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Dad forced to live in tent amid housing crisis

<p>An Aussie dad is the latest to fall victim to the housing crisis, with soaring rent and low vacancy rates forcing him to live in a tent. </p> <p>Peter Woodforde, 58, has been forced to live makeshift gazebo wrapped in tarps that's set up in an Adelaide park, and while his children know that he is doing it tough, they don't know that he is homeless and living in a tent. </p> <p>The father has yet to tell his kids, who live with their mother, that he's unable to find a suitable place to live as he said that they would be distraught if they found out. </p> <p>He admitted his 15-year-old daughter once told him that it "hurt her" to know her dad was struggling to find a comfortable place to live - but she doesn't know the extent of it. </p> <p>Speaking to <em>7News</em>, Woodforde said it's been difficult not being able to offer his kids a place to sleep. </p> <p>“Every parent wants to give their kids everything they possibly can and wants to give them the best chance of having a good life,” he told the publication. </p> <p>“What I say to them is that this is only temporary, Dad will get back on his feet.</p> <p>“(But) you’re missing out on some golden years ... I help where I can, I might pick them up and drop them off from school, but now they’re too far for me to do that,” he added. </p> <p>"I have to get myself off the street. I have to get my family into a house." </p> <p>Woodforde is sharing his story because he believes that homelessness is in a “state of emergency”,  especially with winter approaching. </p> <p>He is also unsure about whether his makeshift tent will collapse when heavier rain hits, and hopes that more could be done to help these people facing desperate circumstances. </p> <p>“We’re coming into the colder months - what’s the bill going to be for all the health problems that are going to arise out of this?" he said. </p> <p><em>Images: 7News</em></p> <p> </p>

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Family of eight forced to live in tent amid rental crisis

<p>A family of eight have been forced to live in a tent for over six months as they wait to find suitable accommodation after their last rental lease ended. </p> <p>Cameron and Tameka Fletcher and their six children, aged between one and 10, have been living in a tent and have had to move from campsite to campsite since September. </p> <p>The couple claimed that the government can't support them because they have "too many children", and are waiting for public housing, but they might not meet the criteria to be eligible for it. </p> <p>They were reportedly staying in a makeshift tent city in a suburban park north of Brisbane.</p> <p>"We've always had a house, we've never done this," Cameron Fletcher told <em>Nine News</em>. </p> <p>"Everyone here is going through the same thing. But it's the only way to get help."</p> <p>“We can only do what’s best for our kids, to keep a roof over their heads,” his wife added. </p> <p>One of the couple's daughters is due to start school next year, and they have been struggling to enrol her as the family doesn't have a permanent address. </p> <p>The family said they are also struggling with day-to-day activities like finding breakfast, washing their clothes and getting the kids ready for school, and are using solar camping showers purchased from Kmart to clean themselves.</p> <p>According to <em>Nine News</em>, the family would be happy with a three-bedroom home but were told by state housing officials that they can only be offered a five-bedroom home to avoid overcrowding, but there are currently none available. </p> <p>In a statement issued to <em>Yahoo News</em>, a spokesperson for Department of Housing said it “has been working with the family since September last year, including providing accommodation which they chose to leave”.</p> <p>"As we’ve been assisting them to find longer-term options, they have declined further offers of accommodation," the spokesperson said.</p> <p>"With regards to social housing, there are eligibility factors that need to be met, including income thresholds. However, the department continues to work with the family to find a private rental and give any other support they might need."</p> <p>This comes as new <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/rent-shock-what-youll-be-paying-in-every-australian-suburb-in-2024/news-story/10b67da9ebe170a2e2d37caa7e66bf40" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PropTrack</a> data, released in March, revealed that rent has increased by 17 per cent over the past 12 months, across all the capital cities in Australia. </p> <p>More than half of Queenslanders who have applied for social housing are reportedly homeless and have had to wait for over two years amid a lack of supply and increased demands.</p> <p>Earlier this year, the Queensland government announced it was aiming to build another 53,500 social homes by 2046, with a $3.1 billion funding boost to deliver one million homes. </p> <p><em>Images: Nine News</em></p>

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

<p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite the media storm, Jason defended his decision to maintain strict pandemic precautions, despite never having contracted Covid-19. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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”. </p> <p dir="ltr">Another Twitter user commended the tent and air filter idea, considering it a cost-effective and potentially effective solution to avoid contracting Covid. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I like the tent+filter idea. It’s cheap and should be effective,” another agreed.</p> <p dir="ltr">A few people shared that they empathised with Jason, and are also maintaining strict pandemic precautions. </p> <p dir="ltr">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.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m sorry you have to live like this. I no longer see my family since they stopped masking,” another added.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, not everyone empathised with Jason’s living arrangements, saying he was being unrealistic about the future of Covid. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.”</p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 18pt;"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / Twitter</em><span id="docs-internal-guid-929ebb36-7fff-a45a-7dfd-5c273933cc32"></span></p>

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

<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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?</p> <h2>Travellers behaving badly</h2> <p>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.</p> <p>These were serious situations requiring intensive work from our diplomats, but there is much more to the job than that.</p> <p><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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>Then there are those whose expectations are just inappropriate – asking officials to arrange opera tickets or look after their pets, for example. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <h2>Three ways to stay safe</h2> <p><strong>1) Be informed about where you are going</strong></p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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. </p> <p><strong>2) Stay in touch with family back home</strong></p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p><strong>3) Buy good travel insurance</strong></p> <p>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.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p> <p>It doesn’t take much to minimise the risk of difficulties turning into disasters overseas.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>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>. </em></p>

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International student forced to live in tent

<p>A 27-year-old student Zoe Jiang travelled from China to Sydney to attend university and much to her surprise, she was forced to sleep in a tent.</p> <p>The finance student arrived in Australia in January 2023 and was shocked to discover the rental prices were too high, resulting in her having to set up camp in short-stay accommodation.</p> <p>During one of her short stays, Ms Jiang did not have a room of her own. She had to pitch a tent in the middle of the living room to allow privacy from her roommates who came home late.</p> <p>Despite sleeping in the shared room, she was paying $300 a week in rent.</p> <p>"I have never had a night in a tent before," Ms Jiang said.</p> <p>"It's a fresh experience, and I think camping in a living room is very different."</p> <p>She has since found long-term accommodation, but she had lived in three different places in less than two months.</p> <p>Ms Jiang is one of many international students struggling to find a home in the nation's growing rental shortage.</p> <p>Housing advocates are concerned that international students are at risk of exploitation and are urging universities to offer support.</p> <p>Ms Jiang is just one of thousands of Chinese international students who had to rush back to Australia or face the risk of losing their qualifications under a new Chinese government policy.</p> <p>Ms Jiang joined the 59,000 international students who arrived in Australia in January 2023, a figure that proved “more than double” the amount as the same time last year, Universities Australia said.</p> <p>Sydney’s rental vacancy is currently at its worst, growing 35 per cent in unit rents across the city.</p> <p>Hundreds of residents are seen lining up outside rental inspections, but international students are suffering the most.</p> <p>The national president of the Council of International Students Australia, Yeganeh Soltanpour, said many international students who have just arrived are often overlooked by real estate agents.</p> <p>"[They] don't have a rental history because they are from overseas, so the chance for them to apply for a rental and get it is a lot lower," she said.</p> <p>Local students might be able to find rental vacancies through personal and family networks, but newly arrived international students have “almost zero connections”.</p> <p>"They can't ask someone for help, they don't always know where to look at ... [and] they might not know a lot about the areas," she said. "They may not even know how to use public transport properly.</p> <p>"This leads to the issue that they have to choose homes within the CBD area, which means they have to pay more rent."</p> <p>Zoe Jiang is one of many international students forced to stay in a shared space like a living room.</p> <p>Leo Patterson-Ross, CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, said transforming a living room into a bedroom could be unlawful.</p> <p>"The assumption is that it is unlawful under planning rules, under local councils, to convert a room to her bedroom without getting consent from council," he said.</p> <p>Mr Patterson-Ross mentioned he had seen "some very unlawful and often abusive behaviour" from landlords and head tenants who sublet rooms to students.</p> <p>This includes withholding students’ passports and threatening to report them to the immigration department if they were to breach the tenancy agreement.</p> <p>Mr Patterson-Ross also said that to prevent exploitation against international students, the government must fix “the fundamental issue” that everyone is faced with.</p> <p>“We just do not have enough homes for everyone in Australia," he said.</p> <p>"And that supply is not just the buildings, but also the pricing of the buildings."</p> <p>He also called for an independent third-party audit to ensure rentals in the market are of good quality rather than having renters shoulder the burden.</p> <p>Ms Soltanpour has asked international students to support each other to combat the rental crisis, but emphasised it was not their responsibility to “fix the issue”.</p> <p>She also called on universities to offer more support for students struggling to find accommodation.</p> <p>The chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, acknowledged that finding a rental anywhere in Australia is difficult for international students at the moment.</p> <p>"Universities continue to support students by providing information on accommodation options before they arrive in Australia along with various other support services," she said.</p> <p>"We encourage any student struggling to secure housing or facing financial pressures to reach out to their university for assistance."</p> <p>Fortunately for Ms Jiang she eventually secured her own room in North Sydney, paying $300 a week – the same amount as when she was sleeping in a tent.</p> <p>She met her new neighbour on the day she moved in, an elderly Italian woman who migrated to Australia when she was just 19.</p> <p>Ms Jiang’s new neighbour invited her in for a cup of tea and encouraged her to make new friends in Australia as “life is a gift”.</p> <p>Taking to social media after her move, a clearly grateful Ms Jiang wrote, “It’s such a great day.”</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p>

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“He yelled the N-word”: Stan Grant speaks out on racist attack

<p dir="ltr"><em>Q+A</em> host Stan Grant has opened up about the time he faced unprovoked racist abuse from a stranger outside of the ABC’s headquarters, just days after <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/there-is-no-excuse-for-what-i-saw-stan-grant-calls-on-the-abc-to-do-better">calling for the broadcaster to “do better”</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Grant, a Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi man, was attending the national summit on Aboriginal child safety in Adelaide when conversation turned to the incident involving a passerby and “the N-word”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I was standing outside the ABC filming … and a young man and his girlfriend walked past me and, as they got close to me, he yelled the N-word loudly at me, right at me,” Grant explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So what if I’m on television, so what if I stayed in the White House with [former US President] Barack Obama …. so what if I can phone the Prime Minister [Anthony Albanese] and he’ll pick up the phone, so what? In that moment, that’s what I was to that person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We don’t know when someone’s going to say that. No matter how successful you are, someone can always cut you down. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Racism can touch us anywhere.”</p> <p dir="ltr">When breaking the story, Grant was addressing an audience of approximately 250 individuals from across Australia - primarily First Nations experts and frontline workers - at the summit hosted by KWY.</p> <p dir="ltr">The group is a South Australia-based Aboriginal organisation who, according to their official website, “cover domestic and family violence, child protection, youth work, kinship care, disability, mentoring, Aboriginal education outcomes, perpetrator intervention, and cultural training and consultancy” across Adelaide and other regional centres. </p> <p dir="ltr">During the summit, Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner April Lawrie called on the South Australian government to take action against the rising rates of Aboriginal children who were being taken into state care, declaring that, “we’re removing [children] but we’re not supporting [families].” </p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s a telling story when [I] go into a school community to engage with young fullas … to find that I couldn’t take a photo because most of the Aboriginal children in that school community were a child in care [and can’t be identified].</p> <p dir="ltr">“That speaks more than what you see in data. That is the compelling story about what is going on in our Aboriginal communities, what is the relationship of the state with our Aboriginal families.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Reportedly, South Australia has a budget in excess of $500m, and only spends roughly $69m per year on early help services for families. </p> <p dir="ltr">As South Australia’s Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard said, the Malinauskas government intends to commit $3.2m to creating a new committee, while increasing the overall budget for family services by $13.4m. </p> <p dir="ltr">“We know that the current system is not working for Aboriginal families and children,” she stated.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Listening to the wisdom and experience of Aboriginal people is utterly fundamental to building a better approach.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This includes our government acknowledging how that legacy of colonisation and experiences of intergenerational trauma and racism influence the issues Aboriginal people face.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Q+A / Youtube</em></p>

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National Aboriginal Art Gallery under fire over proposed building site

<p dir="ltr">Indigenous Australian elders in the Northern Territory have called the development of the National Aboriginal Art Gallery (NAAG) a “complete joke” due to its insensitive proposed building site. </p> <p dir="ltr">The $130 million project is set to celebrate 65,000 years of First Nations history and culture, while also ramping up future tourism prospects in the NT. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, the government wants to build it on the town's football oval precinct, which, critically, overlaps a sacred women's site.</p> <p dir="ltr">Doris Stuart Kngwarreye, a proud Arrernte woman,  described the five-year consultation process for the project as a "complete joke" and said she would continue to fight to protect her cultural heritage.  </p> <p dir="ltr">"If you're there and they're consulting with you and you say 'no, end of story' consultation goes on without you there," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The boxes have been ticked." </p> <p dir="ltr">The main issue for Ms Stuart is that the gallery will layer other First Nations' songlines and stories, expressed through the artworks proposed for the gallery, over an Mparntwe sacred women's area. </p> <p dir="ltr">"If you put a building up there with stories that don't belong there, how do you think the ancestors will feel towards that?" she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Where's the respect? We have our boundaries here."</p> <p dir="ltr">Western Arrarnta elder and artist Mervyn Rubuntja has been painting his homeland in vibrant watercolour since he was a teenager, and said he felt uneasy about displaying his artwork on the potential site.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's a woman's site," he said. "You need to talk to the ladies first if they say yes or no, because it's important for every non-Indigenous person to listen."</p> <p dir="ltr">The fight over the location first began in 2017, when a government-funded steering committee, led by Indigenous art experts, <a href="https://desart.com.au/publication/2786/">said in a report</a> the gallery should be built out of town and should have major input from the local Indigenous custodians. </p> <p dir="ltr">The NT government is still consulting with the community over the designs of the building and that consultation process is expected to be wrapped by late 2023, but there is no clear timeline for when the building will commence.</p> <p dir="ltr">For Ms Stuart, she said she is disappointed that the government is pushing ahead with the project but said she’d continue to speak up for her country no matter the outcome. </p> <p dir="ltr">"All I want is respect for all this land," she said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Family forced to live in a tent after mould infestation makes house "unliveable"

<p>A family of five have been forced to live in a tent in their backyard after their home was overrun with an infestation of black mould that was making their children sick. </p> <p>Andrew Walsh-Baldwin and his wife Angalina took the drastic measure to move into the backyard of their $480,000 property in Victoria after the toxic mould in their newly purchased home caused all three of their young kids to fall ill.</p> <p>Their home has been rendered "unliveable" by construction experts, who said their home has not allowed for proper drainage during the unprecedented amount of rain. </p> <p>Ms Walsh-Baldwin broke down in tears when talking to Nine News, as she said "it's been freezing" living in the tent.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">A family of five is living in a tent, after heavy rain caused black mould to flourish in their home. </p> <p>Serious building defects in the newly purchased property are also contributing to the spread, which is making the kids sick. <a href="https://twitter.com/reid_butler9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@reid_butler9</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9News?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9News</a> <a href="https://t.co/IR1AqLNpI3">pic.twitter.com/IR1AqLNpI3</a></p> <p>— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) <a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsMelb/status/1594595429681098759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>"This was supposed to be our home," she said.</p> <p>Her husband Baldwin said, "The other week we got 190ml (of rain). I can't believe... we've got to this point."</p> <p>"The kids have been getting sick and missed a full term of kinder," he said. "You just feel inadequate now because, as a parent, we've failed."</p> <p>Dr Cameron Jones of Biological Health Services, who inspected the house, said it was among the worst cases of mould he'd ever seen. </p> <p>"When I've done moisture testing on the timbers, they're showing anywhere from 20 to 30 per cent plus," he said, before revealing the safe level is a maximum of 15 per cent.</p> <p>Building inspector Zeher Khalil, who is helping the family out free of charge, said what he found at the house is "unbelievable". </p> <p>"To pay $480,000 for this house, I mean I just feel like I've been ripped off," he said.</p> <p>The family is insured with Allianz, but their claims were rejected because the company said the defects were pre-existing, with Ms Walsh-Baldwin saying, "We've got rights too."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Nine News</em></p>

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

<p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">In February 2020, Jill Harris hired Extension Factory to extend and add a second storey to her Melbourne home.</p> <p dir="ltr">Two years later, she says she has been left living in poor conditions after numerous problems plagued the construction work.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“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 <em>A Current Affair</em>.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-753fe61a-7fff-bc70-a1b0-3fb26a2702bf"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“I have good days where I try to be positive and I have the lowest of lows.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/aca-house-damage.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>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</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Harris said the builders first built the storey out of square, forcing them to knock it all down and start again.</p> <p dir="ltr">“(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.</p> <p dir="ltr">Work was eventually stopped by surveyor Steve Maloney after the builders allegedly continued work without the permission of the inspector.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Maloney said work needed to stop because of the “owner(s) and their builders' compliances with the building legislation”.</p> <p dir="ltr">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”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-98e35689-7fff-0363-0578-8796f43ec3b1"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/09/extension-factory1.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>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</em></p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It certainly was an error, it was built out of square, we accepted responsibility and took it down,” Mr Hoggard said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I know what she’s living through.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t like it (my name) being treated that way, but I can appreciate she‘s upset about what’s transpired.”</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s not the sort of job that you would leave anyone occupying the premises,” Mr Hoggard said.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, Ms Harris said she wasn’t told that she would need to vacate her property.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>A Current Affair </em>reported that it alerted the Victorian Building Authority to Ms Harris’ situation, prompting the organisation to release a statement.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"When it doesn't, we use the powers available to us to hold practitioners accountable."</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0ed70c5a-7fff-44b9-bdcc-0831adfcf2d3"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em> Image: A Current Affair</em></p>

Real Estate

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Queen Elizabeth II mural painted over

<p dir="ltr">A mural of Queen Elizabeth II has been painted over with the Aboriginal Flag a few days after the monarch was laid to rest.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">The day of her death saw local Sydney artist Stuart Sale paint the mural in the inner-west suburb of Marrickville.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There was quite a crowd around him as he finalised the mural,” he said.</p> <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&amp;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&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Stuart Sale (@stuartsale)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s a very sensitive issue,” Bobby told OverSixty.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">He explained that the mural belonged to the people and that he did not have any plans on fixing it.</p> <p dir="ltr">“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.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Sahar Mourad</em></p>

Art

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Artist reworks the classics to include Aboriginal women

<p dir="ltr">An Indigenous artist is reclaiming her heritage by reworking famous artworks to include Aboriginal women. </p> <p dir="ltr">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. </p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <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&amp;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&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brandi Salmon (@brandisalmon.artist)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“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>. </p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"You will see Aboriginal people depicted in this almost animal-like, grotesque fashion that is indicative of a certain time period and romanticises invasion.”</p> <p dir="ltr">When Brandi first started The Aunty Collection for a university assignment, it evolved further than she ever imagined it would. </p> <p dir="ltr">"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.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Aunty Collection now features paintings such as Botticelli's <em>The Birth of Venus</em> and Leonardo da Vinci's <em>Mona Lisa</em> re-imagined as strong and proud Aboriginal women.</p> <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&amp;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&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brandi Salmon (@brandisalmon.artist)</a></p> </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&amp;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&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Brandi Salmon (@brandisalmon.artist)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Brandi said, "If you think about the classical works, they often depict people and their everyday world to some extent."</p> <p dir="ltr">"A couple of hundred years ago we were being depicted as servants, and now we have the freedom to do The Aunty Collection."</p> <p dir="ltr">"I don't think I realised how much of an impact that would have."</p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><em>Image credits: Instagram</em><span id="docs-internal-guid-92d6872c-7fff-0194-caca-a9d72f7ea119"></span></p>

Art

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Sacred Aboriginal sites are yet again at risk in the Pilbara

<p>An application from Traditional Owners to block the construction of a fertiliser plant near ancient rock art in the Pilbara <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-24/perdaman-fertiliser-traditional-owners-sacred-sites-rock-art/101363542" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was denied</a> by the federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. This decision is deeply concerning, and points to a much larger problem with Indigenous heritage management.</p> <p>Plibersek says she went with the views of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation in making her decision, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/plibersek-will-not-block-perdaman-fertiliser-plant-/101360350" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calling it</a> the “most representative organisation on cultural knowledge” in the region. Yet, she <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/environment-minister-won-t-intervene-on-burrup-plant/101359854" target="_blank" rel="noopener">also acknowledged</a> that these views don’t represent all Traditional Owner perspectives in the area.</p> <p>Save Our Songlines, a separate organisation of Murujuga Traditional Owners, oppose the fertiliser plant, which they say poses a threat to sacred rock art sites. <a href="https://www.saveoursonglines.org/post/tanya-plibersek-fails-to-protect-murujuga" target="_blank" rel="noopener">They say</a> the minister’s decision is “based on faulty reasoning and false conclusions”.</p> <p>In 2020, the world reacted in horror when Rio Tinto <a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawfully</a> destroyed Juukan Gorge – sacred Aboriginal rock shelters in the Pilbara some 46,000 years old. Broader community understanding of the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges for looking after Country can help us avoid repeating this tragedy. Tourism and community education is an important way to do that.</p> <blockquote> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The community, the country and the whole world will be outraged if this leads to another Juukan Gorge because the federal government would not stand up to industry and protect sacred Aboriginal sites from further destruction.”</p> <p>— Save Our Songlines (@SaveBurrup) <a href="https://twitter.com/SaveBurrup/status/1561902261571203078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <h2>‘Enough is enough’</h2> <p>The A$4.5 billion Perdaman fertiliser plant will be constructed in the World Heritage nominated <a href="https://exploreparks.dbca.wa.gov.au/park/murujuga-national-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Murujuga National Park</a> in Western Australia. It is home to the world’s largest rock art gallery, with more than 1 million images scattered across the entire Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago.</p> <p>As many as <a href="https://www.saveoursonglines.org/post/tanya-plibersek-fails-to-protect-murujuga" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20 sacred sites</a> may be impacted by the plant, according to Save Our Songlines.</p> <p>In <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/environment-minister-won-t-intervene-on-burrup-plant/101359854" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an interview</a> with ABC Radio National, Plibersek said the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation have agreed that some of these rock carvings can be moved safely, and others can be protected on site even if the plant goes ahead.</p> <p>However, the situation isn’t so clear cut. For example, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-26/aboriginal-custodians-concerns-in-letter-to-government/101370394?utm_source=sfmc&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=abc_news_newsmail_am_sfmc&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_id=1930785&amp;sfmc_id=281363065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the ABC revealed</a> on Thursday that the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation refused permission to move the rock art sites multiple times, preferring they remain undisturbed. Elders finally agreed after receiving advice that this wasn’t possible.</p> <p>This isn’t the first time we’ve seen issues regarding consultation processes with Traditional Owners, such as during the notorious <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/battle-for-the-kimberley-20120523-1z5fb.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">battle for the Kimberley</a> against a major gas plant in 2012.</p> <p>Traditional Owner and co-author Clinton Walker has been sharing his intimate knowledge of the Pilbara with visitors through his tourism venture <a href="https://www.ngurrangga.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ngurrangga Tours</a> for the past 11 years. He has the cultural authority and capacity to speak for his Country.</p> <p>Clinton was a signatory on the <a href="https://www.saveoursonglines.org/post/open-letter-from-murujuga-custodians" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open letter from Traditional Owners and Custodians of Murujuga</a> concerning threats to cultural heritage in the area. He describes the potential impact of the fertiliser plant:</p> <blockquote> <p>This hill is a very very sacred site to my people. If they build their plant here we’re not gonna have the same access we do now to go visit our rock art and teach our kids and family their culture.</p> <p>This impact is going to damage our culture and it will damage us as the Traditional Owners because we’re connected to these sites in a spiritual way. I want people to know how important these sites are. We need to protect them. Enough is enough.</p> <h2>The need for consent</h2> <p>The <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal inquiry into the Juukan Gorge</a> disaster <a href="https://theconversation.com/juukan-gorge-inquiry-puts-rio-tinto-on-notice-but-without-drastic-reforms-it-could-happen-again-151377" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> the need for free, prior and informed consent from any affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group.</p> <p>The inquiry also <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/juukan-gorge-blast-inquiry-told-of-rio-tinto-gag-clauses-warning/12754100" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called for</a> the removal of so-called “gag clauses” from land-use agreements, which prevent Aboriginal people from speaking out against developers.</p> <p>Save Our Songlines Traditional Owners say principles from the inquiry aren’t being upheld, and are concerned <a href="https://www.nit.com.au/the-six-clauses-traditional-owners-say-gag-them-from-raising-murujuga-concerns/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gag clauses</a> are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/24/indigenous-elders-in-wa-say-gag-clause-denies-them-a-say-in-industrial-developments-on-their-land" target="_blank" rel="noopener">silencing members of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation</a>.</p> <p>We find it deeply problematic that Plibersek did not acknowledge these concerns around gag clauses in announcing her approval of the fertiliser plant. It is the role of the government to keep industry accountable for their obligations to abide by <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00937" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indigenous heritage laws</a> and to ensure proper consultation processes are undertaken.</p> <p>This decision is also not in line with the federal government’s vocal commitment to the environment and to <a href="https://alp-assets.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/documents/ALP_FIRST_NATIONS_PEOPLES_2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs</a> prior to winning the election.</p> <p>In a <a href="http://www.majala.com.au/news/lawful-but-awful" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submission to the United Nations</a> about how to “decolonise our legal system”, Nyikina Warrwa Indigenous leader and respected researcher <a href="https://www.notredame.edu.au/research/nulungu/staff/Anne-Poelina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Professor Anne Poelina</a> said:</p> <blockquote> <p>If the Lawful Laws which are awful, are enabled as lawful, what chance do Indigenous people and our lands, water, lifeways, and livelihoods stand against destruction?</p> <h2>Understanding Indigenous connection to Country</h2> <p>Non-Indigenous people need to better understand the <a href="https://theconversation.com/although-we-didnt-produce-these-problems-we-suffer-them-3-ways-you-can-help-in-naidocs-call-to-heal-country-163362" target="_blank" rel="noopener">importance of Country</a> for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Classrooms are a good place to start.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1177180120929688" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deficits in the Australian education system</a> have led to poor knowledge and frequent and pervasive misunderstandings of Aboriginal people, places and cultures. A <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/white-australias-hangover/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">psychological hangover</a> from White Australia’s assimilation policies persists.</p> <p>When school education doesn’t provide accurate and truthful accounts of Australian histories, <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/State-of-Reconciliation-2021-Full-Report_web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harmful stereotypes are left unchallenged</a>.</p> <p>Clinton Walker describes a common response from visitors on his tours showcasing the culture, Country and history of the Pilbara:</p> <blockquote> <p>People say ‘how the hell don’t we know that? Why have we never learnt this stuff?’</p> </blockquote> <p>Improvements in education have been slow. For example, the Australian Institute for Teacher and School Leadership only released their report “<a href="https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/intercultural-development/building-a-culturally-responsive-australian-teaching-workforce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Building a culturally responsive Australian teaching workforce</a>” in June this year.</p> <p>Resources to support teachers are said to be scheduled for release in the coming months.</p> <h2>Learn about Country through tourism</h2> <p><a href="https://www.welcometocountry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tourism is one context</a> where the visibility and recognition of Indigenous people as knowledge-holders can be promoted and celebrated.</p> <p>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism operators are delivering truthful accounts of Australian history and telling their stories of their connection to Country and culture. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1468797620987688" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This work is an emotional labour</a> as they challenge entrenched colonial narratives.</p> <p>Indigenous tourism operators are <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-a-word-practising-reconciliation-through-indigenous-knowledge-sharing-in-tourism-158563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">agents of reconciliation</a>. Operators speak about wanting to educate visitors to build awareness of social and environmental issues facing their communities. The potential destruction of cultural sites at Murujuga is one such issue.</p> <p>Ongoing research from lead-author Nicole Curtin involves conversations with Aboriginal tourism operators and their visitors. It finds that deep listening is required for visitors to interrogate their own biases and privileges during their tourism experience. Visitors must be willing to “go and sit and learn” about Indigenous sovereignty and knowledges in their own lives.</p> <p>Indeed, an enhanced sense of connection to our local communities may help to drive people to speak out about the destruction of sites of environmental and cultural significance.</p> <p>Raising community awareness to fuel social momentum is one way of exerting pressure on decision makers to protect Australia’s rich cultural heritage and environment.</p> <div> <p><em>We acknowledge the Bininj, Larrakia, Noongar, Ngarluma, Yindjibarndi and Yawuru peoples as the Traditional Owners of Country where this article, and our research, was conducted and written. We pay our respects to Elders past and present.</em></p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/sacred-aboriginal-sites-are-yet-again-at-risk-in-the-pilbara-but-tourism-can-help-protect-australias-rich-cultural-heritage-188524" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</strong></p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p> </div> </blockquote> </blockquote>

Travel Trouble

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Landlord overstays welcome sleeping in tent under tenant’s home

<p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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 <em><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></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The more visits the more it disturbed our sense of privacy at home,” the tenant’s girlfriend told the tribunal.</p> <p dir="ltr">Over two years, she said she saw Clement at the house at least 15 times and that he stayed overnight seven times.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I cannot express how uncomfortable and weird I felt that night," the girlfriend said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I sent Brian a message as I could hear him around the house and asked him once more to leave."</p> <p dir="ltr">On the two occasions she called him, he answered with “verbal insults” and said he was “just under the house catching internet Wi-Fi”.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">A neighbour who confirmed the account said it was “unnerving” and that she even felt “unsafe at the time”.</p> <p dir="ltr">She described the relationship between the tenant and Clement as “unusual and always ‘grey’”.</p> <p dir="ltr">She said the tenants had been renting the property for over a decade, and that Clement “appeared to come and go” from the property.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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”.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Importantly, even if a tenant has given consent to the landlord to enter the</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">As well as paying damages, Clement was ordered to pay an additional $1000 ($AUD 900) for the property having no or ineffective underfloor insulation.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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.</p> <p dir="ltr">Georgie Rogers, the resident of advocacy group Renters United, said tenants can go to the police if their landlords are harassing or threatening them.</p> <p dir="ltr">"But the convoluted way of going to the Tenancy Tribunal is the only way for tenants to access their rights," Rogers said.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, he said tenants could be named and blacklisted if their claims were unsuccessful.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d016e047-7fff-8a67-aae7-51dd58bfdf4d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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Flag debate erupts as Carrie Bickmore returns

<p dir="ltr">Carrie Bickmore’s return to <em>The Project</em> has come amid heated debate over the flying of the Aboriginal flag over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with co-host Steve Price declaring “there’s only one Australian flag”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Premier Dominic Perrottet announced on Sunday that the plan to install a third flagpole - with a controversial $25 million price tag - would be scrapped, with the Aboriginal flag permanently replacing the state flag and the funds going towards “closing the gap” initiatives instead.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Our Indigenous history should be celebrated and acknowledged so young Australians understand the rich and enduring culture that we have here with our past,” Mr Perrottet said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Installing the Aboriginal flag permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge will do just that and is a continuation of the healing process as part of the broader move towards reconciliation.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Activist Cheree Toka, who has been campaigning for the Indigenous flag to be flown permanently since 2017, said the state flag was “null and void these days”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c907db0a-7fff-b990-6c33-6437c21d2cb6"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Having the Aboriginal flag fly permanently next to the Australian flag is the statement that we need to set as a nation moving forward to unite,” she told reporters.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced the Aboriginal flag will permanently fly on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and has scrapped plans to spend $25 million on a new flagpole.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheProjectTV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheProjectTV</a> <a href="https://t.co/I5b35mGVp2">pic.twitter.com/I5b35mGVp2</a></p> <p>— The Project (@theprojecttv) <a href="https://twitter.com/theprojecttv/status/1546415687836499969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">But when the news came up for discussion on Monday’s episode of <em>The Project</em>, the intense debate seemed to even overshadow Bickmore’s return from <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/the-truth-behind-carrie-bickmore-s-shock-announcement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">her UK family trip</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Co-host Hamish MacDonald asked the panel, “If that’s the argument about state flags, do you think we might be moving to a point where the nation as a whole embraces the Indigenous flag as the national flag?”</p> <p dir="ltr">Price responded in the negative, and when asked for his reasoning, said: “I just think Australians support the flag they’ve got.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We don’t need to change the flag. Who wants to change the flag?”</p> <p dir="ltr">Panellist Peter Helliar began, “I think over time –”</p> <p dir="ltr">Price quickly interrupted, saying, “We only have one flag – that’s the Australian flag. If you want to have a referendum on the flag, good luck buddy.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think as generations go on that will change,” Bickmore said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No it won’t,” Price said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Helliar then joked that Price might be dead by the time it came up for discussion.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It may not be an issue for you, Pricey,” he said. “I mean who knows when it could happen? It could happen (in) 10 years, 20 years, 30 years.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Annoyed, Price shot back, “You’d like to get rid of the Australian flag, would you?”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’m happy to have a conversation about it, absolutely,” Helliar replied.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Well it would need a referendum, and it won’t get up,” Price said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Does it need … that?” MacDonald asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Yes. Of course it does!” Price responded. “You don’t just chuck the flag out because a few people want it to be.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The news that flying the Indigenous flag would come with such a hefty price tag sparked controversy last month, with even Mr Perrottet saying he “didn’t know” why it cost so much but that it was a “small price to pay”.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-e9fb3be3-7fff-ffad-8f3a-1a7b7d11344d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The installation of the six-storey flagpole, and the relocation of other equipment, was also expected to take two years to complete.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Harbour Bridge WILL be home to the Aboriginal Flag in 2022 <a href="https://t.co/0MiVwlqEIk">https://t.co/0MiVwlqEIk</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/ChangeAus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChangeAus</a> </p> <p>Also, check out the number views. If only all who viewed signed too! <a href="https://t.co/qSbtHBttbR">pic.twitter.com/qSbtHBttbR</a></p> <p>— Cheree Toka (@Chereetoka) <a href="https://twitter.com/Chereetoka/status/1544500115213516800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Under the new plan, the NSW flag will be included in the redevelopment of Macquarie Street in Sydney’s CBD, where several key state government buildings are located.</p> <p dir="ltr">“What we’ve learnt is a lot of people across the state don’t appreciate the NSW flag or the state’s history and that is because they see themselves as Australians first and not as their state,” Mr Perrottet said on Sunday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s a great opportunity to put the flag in the historic precinct as an important part of modern Australia. The parliament is there, the Mint is there, the Barracks are there.“</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Toka said she was “ecstatic and over the moon” at the announcement and already has her next goal: ensuring that Indigenous languages are taught in NSW schools.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I haven’t done enough research yet but I’d love to pursue it,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I think it’s really important to teach native tongues in the school curriculum, to keep this continuous culture living. At the minimum, we should be able to introduce ourselves, say hello, it doesn’t have to be anything fluent, but we should look at New Zealand and how it operates right now with a strong acceptance and recognition of the language of their people.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d07500f1-7fff-2362-d622-ce8c709c9b55"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

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Sydney icon to be returned to Aboriginal owners

<p dir="ltr">A historic decision has been made to return one of Sydney harbour's iconic landmarks to its Indigenous custodians.</p> <p dir="ltr">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 $43 million ($NZ 47m) revitalisation of the island.</p> <p dir="ltr">NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet described the achievement as a “personal priority”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-884d2a08-7fff-393c-0609-2d285d9a3db1"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“A big part of my commitment is ensuring the island is remediated before it’s transferred to the Aboriginal community.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Me-mel (Eora): Bennelong's island; little green space in the sea. <a href="https://t.co/HZFslBCkyH">pic.twitter.com/HZFslBCkyH</a></p> <p>— Carolyn R Galbraith (@CarolynRGalb) <a href="https://twitter.com/CarolynRGalb/status/1530773156536852481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">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 <em><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></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Me-Mel Island is the biggest in Sydney Harbour and lies north-west of the CBD.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-9e769c3e-7fff-5f05-09d0-f67c7b488a4d"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">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></p> <p>— Councillor Yvonne Weldon (@ypweldon) <a href="https://twitter.com/ypweldon/status/1530860098515783682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">“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.</p> <p dir="ltr">Nominations for this committee are open until close of business on June 27.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4bd3246b-7fff-8211-0ee4-0e09959bc419"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Office of Environment and Heritage (Flickr)</em></p>

Real Estate

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Queensland mum shares heartbreaking story of homelessness

<p>A young mother-of-two from Queensland has documented her devastating journey of homelessness, as she has become the face of how the housing crisis is affected generation Z. </p> <p>Sushannah Taylor, 20, has been staying at campsites around the Bundaberg area after her landlord sold the rental home she was living in with her husband Tristan, 22, and the couple’s two daughters Delilah, 2, and six-month-old Luna.</p> <p>Throughout her experience, she has documented her journey on TikTok to show how the reality of the housing crisis is affecting young families across Australia. </p> <p>In the latest blow to Sushannah and her family, the young woman shared she was recently involved in an accident while driving the family car, with her two young children and all the family’s possessions in the back.</p> <p>Sushannah’s car was hit by another vehicle being driven by an elderly woman who, rather than stop to assist, drove away.</p> <p>No one was hurt in the collision, but now Sushannah and Tristan have been lumped with the full cost of repairs for the vehicle — a cost they cannot pay.</p> <p>Sushannah said that she had to “swerve the car to avoid them hitting the front or, you know, the middle where my kids are” and that the kids got “rattled around a little bit but they are doing great”.</p> <p>“But here’s the kicker. The person that hit me was an elderly woman. And when I pulled over and tried to wave her down to say, ‘hey, like, let’s stop, let’s take each other’s details, let’s assess the damage’, she drove off.</p> <div id="indie-campaign-DifJheZrCrms7j4pmefw-0" data-campaign-name="NCA FINANCE Cashed Up Newsletter OneClick SignUp" data-campaign-indie="newsletter-signup" data-jira="TSN-268" data-from="1645448400000" data-to="1680181200000"></div> <p>“A hit-and-run. So we don’t have a car right now. And it’s gonna cost me hundreds of dollars to fix the damage.”</p> <p>“What I’m so angry about is the person that decided to hit my car and run away like a coward. I’m homeless. I live out of my car. I need my car. It is an absolute necessity for me and my family to survive. And now I have to look at possibly buying a new one. But don’t have the money for that."</p> <p>“I just want one thing to go right. Because right now I feel like the universe if laughing at me.”</p> <p>Sushannah's videos are shining a light on the homelessness crisis in Australia, documenting what the family eats for each meal and the constant unpacking of their lives to move onto a new campsite.</p> <p>The young couple have applied for more than 40 jobs and are now receiving Centrelink payments to support their family.</p> <p>The area of Bundaberg is extremely competitive to secure housing in, while homeless shelters are also at full capacity. </p> <p>“I’ve been a stay-at-home mum for the past two years so it’s going to be a little bit more difficult for me to jump back in but I’m trying,” Sushannah said.</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

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Australians’ favourites show Aboriginal art can transcend social divisions and art boundaries

<p>New analysis shows landscape art is the most popular visual art genre among Australians, with Aboriginal art coming in second place, followed by portraits and modern art. </p> <p>But Aboriginal art is more likely to bridge social divides and can dissolve personal prejudices between different kinds of art. </p> <p>Many Australians are sharply divided as to whether they prefer more traditional genres like landscapes or more contemporary and abstract visual forms. And these divisions relate to differences in age, class and education. But Aboriginal art bucks this trend because it is seen as “telling a story”. </p> <p>The research is discussed in a new book called <em><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Fields-Capitals-Habitus-Australian-Culture-Inequalities-and-Social/Bennett-Carter-Gayo-Kelly-Noble/p/book/9781138392304">Fields, Capitals, Habitus: Australian Culture, Social Divisions and Inequalities</a>.</em></p> <h2>We know what (and who) we like</h2> <p>Researchers conducted a <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/story_archive/2018/research_shows_social_class_has_a_strong_influence_on_cultural_tastes">national survey of Australians’ cultural tastes</a>, administering surveys to 1,202 Australians. Extra samples to ensure representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Italian, Lebanese, Chinese, and Indian Australians, brought the overall survey total to 1,461. </p> <p>Researchers subsequently <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-13/what-your-habits-reveal-about-your-social-class/9610658?nw=0">partnered with the ABC</a> to conduct online surveys on cultural tastes that were compared with research findings.</p> <p>Aboriginal art was the second most popular genre, liked by 26% of the main sample, behind landscapes (52%) but ahead of portraits (24%) and modern art (17%). </p> <p>Impressionism and Renaissance art came in at around 15% each, while abstract art, colonial art, Pop art and still lifes ranged, in order, from 13% down to 7%.</p> <p>Survey respondents were <a href="https://theconversation.com/tom-roberts-anyone-a-national-survey-finds-the-line-in-art-appreciation-51301">given a selection of artists</a>and asked to say whether they had heard of and liked them. Indigenous landscape painter <a href="https://manyhandsart.com.au/about/albert-namatjira/">Albert Namatjira</a>was the third most familiar but, at 63%, he was only narrowly pipped by painter <a href="http://www.sidneynolantrust.org/about/sidney-nolan">Sidney Nolan</a> (67%) and the colourful <a href="https://kendone.com.au/">Ken Done</a> (68%). Indigenous multi-media artist Tracey Moffatt was less well known (14%). But Namatjira was the most popular of all, liked by 49% ahead of both Nolan (42%) and Done (40%).</p> <p>Unsurprisingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were much more enthusiastic about Aboriginal art (67%) and Namatjira (liked by 70%) than the main sample, but not notably so for Moffatt. Indian and Lebanese Australians also showed a marked liking for Aboriginal art at 38% and 36% respectively.</p> <p>Aboriginal art had a broader cross-class appeal than most genres. It did, however, appeal more strongly to those in intermediate (such self-employed and clerical workers) and professional and managerial occupational classes than to those in skilled or unskilled working-class occupations. </p> <p>Namatjira was most popular with the older members of Australia’s intermediate classes. Moffatt, by contrast, appealed most to the younger, tertiary educated Australians in professional and managerial occupations.</p> <p>There were clear correlations between these preferences for particular Indigenous artists and genre tastes. Those who liked Namatjira preferred traditional and largely figurative genres – landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. Those who liked Moffatt favoured genres tending towards abstraction or critical engagements with figurative conventions – modern art, Pop art and abstract art.</p> <h2>The great divide … and a bridge</h2> <p>A key finding of the research was how much those who liked traditional and figurative genres disliked contemporary and abstract genres. The reverse was even more true: those who liked contemporary and abstract art often had a strong aversion to traditional and figurative art. </p> <p>Yet the category of Aboriginal art often crossed the boundaries between these two groups of genres. </p> <p>This is not entirely surprising. Aboriginal art has expanded beyond its traditional forms to include acrylic dot art, contemporary urban Aboriginal art practices, rock art, or the kitsch forms of “Aboriginalia” like that collected by Tony Albert.</p> <p>But what is surprising is how frequently, when discussing their art tastes in follow-up interviews, our survey respondents treated Aboriginal art as an exceptional art form. </p> <p>While most viewed it as a form of abstraction, it was seen as a purposeful abstraction with a story to tell, crossing the boundaries between the abstract and the figurative.</p> <p>It was on these grounds that Aboriginal art was let off the hook by those who usually disliked non-figurative art. This was pithily summarised by one respondent who, dismissing modern and abstract art as “equivalent to what my daughters would do in kindergarten”, praised the “uniqueness of Aboriginal art and the dots” because “there’s stories behind it – there is the story they are trying to tell”.</p> <p>This was a recurring theme in appreciations of Namatjira. In a follow up interview, one survey respondent – a professional in a high-level executive role – liked Namatjira’s work for not being “too abstract” in its depiction of “the beauty of the bush and the country”. </p> <p>For another, a part-time accountant and labourer, Namatjira served as a counter to his dislike of modern and abstract art because his paintings are “real … they just feel like he’s telling a story in his pictures and they’re real”.</p> <p>And a third, a woman in her 30s from a Sri Lankan background, expressed her appreciation of Namatjira and Moffatt in similar terms. She loved “Tracey’s storytelling” with its “strong style and voice”, emphasising its appeal to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous women, while singling out the “cultural connections” that Namatjira’s work makes.</p> <p>While, then, different kinds of Aboriginal art appeal to different publics, the category of Aboriginal art is one that recruits a broader interest. We got a strong sense that it is something that non-Indigenous Australians felt they ought to like and know more about because of what it has to say about Indigenous culture, its relations to Country, and its significance for Australian culture and identity. </p> <p>This registers a significant shift from the terms in which Namatjira was initially appreciated, in the 1950s, as <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/ces/386">an imitative adaptation</a> of pastoral modernism.</p> <p>It is a shift that registers the work of Indigenous artists, curators and critics in stressing the role that Aboriginal art can play in transforming the relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-favourites-show-aboriginal-art-can-transcend-social-divisions-and-art-boundaries-143827" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. </em></p>

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Australian government appeals ruling protecting Aboriginals from deportation

<p dir="ltr">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”.</p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr"><em><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></em> 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.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>What is the Love and Thoms decision?</strong></p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">By April 2021, nine people were released from immigration detention as a result of the ruling, with <em>Guardian Australia</em> revealing the government was seeking to overturn the decision in October of the same year.</p><p dir="ltr"><strong>Why is the government appealing the decision?</strong></p><p dir="ltr">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. </p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">In an appeal against that ruling, the federal government is now asking that the federal court overrule Love and Thoms.</p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">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.</p><p dir="ltr">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”.</p><p dir="ltr">“That’s what the government is doing. Of course, there is no intent to deport an Aboriginal from Australia, ever.”</p><p dir="ltr">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”.</p><p dir="ltr">The matter is yet to be listed for a hearing.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e42c34bd-7fff-c704-0076-0897e4ad5a67"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

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Aboriginal flag freely available for public use

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a historic decision, the Aboriginal flag has been made freely available for public use by all. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following long negotiations, the artist behind the flag agreed to transfer copyright of the design to the Commonwealth. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt was pleased to announce that the flag now belongs to all Australians following the negotiations. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no-one can take it away."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Harold Thomas said he hopes all Australians will use the flag with the utmost pride and respect to the Indigenous Australian population. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I hope that this arrangement provides comfort to all Aboriginal people and Australians to use the Flag, unaltered, proudly and without restriction," he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I am grateful that my art is appreciated by so many, and that it has come to represent something so powerful to so many."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">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.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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

<p>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”.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Has it really been freed?</p> <h2>A fight to #FreetheFlag</h2> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Then in the lead-up to Australia Day this week, Morrison announced the flag was now “freely available for public use”.</p> <h2>What’s in the agreement?</h2> <p>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:</p> <ul> <li> <p>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)</p> </li> <li> <p>an annual $100,000 scholarship in Thomas’ honour for Indigenous students to develop Indigenous governance and leadership</p> </li> <li> <p>an online history and education portal for the flag.</p> </li> </ul> <p>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.</p> <p>But this only covers commercial productions – individuals are free to make their own flags for personal use.</p> <h2>Thomas still has rights</h2> <p>Under the terms of the copyright assignment, Thomas retains moral rights over the flag.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Thomas will also use $2 million to establish a not-for-profit body to support the flag’s legacy.</p> <h2>Just like the national flag</h2> <p>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>.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <h2>How free is the flag?</h2> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p> </p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>It would also mean Thomas’ moral rights are extinguished, as they last only as long as the copyright does.</p> <p>Without seeing the terms of the agreement, which are commercial-in-confidence, we cannot be certain. Clarification from the government would be welcome.</p> <h2>A final twist</h2> <p>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).</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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”.</p> <p>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”.</p> <p>However, the thing about flags is their meaning is made by those who wave them, rather than simply by those who create them.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><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" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/isabella-alexander-294160">Isabella Alexander</a>, Professor of Law, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-technology-sydney-936">University of Technology Sydney</a></em></span></p> <p>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>.</p>

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