Koori Mail

THE Federal Government has released a discussion document that outlines how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages can be taught and supported in schools across the nation. Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett said the draft Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages would support community language revival and maintenance.

Federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett.

INDIGENOUS people with disability will benefit from a $900,000 funding package announced today to improve access to national disability support services. The First People’s Disability Network Australia will receive the funds over three years to assist Indigenous Australians to understand and access support from the newly-created DisabilityCare Australia. Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda said the package would help close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.

THE National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples welcomed the extra money in the federal Budget for Indigenous students. Congress said the $11.9 million over four years for the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program will help improve school retention rates and supported the $10 million for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation. The Government will invest $659 million in Indigenous education for programs that will increase parental engagement; provide better access to education and increase school engagement through sport.

ABORIGINAL artist Richard Bell has today been awarded a $100,000 Australia Council Creative Australia Fellowship. Bell was born in the Queensland town of Charleville and is a member of the Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang communities. He is a previous winner of the National Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, and is a nationally recognised artist with works represented in major collections in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

NATIONAL Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (NACCHO) chair Justin Mohamed welcomed the (Close the Gap) CTG announcement of $77 million in the federal Budget but said the lack of detail regarding how it would be allocated left a ‘question mark over Aboriginal health’. Mr Mohamed said he was disappointed the Budget did not spell out how the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan would be funded. The Budget included $16.5 million over four years to tackle trachoma in Indigenous communities.

THE Federal Government said it had allocated $1.6 billion in the Budget for Indigenous health, education, essential services, welfare reform, recognition and advocacy, languages and art. The Government said it was spending $777 million over three years towards Closing the Gap, including the National Partnership Agreement in Health. The funding announced for the National Plan for School Improvement included loading for Indigenous students and support for school students in low socio-economic areas and regional and remote areas.

MORE than 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander entrepreneurs and leading corporates have gathered in Melbourne for the nation’s foremost conference, tradeshow and awards night for Indigenous supply. The two-day Connect 2013 event will conclude tomorrow night. Supply Nation CEO Charles Prouse says certified Indigenous businesses are enjoying unprecedented success, winning corporate and government contracts worth more than $56 million over the past three years. Supply Nation’s members are companies, government agencies and suppliers.

THE National Centre for Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) and the Telstra Foundation have launched an online collaboration aimed at boosting the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the digital world. Each week for the next six weeks a topic about digital excellence will be discussed online at www.Indigenousdigitalexcellence.org.au. People can participate through Facebook (/IndigenousDigitalExcellence), Twitter (@IndigenousDX), Instagram (@IndigenousDX) and Trello, all using the hashtag #IndigenousDX.

EDUCATION ministers from around the country have today agreed to step up their efforts to improve Indigenous education results. Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett said the ministers had signed off on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan, which would involve personalised learning strategies for all 150,000 Indigenous students in Years 1 to 10, attendance strategies, community partnerships and better reporting standards.

AN Aboriginal man will contest the federal election in September as an independent Senate candidate for South Australia. Ribnga Green, a Jaru man originally from Halls Creek in WA’s Kimberley region, has lived in SA for many years. Father to three grown-up children, Mr Green will campaign on review of the laws allowing foreign farm ownership, humane treatment of refugees, full participation for all citizens in the economy, and a fair go for the poor and marginalised. He’ll launch his election campaign on Sunday.