Episodes
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A talk on the passive welfare underclass and the urgent need for a universal Job Guarantee with Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson
With jobseekers outnumbering available jobs in many Cape York communities, many find themselves in the grips of passive welfare that strips them of their purpose and self-worth and places them at high risk of being left behind by the real economy.The benefits of employment go far beyond an earned income for one individual. A genuine, meaningful job restores personal pride, builds resilient families and creates safer communities.
On this episode of Time to Listen, we hear the second and final part of Noel Pearson's oration on the passive welfare underclass at the 12th Renate Kamener Oration – a fundraising event for Melbourne University's Ormond College Indigenous Scholarship.
In part two of Noel's speech, he explores the work of Professor Bill Mitchell, the founder of the Job Guarantee concept. The concept is simple. It is a job for all those who are able to work. The job pays the minimum wage, superannuation contributions and leave entitlements. It brings the dignity of work to every Australian including the disabled, mentally ill and extremely disadvantaged.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.Support the show
Support the Show.
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A talk on the passive welfare underclass and the urgent need for a universal Job Guarantee with Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson
With jobseekers outnumbering available jobs in many Cape York communities, many find themselves in the grips of passive welfare that strips them of their purpose and self-worth and places them at high risk of being left behind by the real economy.The benefits of employment go far beyond an earned income for one individual. A genuine, meaningful job restores personal pride, builds resilient families and creates safer communities.
On this episode of Time to Listen, we hear Noel Pearson's oration on the passive welfare underclass at the 12th Renate Kamener Oration – a fundraising event for Melbourne University's Ormond College Indigenous Scholarship.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.Support the Show.
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Episodes manquant?
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An Introduction to Ngak Min Health with Charmaine Nicholls, Melanie Dunstan and Matthew Carson
Indigenous Australians have an average life expectancy 19 years below that of wider Queensland and an unparalleled lack of access to healthcare services. And the health gaps start early. So what if we could improve early intervention by opening a holistic health clinic on an Indigenous school campus?
Introducing Ngak Min Health, a clinic co-located on the grounds of Djarragun College in Gordonvale, just south of Cairns.
On this episode of Time to Listen, we speak with Ngak Min Health General Manager Charmaine Nicholls, Nurse Practitioner Melanie Dunstan and Doctor Matthew Carson.
Being located on a college campus helps Ngak Min reduce inequalities in health outcomes by developing health-seeking behaviour and giving control to the students and families to make decisions about their own health.
Of the student population who attend Ngak Min, 10% already have a chronic diagnosis and more than 75% did not have a health check in the 12 months before their enrolment."The advantage for us working in this space is that we have a school here, so we can screen the school kids and pick up things before they even get sick. We have the opportunity to do health promotion so we can teach kids how to brush your teeth, how to cough, how to a clean your ears, how to look after your skin... We've got a great opportunity to change lives and change lives early," says Mel, Ngak Min Health Nurse Practitioner.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Would you like to learn more about the Ngak Min Health? Check out their website:
Ngak Min HealthSupport the show (https://capeyorkpartnership.org.au/donate/)
Support the Show.
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Do Indigenous Australians get more welfare than non-Indigenous Australians?
Should the Commonwealth Government stop funding welfare?
What can be done to close the employment gap?
Is there a viable replacement for Community Development Programs (CDP)?
Why haven't employment programs in Indigenous communities led to the empowerment of community members?
How can the Commonwealth Government increase individual agency, responsibility and community participation of unemployed community members?
We explore these questions and more with Cape York Institute Head of Policy Prue Briggs in this episode of Time to Listen.
Prue speaks about the difference between employment programs and full employment and where government expenditure would be best directed. Prue also addresses the historical economic exploitation of Indigenous peoples, universal basic income versus a jobs guarantee, the affordability of a jobs guarantee, productive work versus working for the dole, and sources of erroneous economic assumptions and criticisms leveled at Indigenous employment interventions.
As a passionate reformist, Prue has over 15 years of experience in public policy having worked for three premiers, ministers and at the executive level of public service. Prue has an extensive background in political strategy and public policy specialising in strategic coalition building, policy reform and campaign management.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.Support the Show.
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With no connection to the national grid, many remote communities of Cape York currently rely on diesel generators to power their lives. But what if there was a greener solution? One that was not only better for the environment, but brought long-lasting economic benefits to the community.
Cape York Hydrogen plans to find out.
In this episode of Time to Listen, we talk to Cape York Hydrogen Project Lead David Thompson and HDF Energy Project Manager and Engineer Bryan Dumail about their plans to work with communities at Northern Peninsula Area and Torres Strait to develop green hydrogen energy solutions and remove their reliance on diesel generation.
These hybrid energy solutions will combine solar farms with an energy storage system based on hydrogen to create renewable energy. They will also create training and job opportunities for locals and build the community's energy independence. Power to the people by the people.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.Support the Show.
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The National Centre for Vocational Education and Research has published its student equity in VET data tables. It revealed an eleven percentage point gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous completion rates of VET qualifications.
In their report, Indigenous Participation in VET: Understanding the Research, NCVER revealed that the VET sector needed to improve and adapt to better engage Indigenous students with VET. More successful engagement, they said, is built on community ownership, genuine partnerships with communities, respect for cultural knowledge and local capabilities, integration of cultural knowledge into training, and alignment of education and training with aspirations and, in the case of remote areas, local employment opportunities.
So what if educational institutions designed and delivered VET programmes with cultural awareness accompanied with a likelihood of employment in the communities students plan on returning to?
Introducing Djarragun College's Academies of Excellence - a recent and profound innovation providing VET learning and qualifications to its predominantly Indigenous student body.
In part two of this episode of Time to Listen we speak with Mandy Ross, Djarragun's Dean of Academies of Excellence and Noel Mason, Djarragun's Dean of Academy of Creative and Performing Arts.
"To improve the attraction and retention of our Indigenous students in VET programmes it really is all about the cultural connections. It starts at the beginning when the students are being informed about the VET opportunities or the courses that are available to them. We need to see Indigenous people in the marketing material. We need to see them and we need to hear their voices. When students are watching a clip with Indigenous people, they will sometimes know them and immediately the engagement goes off the scale. It's a relative or, you know, someone even closer to them that they know from their own community. And it's very exciting to watch the engagement. They also need the face to face contact from Indigenous people who are working in those areas. So here at Djarragun, we try to take the students out at least once a term to industry and connect with Indigenous people working in those areas. We have made connections with a couple of employers in the Cairns community and they do provide time for their Indigenous staff to come in and speak to our students and we really appreciate that. They're the sort of experiences that our kids need to keep involved and be reminded that the end goal is is really worth it," says Mandy, Djarragun's Dean of Academies of Excellence.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.---------------------------------------------------------------
Find the NCVER data here: Student equity in VET: participation, achievement and outcomes (ncver.edu.au)
Find their report Indigenous Participation in VET: Understanding the Research here: Indigenous participation in VET: understanding the research (ncver.edu.au)
Find out more about Djarragun College here: Djarragun College - Cape York PartnershipSupport the Show.
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The National Centre for Vocational Education and Research has published its student equity in VET data tables. It revealed an eleven percentage point gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous completion rates of VET qualifications.
In their report, Indigenous Participation in VET: Understanding the Research, NCVER revealed that the VET sector needed to improve and adapt to better engage Indigenous students with VET. More successful engagement, they said, is built on community ownership, genuine partnerships with communities, respect for cultural knowledge and local capabilities, integration of cultural knowledge into training, and alignment of education and training with aspirations and, in the case of remote areas, local employment opportunities.
In this episode, we explore Djarragun College's approach to VET provision. We speak to Taro Morrison, Djarragun's COO, and Lachlan McDonald, Djarragun's VET Coordinator.
We speak about Djarragun's extensive VET program and how it is culturally considerate. We also speak about how successful it has been in engaging its predominantly Indigenous student body with VET, and the duty that Djarragun has to providing its students with pathways beyond high school education.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Find the NCVER data here: Student equity in VET: participation, achievement and outcomes (ncver.edu.au)
Find their report Indigenous Participation in VET: Understanding the Research here: Indigenous participation in VET: understanding the research (ncver.edu.au)
Find out more about Djarragun College here: Djarragun College - Cape York PartnershipSupport the Show.
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"I'm living the dream at the moment. Working here at Djarragun College is my dream job. I get to work with young Indigenous men and women and see them grow as both students and people. The school is amazing because of the amount of different Indigenous communities represented here." - Aaron Davey
On this episode of the Time to Listen podcast, we get to sit down and have a good old-fashioned chat with Indigenous AFL legend Aaron Davey.
Aaron played 178 games for the Melbourne Demons Football Club, who are the reigning premiers, and he kicked more than 170 goals. He is now the AFL Head Coach as part of the Academies of Excellence program at Djarragun College. He is also the Head Coach of the North Queensland and Cairns City Lions teams, which are both reigning premiers of their respective competitions.
But Aaron's primary vocational concerns sit outside of football: he wants to see young Indigenous men and women realise their potential and lead good, healthy lives. He relishes the opportunity of being a role model and mentor to the Indigenous students at Djarragun College.
On this episode, Aaron talks about his early life and his journey into the AFL. He explains how he idolised his late father, and adored his mother, and explains their respective roles in inspiring and nurturing his dreams.
He then talks about his current role at Djarragun College, and gives his perspective on how to best engage Indigenous students with their education.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you listened to Time to Listen episode 6 where we introduce Djarragun College?
Find it here: Intertwining Culture, Academics and Vocational Potential - with Allison Halliday and Michael Barton (buzzsprout.com)
To find out more about Djarragun College, find them on Facebook @djarraguncollege
Or check out their website: djarragun.qld.edu.auSupport the Show.
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"Many non-Indigenous people will have just one negative experience with a First Nations person, and then write off an entire community that is so inherently diverse. But Indigenous people are expected to continually remain open minded about non-Indigenous people and to continue to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but it's really difficult to that when it's not returned." - Marijke Bassani
Call 000 if you feel like your life, or the life of someone else, is threatenedLifeline - 13 11 14 - crisis support and suicide preventionBeyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 - mental wellbeing support service
What are the misconceptions that exist regarding Indigenous people? How can a non-Indigenous person be a strong ally to Indigenous people? How has intergenerational trauma impeded upon Indigenous people's opportunity to flourish?
On this week's episode of the Time to Listen podcast, we proceed with the second part of our interview with human rights lawyer and CYLP alumna Marijke Bassani. Marijke is a First Nations woman from Cape York who is an advocate for gender and ethnic equality. She is currently completing PhD research in that space, particularly focusing on the rights of LGBTQI+ Indigenous people.
Marijke continues to explain the modern state of racism in Australia that is directed toward Indigenous people. She describes how this manifests as behaviour and misconceptions in the workplace, online and in the community, and gives examples of how she has been acutely impacted by it.
Marijke outlines what it means to be a true ally to Indigenous people and Indigenous culture, and what a false alliance looks like. She explains how intergenerational trauma has played a disruptive role in Indigenous culture, and how mental illness has impeded upon her life and the lives of many Indigenous people. She then describes the importance of seeking professional help to resolve such matters.
Marijke gives her opinion on whether or not there are a sufficient amount of role models for Indigenous youth. She then identifies a lack of diversity in Indigenous public figures and explain the detrimental effects of this.
Marijke concludes our discussion with the advice she would give to her younger self with the benefit of hindsight.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you felt distressed or triggered in some other way as a result of this podcast episode?
You can find support through:
Have you listened to the special 'Or Sisters' episode of Time to Listen? You can find it here:
https://bit.ly/TTL-SPECIAL-OUR-SISTERS-APPLE (Apple Podcasts)
https://bit.ly/TTL-special-our-sisters-spotify (Spotify podcasts)Support the Show.
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"Racism doesn't look like it did in the '50's and the '40's; it evolves over time. It's a living thing. Some people are in denial about carrying racial unconscious bias, but how could you not be carrying that when you look around us. Look at the systems in place in our society – the structures are built on white being at the top. That's a fact." - Marijke Bassani
Call 000 if you feel like your life, or the life of someone else, is threatenedLifeline - 13 11 14 - crisis support and suicide preventionBeyond Blue - 1300 22 4636 - mental wellbeing support service
What is life like for a young Indigenous woman growing up in Cape York? What challenges do they face when they leave their community to find economic opportunities elsewhere? What is the modern state of racism in Australia that they can expect to face?
On this week's episode of the Time to Listen podcast, we speak with human rights lawyer and CYLP alumna Marijke Bassani. Marijke is a First Nations woman from Cape York who is an advocate for gender and ethnic equality, and she is completing PhD research in that space.
We talk to Marijke about her life growing up as an LGBTQI+ Indigenous person in Cape York. We discuss the geographic, socioeconomic and cultural complexities that provided challenge to her life, and the new set of challenges that she faced when she chose to leave Cape York for greater economic opportunities.
Marijke Marijke outlines her involvement with the Cape York Leaders Program and her career to date. She then explains her current field of research and why it is both important and unprecedented.
Marijke explains the value of traditional language proficiency and the challenge of maintaining proficiency while being dislocated from her traditional homelands.
We then conclude this part of the interview by introducing the modern state of racism, as experienced by Marijke, and why she believes it is entrenched within the structure of Australian society.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you felt distressed or triggered in some other way as a result of this podcast episode?
You can find support through:
Have you listened to the special 'Or Sisters' episode of Time to Listen? You can find it here:
https://bit.ly/TTL-SPECIAL-OUR-SISTERS-APPLE (Apple Podcasts)
https://bit.ly/TTL-special-our-sisters-spotify (Spotify podcasts)Support the Show.
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"The students are the center of our care, so it's really important to focus on what the students' needs are. Not only their academic needs, but more importantly their social and emotional wellbeing." - Karen Wilson, Cape York Girl Academy Head of Wellbeing.
Why should schools prioritise the health and wellbeing of their students? How can this be achieved? For Indigenous Australian students, are there unique cultural considerations? And what does it mean to feel culturally safe?
On this week's episode of Time to Listen, we speak with Karen Wilson and Chaseley Walker, two Indigenous wellbeing support staff at the Cape York Girl Academy (CYGA). Every day, their paramount concern is ensuring that the CYGA students feel safe – physically, emotionally and culturally. They aim to meet the students base level needs – physiological, safety, and love and belonging – which will ensure, in turn, that the students feel most ready and able to engage in their education.
After outlining their roles, Karen and Chaseley outline the cultural backgrounds of the CYGA students. They clarify the trauma that has played a part in the lives of the students and has, ultimately, been a motivating factor in their enrolment to CYGA. They then explain why the Support and Wellbeing program is such a vital component of CYGA's operations.
Karen and Chaseley clarify what constitutes positive outcomes pertaining to their Indigenous students' wellbeing. They then evaluate the success of the CYGA Support and Wellbeing program by providing examples of these outcomes. They also explain what it is to create a learning environment that is culturally safe.
We conclude the episode by addressing the financial assistance provided by the Our Sisters campaign. Along with other areas, the campaign raises funds for CYGA's Support and Wellbeing program. Karen and Chaseley explain how the program, and the Indigenous girls who are uplifted by it, can and will benefit from further funding support.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you listened to the special 'Or Sisters' episode of Time to Listen? You can find it here:
https://bit.ly/TTL-SPECIAL-OUR-SISTERS-APPLE (Apple Podcasts)
https://bit.ly/TTL-special-our-sisters-spotify (Spotify podcasts)
Would you like to learn more about the Cape York Girl Academy? Check out their website:
Cape York Girl Academy - Cape York PartnershipSupport the Show.
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"I can say that we are a fairly unique situation here at Girl Academy. We're offering opportunities for students to learn more about their first languages. We're offering more opportunities for students to be exposed to the diversity and interwoven layers of Indigenous communities ...The teachers here are really mindful of our students' cultures ... so that we can help them build upon their knowledge of their own traditional culture." – Baressa Frazer.
How can Indigenous students be best supported in their learning environments? What are the unique cultural considerations that must be taken into account whilst educating Indigenous students? What does it mean to "be shame"?
For educators all across Australia, these are important questions to think and reflect deeply upon. As these questions guide the daily teaching practices of the Cape York Girl Academy staff, we believe that their perspectives and experiences can offer a lot to other educators of Indigenous students.
On this week's episode of Time to Listen, we speak with Baressa Frazer, Madeleine Boyd and Catalina Bejarano-Sanchez – three educators with real-time experience in teaching Indigenous students. Baressa is the former principle of the Cape York Girl Academy and current principle of Aurukun State School. Madeleine and Catalina are currently teaching at the Cape York Girl Academy.
Madeleine and Catalina speak about how they have had to adapt their teaching practices to suit the needs of the Indigenous students at the Cape York Girl Academy. They also talk about their observed differences between educating Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and how cultural safety is an important factor when teaching Indigenous students.
Baressa speaks from her perspective, as an Indigenous person, about what the 'shame factor' is, and how it plays a harmful and obstructive role in Indigenous lives. Baressa, Madeleine and Catalina speak about how they have avoided putting their students in a position where they may feel shame.
We speak about trauma-informed approaches to teaching, avoiding deficit-orientated and punitive responses to dysregulation, and meeting students' wellbeing needs to ensure they feel most able to learn.
We also talk about how the Cape York Girl Academy has interwoven traditional culture and ways of learning into the fabric of its curriculum and teaching practices. Madeleine and Catalina speak about how they, as non-Indigenous teachers, are continually engaging in professional development that focusses on knowledge of Indigenous culture.
We conclude by addressing the key things that other educators around Australia could learn from the Cape York Girl Academy's experience. Madeleine, Cataline and Baressa also share some heart-warming success stories concerning the development of their students.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you listened to episode 5 of Time to Listen, wherein we introduce the Cape York Girl Academy? You can find it here:
https://bit.ly/Apple-Time-to-Listen-Girl-Academy (Apple/iTunes)
https://bit.ly/Spotify-Time-to-Listen-Girl-Academy (Spotify)
Would you like to learn more about the Cape York Girl Academy? Check out their website:
Cape York Girl Academy - Cape York PartnershipSupport the Show.
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"If this [the First Nations Voice] is something you believe in, and you feel a conviction for it and in your heart you want to this happen, then stand with us and help us bring more people along ... I am absolutely of the belief that when Australians from all walks of life take this up and walk with us as the Uluru Statement invited everybody to do ... we're going to make history together." - Dean Parkin
This week on the podcast, we are bringing to you the second part of our interview with Dean Parkin, the Director of the From the Heart campaign. From the Heart's mission is to see Australia realise the principles and propositions laid out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart — Voice, Treaty, Truth.
In this second part of our conversation, Dean demystifies the First Nations Voice; also known as the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. He explains at what point in the co-design process we find ourselves, and what the next steps are likely to be. We talk about the public submissions made to the Voice co-design process, and what they demanded of the Federal Parliament.
Dean explains why constitutional enshrinement of the First Nations Voice is vital, how it is consistent with the request made by government to the referendum council, and how it honours the wishes of First Nations people. We also talk about the prospect of bi-partisanship support during a potential referendum process.
We address the potential membership models for the First Nations Voice. Dean gives his opinion on how the First Nations Voice will practically address disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He addresses the common rationale that drives rebuttal against the First Nations Voice. Finally, we conclude with Dean's opinion on how this profound reform opportunity will unite, not divide, Australian society.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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Have you listened to part 1 of this interview yet? You can find it here:
https://bit.ly/TTL-E11-Spotify (Spotify)
https://bit.ly/TTL-E11-Apple (Apple/iTunes)
To learn more about the From the Heart Campaign and the Uluru Statement from the Heart: fromtheheart.com.au
To read the public submissions made to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament co-design process: https://haveyoursay.voice.niaa.gov.au/submissions/list
To keep up to date on the progress of the First Nations Voice: https://voice.niaa.gov.au/#
Sources of audio snippets:
Noel Pearson (00.00.53)
Q&A Highlight: Declaration vs Constitutional Recognition | 15 June 2015
abcqanda (YouTube channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo9Sug2FXn4
Malcolm Turnbull (00.01.24)
PM Malcolm Turnbull on Q&A | 11 December 2017
abcqanda (YouTube channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VG6_aFhji0&t=1978s
Paul Keating (00.26.45, 00.35.19 and 00.40.58)
Prime Minister Paul Keating - Launch of International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples, 1993
National Archives of Australia (YouTube channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1S4F1euzTw
Noel Pearson (00.28.09)
Noel Pearson - Woodford Folk Festival 2017
Cape York Partnership (YouTube channel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC3hMEl7Dlo&t=672sSupport the Show.
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"The Uluru Statement from the Heart is an invite to the Australian people, and I have seen people respond to that invitation. There is a sense that if we could do it 1967, then this is our generation and we can do it this time. I think that more and more people are feeling connected to the cause." - Dean Parkin
This week on the podcast, we are speaking to the Director of the From the Heart campaign — Dean Parkin. From the Heart's mission is to see Australia realise the principles and propositions laid out in the Uluru Statement from the Heart — Voice, Treaty, Truth.
Dean was an active participant in the formulation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and was close to the design process. He has since embarked on a campaign to bring about awareness of the Uluru Statement and the tenets that lay within. This included speaking at TedX in Canberra in 2018, presenting the Uluru Statement to a live audience (link to that speech below).
We engage in this conversation with Dean for two fundamental purposes. Firstly, to illuminate the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Secondly, to demystify the First Nations Voice, which the statement outlines as the first step toward harmony between First Nations people and other Australians.
This episode is the first of a two-part series. In this episode, Dean explains what the statement is, who was consulted in order for it to be formulated, and why it is unprecedented for its scale. He also gives an insightful take on how previous efforts for constitutional recognition have created a foundation of precedent and success beneath the Uluru Statement.
We then move on to the topic of the First Nations Voice. Dean explains what it is, and outlines what function it is likely to have if and when it is actualised. He also address the line of rebuttal commonly known as the 'third chamber of parliament argument', and why he thinks it is baseless and misguided.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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To learn more about the From the Heart Campaign: fromtheheart.com.au
Sources of audio snippets:Nigel Scullion and Pat Dodson (00.00.52)
Nigel Scullion and Pat Dodson clash over Indigenous voice to parliament
Guardian News (YouTube channel)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IzmVhBa9xg
Dean Parkin (00.08.09 and 00.16.37)
The Uluru Statement From The Heart - an idea whose time has come | Dean Parkin | TEDxCanberra
TEDx Talks (YouTube channel)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB-31jD4XcA
Megan Davis (00.21.10)
Uluru Statement from the Heart
Guardian News (YouTube channel)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zREKuT6GUqU
Noel Pearson (00.28.49)
Noel Pearson - Woodford Folk Festival 2017
Cape York Partnership (YouTube channel)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC3hMEl7Dlo
Thomas Mayor (00.35.00)
Discussing an Indigenous voice to parliament at Garma |The Drum
ABC News (Australia) (YouTube channel)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s91ois0Z-m0
Danny Gilbert (00.40.29 and 00.52.16)
Danny Gilbert - Indigenous Constitutional Recognition Speech
Gilbert + Tobin (YouTube channel)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeimQWHy9Dg
Support the Show.
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"This is the second inquiry into food security by the parliament in eleven years. And like the Closing the Gap targets, little has changed or improved for those Australian Aboriginal people who live in remote communities." - Anne Stanley MP.
In December 2020, the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs tabled a report on food pricing and food security in remote Indigenous communities. The inquiry into this issue was made after reports of grocery price gouging in remote ATSI communities during the COVID-19 crisis. It was also made in response to the longstanding concerns of fresh, healthy and affordable produce being unavailable to our most remote Australians – many of whom are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The report resulted in 16 recommendations, made to state and federal governments, concerning a need to put downward pressure on food prices in these communities for the sake of equality in health and socioeconomic outcomes. The Federal Government is yet to respond to the report.
This week, we are speaking to the project lead for the Mayi Market, Rohan Gupta, as well as Mossman Gorge O-Hub staff, Robert Henning and Terrence Douglas. The Mayi Market is an initiative of the Cape York Partnership, and was established to address the enduring issue of food security and affordability in Cape York. In some communities, residents have been paying triple the price for groceries in comparison to Cairns, the nearest regional center.
The mission of the Mayi Market is to ensure a healthy diet is attainable for all Cape York families, through the delivery of fresh food boxes on a fortnightly basis. The produce in these boxes is priced in parity with Cairns supermarket prices.
During the episode, we discuss the reality of food availability and affordability in Cape York communities, and address the ensuing health outcomes. We also speak about the logistics of such an operation, how the initiative was co-designed with residents of Cape York and how CYP plans to scale it over the next 12 months.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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To find out more about the Mayi Market, read pages 72-75 of the CYP July-December 2020 Family Empowerment Report: bit.ly/FER-2020-July-to-December
Mayi Market website: The Mayi Market – Fresh food boxes for Cape York communities
Mayi Market is also on Facebook and Instagram.
Report on Food Security and Affordability: Report – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)
A snapshot of the report via SBS: Calls for study to improve food security and stop price gouging in remote Indigenous communities (sbs.com.au)
SBS short documentary 'The Distance Diet': Food availability in remote indigenous communities - YouTube
Sources of audio snippets:
The Distance Diet
Food availability in remote indigenous communities
Food availability in remote indigenous communities - YouTube
Linda Burney
Food insecurity in remote Aboriginal communities
Food insecurity in remote Aboriginal communities - YouTubeAnne Stanley MP
Indigenous Committee Report into Food SecuritySupport the Show.
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"History has had a direct impact on future Indigenous generations. Before any person wishes to judge or stereotype and Indigenous individual, please do your history first." - Warren Clements.
Welcome to a special NAIDOC Week edition of Time to Listen.
NAIDOC Week is a celebration of Indigenous Australian culture, history and achievement, and is also an important period in the calendar for listening, reflection and healing.
The theme for 2021, Heal Country, is a call to action; a powerful reminder that reconciliation is not beyond our capability as a nation. All of us, as individuals and communities, can make the choice to realise it.
This week, we are speaking with Warren Clements, a performing arts teacher at Djarragun College. Warren is an Indigenous man who is descended from the Wakaman and Kunjal nations. Warren has exceptional knowledge of Indigenous culture, and a deep care for preserving it through the coming generations.
Warren takes the time to explain what reconciliation means to him personally, and describes how he feels the process of reconciliation is being achieved at Djarragun College. He also explains how ancient Indigenous stories are inherited by younger generations through various forms of language, as well as the moral significance of them.
Warren completes the conversation by recalling his career as a performing artist. He has performed in front of several prime ministers, which included getting Kevin Rudd on stage for a dance. He has also performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on a few occasions. He recounts one particularly enlightening aspect to his third performance for Her Majesty and His Royal Highness, Prince Philip. Ever heard of Prince Philip's 'spear throwing gaffe'? We reckon that you haven't heard the perspective that Warren cares to share.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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To find out more about NAIDOC Week and this year's theme of Heal Country: www.naidoc.org.au/get-involved/2021-theme
To find out more about Djarragun College and their celebration of NAIDOC week, find them on Facebook @djarraguncollege
Or check out their website: djarragun.qld.edu.au
Be sure to find and follow the Cape York Partnership on Facebook for future podcast episode updates, and follow our celebration of NAIDOC Week.Support the Show.
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"You can't rely on markets to deliver justice. The market is not necessarily going to give us a socially acceptable outcome, so it has to be political intervention." - Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel laureate in economic sciences.
A gap of 26 percentile points, and widening. That is what defines the difference in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Addressing this issue, which ought to be impermissible in the first place, is not a dilemma, but an imperative.
The Prime Minister stated in his 2020 Closing the Gap report that Indigenous Australians' right to take responsibility must be restored, and that things must change. But exactly what needs to change?
On this episode of Time to Listen, we are joined once again by the Cape York Institute's Head of Policy, Prue Briggs. On a previous episode, Prue introduced CYI's initiative regarding full employment in Cape York communities. This week, we take a deeper dive.
Prue explains how Australia needs to re-embrace its previous economic disposition of full employment, fitting its core tenets with the needs of modern Indigenous Australian society. We address the criticisms of full employment, as well as the employment-related criticisms that Indigenous Australians receive themselves.
Prue outlines how such a policy can be designed fit for the needs of Cape York, and appropriately implemented in consultation with Indigenous communities. She also explains the shift in socioeconomic outcomes that we are likely to witness as a result of such fundamental and radical reform, and exactly how quickly we can expect to see this change.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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To find out more about CYI's proposal for a Jobs Guarantee:
https://capeyorkpartnership.org.au/media-articles/australian-job-guarantee/
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/the-case-for-a-government-jobs-guarantee/news-story/dee6e9545cd5af967c853e2f0481b02d
To find out more about Modern Monetary Theory:
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/
Statistics mentioned in this episode:
Gap in employment rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/indigenous-employment
Income inequality in Australia:
https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/social-affairs/income-and-wealth-inequality-australia-was-rising-covid-19
Long-term unemployment:
https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2020/dec/pdf/long-term-unemployment-in-australia.pdf
Budget overview and fiscal commitment to Indigenous Affairs:
https://budget.gov.au/2021-22/content/download/glossy_overview.pdf
History of unemployment and inflation in Australia:
https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/unemployment-rate
http://library.bsl.org.au/jspui/bitstream/1/160/1/research%20discussion%20paper%209215.pdf
https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/research/70-years-inflation-australia
History of unemployment and inflation in the U.S:
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/inflation-cpi
Sources of audio snippets:
Paul Krugman:
Paul Krugman - Inequality, Our Divided Society
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQcrDNPlqfs
Martin Luther King:
MLK Talks 'New Phase' Of Civil Rights Struggle, 11 Months Before His Assassination | NBC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8
Scott Morrison:
PM pushes for Indigenous-led refresh after releasing 12th Closing the Gap report | ABC News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cloZNx_3p0s&t=469s
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Indigenous youth are twice as unlikely to gain employment relative to their non-Indigenous peers. The Indigenous employment rate decreased by two percentage points between the 2006 and 2016 census, and lags behind the non-Indigenous employment rate by a staggering 25 percentage points.
Why is this really the case, and what can be done about it?
Bama Services is a recognised social enterprise based in Far North Queensland. After ten years of rapid growth, the contract services organisation now reliably tenders and delivers upon multi-million dollar civil and landscape construction contracts, which has won them immense praise and endorsement from industry groups and various levels of government.
But Bama is concerned with far more than its bottom line, and has a vital social outcome as the core of its focus – Indigenous employment.
Over its 10 years of operations, Bama services has maintained an Indigenous employment rate of 75% or higher; either directly employing, or supporting the employment, of over 300 Indigenous persons.
In this episode of Time to Listen, Cade Dawkins, the General Manager of Bama Services, outlines exactly why Bama places value and emphasis on this social outcome, which has only served to take the organisation from strength to strength. His counterpart on this episode, Jono Coker, is an Indigenous man and Bama's longest serving employee. He has seen the organisation evolve from a humble gardens-maintenance enterprise to the stature that it holds today. Both men also comment on how the organisation's support and wellbeing program – which could serve as a model for any medium enterprise, and underpins the entirety of the organisation's operations – is paramount for consistently meeting their social ambitions.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.Support the Show.
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It all begins with effective education. If a true and positive difference is going to made in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, it is going to be made by the emerging Indigenous generations. This journey begins with the academic, vocational and leadership skills gained in school.
With regard to this, the staff at Djarragun College, an Indigenous owned and focused school located in Gordonvale, Queensland, understand acutely how vital the window of schooling is for its students.
This week on Time to Listen, we are joined by College Principal Michael Barton, and traditional owner of the land upon which Djarragun College stands, Allison Halliday.
Allison and Michael give an introduction to the College, as well as an overview of the wonderful diversity of First Nations culture that exists within the student and staff body.
Allison explains the cultural significance of the land, as well as the array of traditional languages groups within the area.
Michael takes some time to outline how the school makes every effort to nurture the innate leadership skills and cultural pride held by the students, and how their potential can be realised when such characteristics are cased within a culturally safe environment. Michael also talks about the suite of vocational training opportunities available for the students at the school, and the importance in realising that the respective educational journeys of Indigenous students, and the affinity developed with their school, does not necessarily end upon graduation.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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If you would like to find out more about Djarragun College: https://djarragun.qld.edu.auSupport the Show.
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"The Girl Academy can perhaps act as a microcosm of how things can work [in Indigenous education]. There needs to be a systemic redesign of how we [Australia] are educating; in particular, how young Indigenous people are seeing themselves in the education system. We need to ask: are they identifying with the signs, the symbols and the talk of what it means to be Indigenous in this country? That may then begin to answer a question that our education systems are just not seeing."
Imagine if your identity and personal context was overlooked day after day, to the point where you naturally became completely disengaged with the circumstances that refused to acknowledge you for who you are. Then imagine you were regarded as a problem, a delinquent, or failing because you refused to indulge the ignorance. Now imagine you're a child, alone.
In this episode of Time to Listen, we are joined by Shoba Kalos and Baressa Frazer, the former and current principals, respectively, of the Cape York Girl Academy. The Girl Academy, as it is commonly known, is a refuge for young Indigenous women who, for various and personal reasons, have previously become disengaged with the prospect of an education.
The Girl Academy harbours a unique, holistic and effective curriculum that not only brings its female students back into the fold of learning, but restores their confidence in their ability to learn.
Segmented into two parts, we first speak with Shoba, who talks about the history of the Girl Academy, how its curriculum and structure of learning came to be and evolve, and the environments from which its students are drawn. Shoba also gives an insightful and judicious perspective on the real reason that the gaps in education are not closing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
We then speak with Baressa, who talks about her personal experiences as an Indigenous student, and now an educator. Baressa addresses the not-so-apparent barriers that young Indigenous people, especially women, are experiencing, and how these barriers can be re-framed to better understand the perspectives of First Nations people. She also talks about her value for First Nations languages, and her vision for the Girl Academy in 2021.
Thank you for taking the time to listen.
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To find out more about the Cape York Girl Academy: https://capeyorkpartnership.org.au/our-partnership/cape-york-girl-academy/Support the Show.
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