy is not yet done. Land rights across the continent have yet to be fully achieved. The Tent Embassy was re-established the following year and remained until activist <a href="https://commonslibrary.org/the-aboriginal-tent-embassy/">Charles Perkins negotiated its removal</a> pending the enactment of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1976. In the ensuing years, it occupied several other sites around Canberra, including the site of the current Parliament House. In 1992, it returned to its original site on the lawn of Old Parliament House to mark the 20th anniversary of the original protest. Eleven years later, much of the Tent Embassy was destroyed by fire in a <a href="https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/end-aboriginal-tent-embassy">suspected case of arson</a>. The police once again attempted to remove protesters from the site under <a href="https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/tent-embassy-under-further-attack">orders from federal government’s National Capital Authority</a>. <h2>An enduring symbol of protest</h2> Today, the Tent Embassy remains on the lawns of Old Parliament House as a reminder of the successive failures of subsequent governments to address the demands for justice represented by the embassy and its people. As <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Aboriginal-Tent-Embassy-Sovereignty-Black-Power-Land-Rights-and-the/Foley-Schaap/p/book/9780415839518?gclid=CjwKCAiAz--OBhBIEiwAG1rIOuFlzGCUJvLxLafzUlJZ_D1uyMj0Tz9J_YFIEwcLS0kMzAffvRc_7hoCxwUQAvD_BwE">Foley reflects</a> in his history of the embassy: <blockquote> That it has endured for [five] decades as a potent symbol rejecting the hypocrisy, deceit and duplicity by successive Australian governments is a testament to the refusal of large numbers of Aboriginal people to concede defeat in a 200-year struggle for justice. </blockquote> Nowhere else in the world have we seen such longevity around a site of protest. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is an impressive achievement that demonstrates the tenacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and our continued fight for the reclamation of our lands and sovereign rights as First Nations peoples.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/174693/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/bronwyn-carlson-136214">Bronwyn Carlson</a>, Professor, Indigenous Studies and Director of The Centre for Global Indigenous Futures, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174">Macquarie University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lynda-june-coe-1305919">Lynda-June Coe</a>, PhD Candidate, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/macquarie-university-1174">Macquarie University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-short-history-of-the-aboriginal-tent-embassy-an-indelible-reminder-of-unceded-sovereignty-174693">original article</a>. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Real Estate

The mother and daughter duo healing each other with art

Gumbaynggirr woman Melissa Greenwood and her mum, Lauren Jarrett, know a thing or two about going through difficult times. They both hail from the Gumbaynggirr, Dunghutti and Bundjalung tribes of the east coast of New South Wales, where Lauren is a survivor of the Stolen Generations. In 1966, she was stolen from her family at Bowraville on the NSW mid-north coast and placed in the Cowper Orphanage, near Grafton. Lauren was just nine years old at the time. "It was like the end of the world. You have no idea what's going on, you're not really told anything. It's devastating," she told the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-06/melissa-greenwood-and-mum-heals-stolen-generation-hurt-with-art/100718998">ABC</a>. "You're just taken away from your loved ones, put in a car with strangers. "In those days they had nuns with those long habits and big crosses, and headpieces; and I had no idea where I was or who they were. I had never seen a nun before. "It was overwhelming … anything to do with your culture was banned." When she was 18, Lauren was released from the orphanage and went looking for her family, who were thrilled with her long-awaited return. Now 63, Lauren went on to have two daughters and a son and raised them all as a single mother. Lauren’s daughter Melissa said, "We grew up below the poverty line and struggling with her trauma, and then inter-generational trauma that was passed down. It was really difficult." Together, their struggles as Indigenous women pushed them to strive for more. In 2020, the pair started an art business which they called <a href="https://miimiandjiinda.com/collections/prints">Miimi & Jiinda</a>, meaning mother and sister. After just a few short months, their business is thriving and has completely turned their lives around. "It's really a beautiful thing," Melissa says. "It's just stemmed from me really wanting to see my mum happy and to give her a bit of confidence and get her out in the world and see her beauty. "We just started to paint and weave together and create together and then it just really took off." For both women, creating art together has helped them heal from past inter-generational trauma, and provided an outlet for them to share their connection to their culture. Melissa says she “paints from the heart” and uses her creations to help tell their stories as strong Aboriginal women. "Mum raised us to be very culturally strong and culturally proud," she says. "A lot of the artworks I do are inspired by my connection to my ancestors, to my culture and to my people. "It's just that loving heart energy, that Gumbaynggirr energy." Image credits: Instagram @barefootwandering.photography

Art

Foolproof tips for first-time campers

When planning a trip, many people prefer to tone it down with a camping holiday in the bush, rather than embark on a city escape. For first-timers, there’s a lot of things that can either make or break your next camping trip, and it’s always good to be prepared for any situation. Speaking on Today Extra, expert organiser Anita Birges has shared her top tips to make your next camping trip a success. The tent is everything Anita recommends picking a tent with “plenty of room”, which can make or break a trip when travelling with large groups or with kids. In terms of pitching your tent when you reach your destination, Antia advises to pick a shady spot that is clear of hanging branches, and to practice pitching your tent in the backyard before you embark. Anita also recommends staying at a powered campsite that has access to amenities such as toilets and barbecues, especially for first time campers. Invest in your mattress Camping is no fun if you’re too tired to enjoy it, so invest in some good quality air mattresses that are easy to blow up. Alternatively, double sleeping bags are a good idea, giving you the chance to snuggle up with your partner on colder nights to keep warm. Go all out with extras Anita recommends going all out with the extras to make sure your camping trip is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Extra items such as a gazebo, folding chairs and compact table are sure to make any trip easier. As well as these extra luxuries, essentials such as a good-sized esky, first aid kit, cleaning items and an abundance of toilet paper are a must. Image credits: Getty Images

Travel Tips

Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?

Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000 year old Juukan Gorge rock shelters has led to recommendations by the Parliamentary Inquiry on <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">how Australia can better conserve Aboriginal heritage sites</a>. Around the time the recommendations were made, Queensland’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act faced an important test when a pastoralist who cleared 500 hectares of bushland at Kingvale Station in Cape York <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/qld-country-hour/scott-harris-cleared-of-breaching-cultural-heritage-act/13592850">was charged</a> with failing to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. The charges were eventually <a href="https://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/7474626/cultural-heritage-charges-against-scott-harris-dismissed/">dismissed</a> but the prosecution, the first of its kind in Queensland, highlights weaknesses in the law. Like related legislation in other Australian states and territories, Queensland’s law requires landholders to conserve Aboriginal heritage sites or risk prosecution. But the law has been criticised by many Aboriginal people and heritage specialists for allowing destructive development by removing any ability for government to independently assess how proposed clearing would affect Aboriginal heritage. Under the “duty of care” provisions in the Act, Aboriginal heritage must be protected even if it is not known to landholders. However, as the Kingvale clearing case heard, if Aboriginal heritage is not known, how can it be shown to have been lost? <h2>What we learned from the Kingvale clearing case</h2> In 2013, the former Newman government in Queensland removed protection for the environment by introducing the Vegetation Management Act which enabled clearing of what they deemed as “high value agricultural projects” in Cape York. The World Wildlife Foundation argued this would see large areas of forest and bushland destroyed. Advocates for the new Act <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-05-22/veg-law-pass/4705890">argued</a> primary producers are “acutely aware of their responsibility to care for the environment”. In opening up new areas of Cape York to clearing, this legislation posed new threats to heritage sites. In this context the landholder of Kingvale decided he did not need to assess cultural heritage when clearing 500 hectares. At the conclusion of the hearing into this case, Judge Julie Dick of the Cairns District Court instructed the jury to return <a href="https://www.cairnspost.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CPWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cairnspost.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcairns%2Fcape-york-grazier-cleared-of-criminal-land-clearing-charges%2Fnews-story%2F1d124158e58936a302f1ee5d159ad841&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">a not-guilty verdict</a>, exonerating the landholder, as the offence could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. The landholder’s legal team noted in the media if their defendant had been found guilty, every landholder (including freeholders) who had cleared land, built a fence or firebreak, ploughed a paddock, or built a road or airstrip since 2003 would potentially be guilty of a criminal offence. The defendant argued the ramifications of the legal case were significant <blockquote> for the rest of Queensland […] anyone who mowed a lawn or cut down a tree since 2003 would be automatically liable. </blockquote> In our view, this is hyperbole. <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/2016-09-27/act-2003-079">Section 21 of the Act</a> makes explicit a person’s right to enjoy the normal and allowed use of their land to the extent they don’t harm Aboriginal heritage. Further, a person doesn’t commit an offence if they take into account the nature of the activity and the likelihood of it causing harm. Mowing the lawn is quite different to clearing 500 hectares of native vegetation. The setting of this activity is also important. Kingvale Station is located 100 kilometres west of the national heritage listed Quinkan Country. Heritage studies in similar landscapes across Cape York have identified scarred trees, artefact scatters, stone arrangements and cultural burial places. Based on our heritage experience across Queensland, it would be surprising not to find Aboriginal heritage sites at Kingvale. To reduce heritage risks, we assess the potential impacts of an activity, and talk with relevant Aboriginal groups about their sites and heritage values. Archaeologists and anthropologists also develop models to predict where unknown sites are likely to be found. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Recorded archaeological sites across Cape York. The distribution pattern reflects several key heritage surveys. It is expected that cultural sites would be found across the cape, including within the 500 hectares cleared at Kingvale. Image by Kelsey M. Lowe. <h2>Can farming and the conservation of Aboriginal heritage co-exist?</h2> The best way to conserve heritage is for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to work together to identify, document, and protect places. An important example is the discovery of human remains from a mortuary tree west of St George, southern Queensland. The site was discovered during fence clearing by the landholder, who contacted the police. We worked with the landholder who has supported the Kooma nations people to conserve the mortuary tree and enable it to remain on country. <iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKJs23hwLXA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> Courtesy of Tony Miscamble, NGH Consulting. A further example from Mithaka Country saw a spectacular stone arrangement discovered by a pastoral station manager, who notified the native title holders. All are now engaging with researchers to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fstones-point-way-to-indigenous-silk-road%2Fnews-story%2F8318b531d82263beab4afd089fd8d559&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">investigate the site’s history</a>. Dozens of other examples around the state illustrate collaborative approaches to heritage conservation. But more effective legislation is urgently needed in response to Kingvale’s failed prosecution. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> A spectacular stone arrangement from Mithaka country. Image courtesy of Lyndon Mechielsen <h2>How can we improve cultural heritage protection?</h2> The Juukan Gorge case highlighted how Australia has a problem protecting its Aboriginal cultural heritage. The final report of the parliamentary inquiry into the disaster made several <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">recommendations</a> that could help pave a way forward. Instances like Kingvale emphasise more work needs to be done. The Queensland government needs to act now to address the glaring problem with its heritage legislation. Heritage management investment will also help. Victoria provides an example of how to improve Aboriginal heritage management. A standout action is the roll-out of a Certificate IV in Aboriginal cultural heritage management, with over 500 Aboriginal graduates to date. This program is decentralising heritage management and empowering Aboriginal people across Victoria, building a level of professionalism rarely seen in other states. Establishing treaties and agreements similar to those in Canada and New Zealand could go a long way to enable First Nations people in Australia to authoritatively protect their respective cultural heritage sites. Heritage conservation will remain challenging, particularly in resource-rich states like Queensland. But we can do better. Judge Dick’s ruling, while frustrating for the effort to conserve heritage, is crucial as it highlights weaknesses in the law. This trial, along with the Juukan Gorge incident, may represent a critical tipping point in the struggle to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage in Queensland and across Australia.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170956/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-westaway-118240">Michael Westaway</a>, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joshua-gorringe-1237694">Joshua Gorringe</a>, General Manager Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/indigenous-knowledge-4846">Indigenous Knowledge</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kelsey-m-lowe-1287335">Kelsey M. Lowe</a>, Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/richard-martin-595866">Richard Martin</a>, Senior lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ross-mitchell-1288513">Ross Mitchell</a>, Common Law holder and director of Kooma Aboriginal Corporation Native Title PBC, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/indigenous-knowledge-4846">Indigenous Knowledge</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-heritage-conservation-problem-can-farming-and-aboriginal-heritage-protection-co-exist-170956">original article</a>. Image: Dave Hunt/AAP Image

Domestic Travel

A new artistic call for us to recognise the connections of Country is a testament to the power of Aboriginal knowledge

Wilam Biik (Home Country) is a multi-layered conversation between Country, people and ancestors that surges with the power of Aboriginal connectivity. The first major exhibition curated by Wurundjeri and Dja Dja Wurrung woman Stacie Piper in her role as Tarawarra’s <a href="https://artguide.com.au/stacie-piper-appointed-as-yalingwa-first-peoples-curator-at-tarrawarra-museum-of-art/">2019 Yalingwa Curator</a>, it is a generous offer to see Wurundjeri biik (Country) the way Wurundjeri see it — not as a “natural resource” to be exploited, but a life-sustaining force interconnected with all things. It is an important call to those who live on Wurundjeri biik to uphold Wurundjeri people’s principles of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy3020023">relationality</a>: to live in reciprocity with all life, including land, animals, water, sky and people. The exhibition embodies the Wurundjeri concept of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/features/word-up/mandy-nicholson/12116926">layers of biik</a>: country extends from below the ground to above in the sky, all interconnected through water country. Piper gathered artists by following the “waterlines” and “bushlines” which connect Wurundjeri to the 38 Aboriginal groups throughout south east Australia. These artists offer a different way to look at Country. Not by the roads we travel, but by the relationships embedded in it. <h2>Care for Country</h2> Piper developed her curatorial practice at <a href="https://museumsvictoria.com.au/bunjilaka/">Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre</a>after working for many years with her Elders at Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. The vision for Wilam Biik came from Piper’s sovereign responsibility to care for Country, and her despair at the unsustainable logging of old growth forest in the <a href="https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/logging-breaches-catalyst-new-indigenous-led-alliances">Warburton ranges</a> not far from Tarrawarra on Wurundjeri biik. Climate trauma and relationship to country was the starting point for Stacie’s curatorial vision. Wilam biik embodies the rich knowledge of Country that holds the answers to recovering from this trauma. The exhibition is grounded in land and ancestors. Audiences are welcomed by a wall-sized historical photograph of Wurundjeri biik and baluk (people) at Corranderrk. “Ancestor tools”, such as Barak’s carved parrying shield, a boomerang and basket – on loan from Melbourne Museum – are displayed in the way they would be held: close to the people. Eel trap by Wurundjeri Elder Kim Wandin underlines the continuing connection between generations. In conversation with the sepia image of their ancestors, their living descendants — the Djirri Djirri dancers — are projected dancing on Wurundjeri country in the upper reaches of the Birrarung. <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-importance-of-william-baraks-ceremony-60846">Ceremony</a> (c1895) by Wurundjeri painter <a href="https://www.wurundjeri.com.au/our-story/ancestors-past/">Ngurungaeta Wiliam Barak</a> has been brought to wilam biik by Wurundjeri people for the first time since they were made. The painting details ceremonial adornment, as referenced by the Djirri Djirris today. <h2>Water, land, sky</h2> Following the water sources that start in Country shared with Gunnai and Taungurung Peoples, Gunnai and Gunditjmara artist Arika Waulu’s matriarchal Digging Sticks are carved wood adorned in gold, set against a wallpaper showing layers of country and the cycle of plant life. In this, Waulu speaks of women’s interconnectivity with Country. Of the Earth, an installation by Taungurung artist Steven Rhall, places a photograph of a boulder on a sound platform, animating the image in a contemplation of the deep time written into Taungurung Country, or in what Alexis Wright has called <a href="https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essay/the-ancient-library-and-a-self-governing-literature">the ancient library</a>. The water connection flows through Dhunghula (Murray River) to Yorta Yorta, Waddi Waddi, Wemba Wemba, and all the way to Ngarrindjeri Country as well as into Kolety (Edwards River) and the Baaka (Darling River). In Drag Net, a woven net incorporating river mussel shell, Waddi Waddi, Yorta Yorta and Ngarrindjeri artist Glenda Nicholls evokes this connection to the river and “water country”. In Wemba Wemba and Gunditjmara artist Paola Balla’s intergenerational work, Murrup Weaving in Rosie Kuka Lar with Rosie Tang, Balla builds a camp house made from cloth imbued with bush dyes in the landscape of her grandmother’s painting of country. Through these bush dyes, Balla brings the smell of “on ground country” directly into the gallery. Barkindji artist Kent Morris’ Barkindji Blue Sky – Ancestral Connections is a stunning photographic series, embodying water connections to the Baaka as well as “sky country”. <h2>Many varied relationships</h2> Waterlines like the Birrarung and the Werribee River, marking connections and boundaries with the Boonwurrrung, Wathaurong and Tyereelore, are mapped with kelp baskets by Nannette Shaw and paintings by Deanne Gilson. These artists reference the transition from freshwater to saltwater and the relationships that exist amongst the Kulin, across to Tasmania and all life forms within Country. Wilam Biik speaks of the powerful connections between artists, Peoples and Country. It is also a testament to the power of Aboriginal knowledge in Aboriginal hands, and the centring of south east artists and curators as the experts of their knowledges, practices and Country. Importantly, it is also a call to learn how to live in good relationship with Wurundjeri biik and baluk. Image credit: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a rel="noopener" href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-artistic-call-for-us-to-recognise-the-connections-of-country-is-a-testament-to-the-power-of-aboriginal-knowledge-169102" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.

Art

Cleo Smith: Tent zipper detail revealed as army called in

Image: Facebook Members of the Australian Defence Force have joined the search for missing four-year-old girl Cleo Smith after police revealed an important new detail that casts doubt on the theory she simply wandered off. Cleo has been missing for six days now after vanishing from her parents’ tent during a during a weekend camping trip. She woke up at 1:30 am on Saturday and asked her mum Ellie for a drink. When Ellie and her partner Jake Gliddon woke up at about 6am, the little girl was gone. Search efforts around the Blowholes campsite in Macleod, about 70km north of Carnarvon, have proven fruitless, prompting concerns she was abducted. On Wednesday, four members of the army assisted SES volunteers in the search. They were seen launching a drone over the desolate shrubbery. Thursday marks a sixth straight day of search efforts around the area. But the theory that she was abducted is becoming more likely with police revealing a key detail on the tent the family had been sleeping in. When Ellie woke up, one of the flaps in the tent was already opened. Police say the zipper was too high for it to have been opened by Cleo. “The tent certainly has multiple entries,” inspector Jon Munday said. “One of the major circumstances that has given us the cause for alarm for Cleo’s safety is the fact that one of those zippered entryways was opened. “The positioning of that zipper for the flap is one of the circumstances that has caused us to have grave concerns for Cleo’s safety.” Up to 20 registered sex offenders in the area are now under the microscope of police and have been spoken to. The national appeal was earlier issued amid fears Cleo was taken interstate. The police agencies in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia all shared online the West Australian Police’s post with images and information about the missing girl. Munday says, however, that police will remain at the Blowholes for the time being, with the focus moving from “high probability” areas to less likely locations. “We will be here until we are satisfied that Cleo is not in this area, we have searched thoroughly all the high probability areas,” he said. “We are now extended into further reaches of the places where Cleo could have possibly walked her.” “We are hopeful that Cleo is still alive and we’re operating on the premise that she is still alive, so we’re going to keep searching until we find her.” Ellie and Jake spoke earlier this week to plead for anyone with information to come forward.

News

New book claims man from Snowy River “had to be Aboriginal”

The man from Snowy River from Banjo Paterson’s famous poem has always been depicted as a white man, but one author claims the character was based on an Indigenous stockman. The 1890 poem regales the story of a runaway horse, with various stockmen pursuing the colt and attempting to separate it from a herd of brumbies. When the wild horses descend an apparently impassable slope, the man from Snowy River is the only one who continues the chase. In The Brumby Wars, author and Walkley Award-winning journalist Anthony Sharwood claims that the poem indicates the story takes place in the Byadbo region of the Snowy Mountains, where he says all the local stockmen were Indigenous. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Brumbies. A vision of the legendary Man from Snowy Riveror a spectre of ecosystems destroyed by feral pests? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBrumbyWars?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBrumbyWars</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/antsharwood?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@antsharwood</a> is the riveting account of a major national issue and the very human passions it inspires. Out now: <a href="https://t.co/WF0FKMsEHu">https://t.co/WF0FKMsEHu</a> <a href="https://t.co/Gh8je2ciRa">pic.twitter.com/Gh8je2ciRa</a> — Hachette Australia Books (@HachetteAus) <a href="https://twitter.com/HachetteAus/status/1432938770370727940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2021</a></blockquote> His theory relies on lines from the poem’s final stanza, which mention an area near Mount Kosciuszko “where the pine-clad ridges raise”. Sharwood said Byadbo is “the only part of Australia’s alpine region and nearby foothills with cypress pine forests, a native conifer that thrives in dry country”. “If the poem were sourced from stories of the Byadbo area, then the stockman had to be Aboriginal because all the best riders in the area had Indigenous blood,” he said. In his newly-released book, Sharwood considers the controversial case for reducing brumby numbers due to their overgrazing of national parks, versus the calls to protect them because of their romanticised image. “Forget that Patterson knew they were pests and advocated for them to be shot to protect the pasture for cattle,” Sharwood said. “The brumbies are characters in the poem and that makes them sacred, eternal, untouchable, as quintessentially Australian as Vegemite and thongs.” However, Sharwood isn’t the first to suggest the titular character was Indigenous. In 1988, Victoria’s official historian Bernard Barrett proposed the character may have been based on a young Indigenous rider named Toby, with Barrett claiming “a better rider never sat a horse”. <img style="width: 500px; height: 331.0546875px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843655/gettyimages-542638958.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/cb8bd6984579401690c748346937c534" /> Image: Getty Images Professor Jakelin Troy, director of Aboriginal research at the University of Sydney and an Aboriginal Australian from the Ngarigu community of the Snowy Mountains, said we may never know who the rider was based on. “I don’t think any of us really care who the man, or woman, from Snowy River was, but it is an interesting thing to explore because it definitely plays into the mythology of the area,” she said. “One piece of research says he was my father’s great uncle called Jim Troy. “Banjo stayed with the family and Jim Troy fits the description even down to the horse. They bred them tough like their horses were a mixture of Timor pony which are really tough and thoroughbreds with a bit of Arab to make them a bit finer. The horses were a mixed breed … We will probably never know who the actual person was.” <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.hachette.com.au/anthony-sharwood/the-brumby-wars-the-battle-for-the-soul-of-australia" target="_blank">The Brumby Wars</a> was released on Wednesday, August 1 by Hachette. Image: Getty Images

Books

315 nuclear bombs and ongoing suffering: The shameful history of nuclear testing in Australia and the Pacific

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware this article contains the name of a deceased person. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons received its <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/10/1076082">50th ratification on October 24</a>, and will therefore come into force in January 2021. A historic development, this new international law will ban the possession, development, testing, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. Unfortunately the nuclear powers — the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea — haven’t signed on to the treaty. As such, they are not immediately obliged to <a href="http://hrp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Victim-assistance-short-4-8-18-final.pdf">help victims and remediate contaminated environments</a>, but others party to the treaty do have these obligations. The shifting norms around this will hopefully put ongoing pressure on nuclear testing countries to open records and to cooperate with accountability measures. For the people of the Pacific region, particularly those who bore the brunt of nuclear weapons testing during the 20th century, it will bring a new opportunity for their voices to be heard on the long-term costs of nuclear violence. The treaty is the first to enshrine enduring commitments to addressing their needs. From 1946, around <a href="https://icanw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Pacific-Report-2017.pdf">315 nuclear tests</a> were carried out in the Pacific by the US, Britain and France. These nations’ largest ever nuclear tests took place on colonised lands and oceans, from Australia to the Marshall Islands, Kiribati to French Polynesia. The impacts of these tests are still being felt today. All nuclear tests cause harm Studies of nuclear test workers and exposed nearby communities <a href="https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/">around the world</a> <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-review-of-the-red-cross/article/humanitarian-impact-and-implications-of-nuclear-test-explosions-in-the-pacific-region/1FDB0D26842BEA5621F33A0B53FCD7F9">consistently show</a> adverse health effects, especially increased risks of <a href="https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/">cancer</a>. The total number of global cancer deaths as a result of atmospheric nuclear test explosions has been estimated at between <a href="https://scope.dge.carnegiescience.edu/SCOPE_59/SCOPE_59.html">2 million</a> and <a href="https://ieer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/1991/06/RadioactiveHeavenEarth1991.pdf">2.4 million</a>, even though these studies used radiation risk estimates that are now dated and likely underestimated the <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n3873/pdf/ch08.pdf">risk</a>. The number of additional non-fatal cancer cases caused by test explosions is similar. As confirmed in a <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1667/RR14608.1">large recent study</a> of nuclear industry workers in France, the UK and US, the numbers of radiation-related deaths due to other diseases, such as heart attacks and strokes, is also likely to be similar. ‘We all got crook’ Britain conducted 12 nuclear test explosions in Australia between 1952 and 1957, and hundreds of minor trials of radioactive and toxic materials for bomb development up to 1963. These caused untold health problems for local Aboriginal people who were at the highest risk of radiation. Many of them were not properly evacuated, and some were not informed at all. We may never know the full impact of these explosions because in many cases, as the Royal Commission report on British Nuclear Tests in Australia <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:%22publications/tabledpapers/HPP032016010928%22;src1=sm1">found in 1985</a>: “the resources allocated for Aboriginal welfare and safety were ludicrous, amounting to nothing more than a token gesture”. But we can listen to the survivors. The late Yami Lester directly experienced the impacts of nuclear weapons. A Yankunytjatjara elder from South Australia, Yami was a child when the British tested at Emu Field in October 1953. He <a href="https://icanw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/BlackMist-FINAL-Web.pdf">recalled</a> the “Black Mist” after the bomb blast: It wasn’t long after that a black smoke came through. A strange black smoke, it was shiny and oily. A few hours later we all got crook, every one of us. We were all vomiting; we had diarrhoea, skin rashes and sore eyes. I had really sore eyes. They were so sore I couldn’t open them for two or three weeks. Some of the older people, they died. They were too weak to survive all the sickness. The closest clinic was 400 miles away. His daughter, Karina Lester, is an ambassador for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons in Australia, and continues to be driven by her family’s experience. She <a href="https://icanw.org.au/choosinghumanity/">writes</a>: For decades now my family have campaigned and spoken up against the harms of nuclear weapons because of their firsthand experience of the British nuclear tests […] Many Aboriginal people suffered from the British nuclear tests that took place in the 1950s and 1960s and many are still suffering from the impacts today. More than 16,000 Australian workers were also exposed. A key <a href="https://www.dva.gov.au/documents-and-publications/british-nuclear-testing-australia-studies">government-funded study</a> belatedly followed these veterans over an 18-year period from 1982. Despite the difficulties of conducting a study decades later with incomplete data, it <a href="https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.pace.edu/dist/0/195/files/2018/10/Australia-PosObs-Country-Report-7-1zbngsb.pdf">found</a> they had 23% higher rates of cancer and 18% more deaths from cancers than the general population. An additional health impact in Pacific island countries is the toxic disease “ciguatera”, caused by certain microscopic plankton at the base of the marine food chain, which thrive on damaged coral. Their toxins concentrate up the food chain, especially in fish, and cause illness and occasional deaths in people who eat them. In the Marshall Islands, Kiritimati and French Polynesia, outbreaks of the disease among locals have been associated with coral damage caused by <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(89)91212-9/fulltext">nuclear test explosions</a> and the extensive military and shipping infrastructure supporting them. Pacific survivors of nuclear testing haven’t been focused solely on addressing their own considerable needs for justice and care; they’ve been powerful advocates that no one should suffer as they have ever again, and have worked tirelessly for the eradication of nuclear weapons. It’s no surprise independent Pacific island nations are strong supporters of the new treaty, accounting for ten of the first 50 ratifications. Negligence and little accountability Some nations that have undertaken nuclear tests have provided some care and compensation for their nuclear test workers; only the US has made some <a href="https://www.justice.gov/civil/common/reca">provisions</a> for people exposed, though only for mainland US residents downwind of the Nevada Test Site. No testing nation has extended any such arrangement beyond its own shores to the colonised and minority peoples it put in harm’s way. Nor has any testing nation made fully publicly available its records of the history, conduct and effects of its nuclear tests on exposed populations and the environment. These nations have also been negligent by quickly abandoning former test sites. There has been inadequate clean-up and little or none of the long-term environmental monitoring needed to detect radioactive leakage from underground test sites into groundwater, soil and air. One example among many is the Runit concrete dome in the Marshall Islands, which holds nuclear waste from US testing in the 1940s and 50s. It’s increasingly <a href="https://www.latimes.com/projects/marshall-islands-nuclear-testing-sea-level-rise/">inundated by rising sea levels</a>, and is leaking radioactive material. The treaty provides a light in a dark time. It contains the only internationally agreed framework for all nations to verifiably eliminate nuclear weapons. It’s our fervent hope the treaty will mark the increasingly urgent beginning of the end of nuclear weapons. It is our determined expectation that our country will step up. Australia has not yet ratified the treaty, but the bitter legacy of nuclear testing across our country and region should spur us to join this new global effort. Written <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tilman-ruff-89">Tilman Ruff</a>, University of Melbourne and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dimity-hawkins-292972">Dimity Hawkins</a>, Swinburne University of Technology. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/315-nuclear-bombs-and-ongoing-suffering-the-shameful-history-of-nuclear-testing-in-australia-and-the-pacific-148909">The Conversation.</a>

Cruising

The one detail you need to know about every destination you visit

Planning a holiday is not an easy task, and it only makes sense that a few important details are going to be overlooked along the way. That said, there is one detail you should never forget to be aware of, even if you think you’re visiting a “safe” country. And this important detail could get you out of a bind. Before you take your next trip make sure you realise where the nearest embassy is. Google the address, write it down and keep it in a safe place. Having this detail handy might just be the difference if you find yourself in a sticky situation when you’re taking your next big holiday to an overseas destination. Do you keep track of the nearest embassy?

Travel Tips

6 tips for choosing the perfect campsite

The right spot on a campsite can make or break your camping trip. Here are six tips to help you find the perfect spot the pitch a tent. 1. Flat, flatter, flattest First things first, look for the flattest spot you can find. This means both that the ground is not on a slope (which could leave you sleeping on an angle) and that the surface of the ground is also flat. You want to avoid any holes, ridges, or large mounds of grass. Beware of depressions in the ground – if it rains there’s a good chance you’ll end up with a puddle beneath you. 2. Smooth things over It’s always a good idea to give your site a quick sweep before you set up your tent. Remove any rocks, sticks or other objects that could make for an uncomfortable sleep or even tear your tent. Ideally, you should be able to set up on something relatively smooth, even and soft like grass or sand. 3. Look out for anthills We really can’t stress this enough. Nothing (really, nothing) will ruin your camping trip faster than a tent full of ants. These little guys will find you before you know it, so do a thorough check of the area around your site. 4. Be smart with shade The sun can very quickly progress from pleasantly warm to searingly hot, so you’re going to want some shade. Position yourself close to some trees that will provide shade in the afternoon, when the sun is at its strongest. Give the trees a good once over before selecting your spot and make sure there are no branches that are dead or look unstable. A strong wind can easily bring one down on you. <img width="498" height="245" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/33971/image__498x245.jpg" alt="Image_ (93)"/> 5. Get some privacy If you’re camping at an established campground, you don’t want to find yourself in the middle of the most popular thoroughfare. Try to stay at least one site back from roads or paths where people will walk frequently. Avoid choosing a site too close to the amenities blocks or right by the barbecues as these can be noisy at all hours of the day (and night). 6. Pick the right neighbours Setting up next to a large family with lots of young kids or a bunch of blokes on a beer and fishing trip could spell disaster. If you want peace and quiet, choosing the right neighbours will make all the difference. Do a quick scan when you arrive and try to work out which co-campers are going to suit you best. Are you a serious camper? What tips would you suggest? Share them with the Over60 community in the comments below. Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/5-reasons-to-start-wrapping-your-luggage-in-plastic/">5 reasons to start wrapping your luggage in plastic</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/major-airline-replaces-meals-with-chocolate-bars/">Major airline replaces meals with chocolate bars</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/travel/travel-tips/2016/10/sleep-better-in-a-hotel-room/">10 tips for a better night’s sleep in a hotel room</a>

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Man living in a tent after partner “gave up” on Covid restrictions

Travelling overseas? Here’s what the embassy will – and won’t – do to help if you get in trouble