2012 November Final

7/30/2019 2012 November Final

1/18

Another twitter commentread, "I tried to be

authentic but.. I couldn't

find any yellow ochre at

the paint store".

Despite the light-hearted

nature in which many

people have reacted to Mr

Abbott's comments, Ms

Heiss admits there's a

more serious issue at

stake.

"There's a form of

politics in this country that

feeds other people's

intolerance and fear, and

it appears to divide us as

a people. But this week,

we just jumped up straight

away and said: 'we're

together on this, we're not

even taking it seriously',"

she said

ABC World News

15 November 2012

The controversy

following Tony Abbott's

comments about

Aboriginal identity turned

into a twitter forum on

what it is to be an

Indigenous Australian,

under the hashtag

#Itriedtobeauthentic.

Opposition Leader Tony

Abbott's comments about

Aboriginal identity have

already created plenty of

controversy, but now

many are turning to social

media to tackle the

subject.

On Tuesday, Mr Abbott

suggested that Indigenous

Australians from Central

Australia were more

authentic than their urban

counterparts - comments

which have resulted in an

influx of reaction on

Twitter.

"I think it would be

terrific if, as well as having

an urban Aboriginal

member of Parliament, we

had an Aboriginal person

from Central Australia --

an authentic

representative of the

ancient cultures of Central

Australia in Parliament,"

Mr Abbott stated.

While some, like West

Australian MP Ken Wyatt,

have described Mr

Abbott's words as

"unhelpful and

unfortunate", others have

used social media to

highlight the funny side of

the subject.

The hash tag

#Itriedtobeauthenticbut "

has attracted a variety of

comments, with writer

Anita Heiss one of the

more enthusiastic

contributors.

"I tried to be authentic

but I've thrown more

parties than boomerangs,"

Ms Heiss tweeted.

Aboriginal identity forum with a twist on Twitter

>

Babana News

Babana Aboriginal Mens Group Inc.

Volume4Issue6

November2012

Inside this issue:

From the Chair 2

St John's patron in racial outrage 3

Too quick to take offence 6

Carers WeekBabana celebrates

in Martin Place

6

Balnaves Place - Home of Nura Gili 8

Daniel Geale to fight in Sydney 12

Babana News is the official Newsletter ofthe Babana Aboriginal Mens Group Inc.,and is produced in the main as an e-letter.A copy will also be produced in

the Babana Myspace site and a limitednumber will be available at our GeneralMeetings.

Opinions and conclusions contained inthe Your Word section are those of thewriter and do not necessarily reflect theopinions, policies, aims or objectives ofBabana Aboriginal Mens Group.


2/18

Its almost Christmas already? I

just dont know where time goes.

But it is going faster every year for

me. I am still getting over last year

(so is my wallet).

The one, constant thing about

being here at Babana is that there

is always change and new

challenges. Since the last edition

of the newsletter there have been

such important events as Carers

Week at Martin Place, takingmembers to Calga to see important

sites of interest, joining with Tribal

Warrior for an awards event, and

many other actions to keep us all

interested and interesting.

Members of the management

committee and others attended the

official opening of Balnaves Place,

the new home of Nura Gili at the

University of NSW, and we have

been asked to comment on racist

remarks for the mediawhich

indicates a growing recognition of

Babana by the mainstream media.

There have been sad times in our

community too. The passing of

Isabel Coe, a long time campaigner

for Aboriginal rights and social

justice is greeted with sadness.

Isabel will be missed by her family

and friends. However, she will also

be missed by the Aboriginal

community here in Redfern

Waterloo and across Australia. A

strong woman of a strong people.

And what about Christmas? How

will we all spend it. Many of us

have family and friends to share

From the Chair

Page 2

BabanaNews

Volum

e4Issue6

Mark Spinks Chair of Babana

.So come

along. Be

with us. Join

in the

conversation

Christmas with. However, there are

those who are not so fortunate. I

hope we will all spare some thought

to those who are alone at this time

of year. And I do hope that there is

forgiveness and reconciliation

between family members where it

is possible.

Dont forget that Babana will be

joining with Tribal Warrior to hold a

Christmas party on the harbour.

This event will take place on 7thDecember. All of you who have

attended other events on the

harbour with Babana will know

what a great day it is. Our

Christmas do will even bigger and

better than ever.

Babana has one more meeting for

this yearat the end of this month.

Its an opportunity for all men to

come together once again in that

spirit of friendship and mutual

support that has made Babana

what it is; a mens group that is

about men, for men and, through

that, for the community as a whole.

So come along. Be with us. Join

in the conversation. The

conversation that assists and

supports men, their families and

community to walk further in our

journey for betterment and

recognition.

We are making a difference. We

are being recognised for creating

better opportunities for men to take

part in our community. Come

along, join, share and have a say.


3/18

Page 3

St John's patron in racial outrageremains ''deeply traumatised''.

Mark Spinks, a respected member of

Sydney's Aboriginal community and

chairman of the Aboriginal men's group

Babana, said: ''How disgusting, how

disgraceful, how disrespectful are

those comments. I am outraged and I

am disturbed. For that to have been

said at the university, in a room full of

students, I am almost speechless.''

The sociologist Eva Cox said: ''It's

totally unacceptable but what he's

saying is acceptable, or has been

deemed acceptable within the culture

of the college. It's just an indication of

how deep the rot goes.''

Last night, the University of Sydney's

vice-chancellor, Michael Spence,

condemned Mr Phillips' remarks. He

said: ''The university is very proud of

the fact that it stands on land where

indigenous peoples have been

teaching and learning for many

thousands of years before us and we

acknowledge this publicly whenever we

can.''

St John's College has been in a virtual

state of limbo since Tuesday, when

the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney,

George Pell, asked the five

remaining priests on its council to

resign, arguing he no longer had

''confidence in the capacity'' of the

council to ''reform life at the

college''.

The move followed a Fairfax Media

investigation that exposed the once

proud college tobe in a state of

anarchy, with

widespread

vandalism,

furniture being

smashed and set

on fire and faeces

routinely left in

common rooms.

The story

demonstrated

that nothing had changed since

March, when a first year student

was rushed to hospital with a

bleeding stomach after being

pressured to drink a toxic cocktail

containing shampoo, alcohol and

dog food.

Technically, the college council

has ceased to exist, as no meeting

or action can take place without at

least one clerical fellow present. But

Fairfax Media understands that

several of the non-clerical fellows -

or lay fellows - have refused to

resign in the hope they can survive

(Continued on page 7)

Eamonn Duff

Sun-Herald senior investigative writer

11 November 2012

Jeffrey Phillips speech

A leading Sydney barrister and

senior counsel at the trouble-

plagued St John's College is in

hot water over comments

'comments which appeared to

mock the aboriginal community.

A leading Sydney barrister and

senior counsel at the trouble-

plagued St John's

College has sparked

outrage after

mocking the

Aboriginal

community at an

official dinner at the

University of Sydney.

Jeffrey Phillips, SC,

stood in the college's

150-year-old Great

Hall and, in front of more than

250 staff, students and guests,

paid tribute to the ''traditional

custodians of this place'' whom

he identified as being the

''Benedictines who came from

the great English nation''.Good times ... Jeffrey Phillips

with the student house

committee's Liam Condon and

the chairwoman of St John's

college, Christine Liddy.

The comment was made in the

presence of several indigenous

students, one of whom has

lodged a formal complaint and,

according to senior staff,


4/18

BabanaNews

Volum

e4Issue6

defended the rights of Aboriginal

protesters in Canberra who burnt

the Australian flag.

"You've got to start asking why

people have taken this attitude,

where they've got to do these

things to try and get people on our

side or upset."

One of Ms Coe's long-time friends

and fellow activists, Michael Ander-

son, was one of the founders of the

Tent Embassy and first met her

when she was 16.

"There was a time period in the

1960s, all these young, well-educated young Aboriginal people

were the first sort of the class of

year 12 or a higher school certifi-

cate, as it was known then, to

achieve that and we all turned up

in Sydney," he said.

"We came from a background I

guess collectively where there was

a lot of racism and a lot of strug-

gles for human rights at the time.

"And so we grew up in that period

and then we all landed in Sydney

and we formed a militant move-

ment similar to that of the African

Americans in terms of fighting for

land rights in Australia."

Mr Anderson says Ms Coe was

deeply committed to the cause.

"Isobel was a very powerful,

staunch young black woman who

was there with all us rough and

tumble.

"When you talk about women's

liberation, I think Isobel liberated a

lot of us young fellas

because she was

such a powerful

young lady.

"Mind you, all of us

were saying that she

was so beautiful,

she was a very at-

tractive young

woman, and we told

her that 'you could

make a lot of money

modelling', but no,

she was committed

to fighting for her people."

Lead role

In the 1990s, Ms Coe took a lead

role in the Tent Embassy when ru-

mours emerged the Federal Gov-

ernment wanted to get rid of the

protest site.

(Continued on page 5)

ABC Radio

The World Today

Lindy Kerin

12 November 2012

Australians are today mourning

the death of one the country's

most prominent Indigenous lead-

ers, Isabel Coe.

For decades, Ms Coe played a

key role in the campaign for In-

digenous sovereignty and was

instrumental in keeping the Abo-

riginal Tent Embassy in Canberra

going.

The Wiradjuri woman died on

Saturday in Cowra at the age of

61.

Today, she has

been described

as a mighty war-

rior and a re-

markablewoman.

Ms Coe was a

tough talker. She

spent her life

campaigning for

Indigenous

rights.

Back in the late

1990s she made headlines

around the globe when she called

for a boycott of the Sydney Olym-

pics.

"From the Tent Embassy, we're

calling for a boycott on the Olym-

pic Games if things don't improve

here in Redfern," she said at the

time.

And earlier this year, Ms Coe

Determined' Aboriginal campaigner Isabel Coe dies

Page 4


5/18

tral west.

Ms House says she had been

battling diabetes for some time.

"She not only tried to look after

her own health, but neglected it in

some ways because she wanted to

just get on and do things," she said.

"And that probably was the worst

thing, that she thought that could

have happened to Isobel was a

lack of not looking after her own

self, to move on a make things bet-

ter for other people."

Coe lauded for role in Aboriginal

politicsNew.com.au

AAP

12 November 2012

ABORIGINAL activist Isabel Coe

was a standout among her contem-

poraries, Aboriginal Tent Embassy

co-founder Michael Anderson says.Ms Coe, a Wiradjuri Ngunnawal

woman, died on Saturday.

She grew up at the Erambie mis-

sion run by the NSW Prisons Board

near Cowra in central NSW and

moved to Sydney in the late 1960s

to get a formal education.

It was in Sydney that she met Mr

Anderson.

"We met up with all these young

people who had great spirit and

spunk and determination and Isa-

bel was one of them," he told AAP.

"She was a standout, Isabel, be-

cause she was such a force to be

reckoned with in terms of her as a

lady.

"Her commitment and passion

certainly stood out.

"She towered over some of the

young fellas in the Black Power

movement back in those days."

Mr Anderson said Ms Coe was

there when the idea was born to

take a protest to Canberra, which

later spawned the tent embassy.

"She came back to the house in

Erskineville where we made the

decision," he said.

"We were looking for volunteers

to go down to Canberra and start a

protest."

Ms Coe was one of those.

Mr Anderson said her death, aged

61, was anticipated.

But he was saddened it coincided

with the 40th year of tent embassy

activism.

"Everybody dreaded the day but

we knew the day was coming."

Ms Coe was also instrumental in

establishing the Redfern Aboriginal

Children's Service.

Page 5

"Well, we've been sitting her for

27 years and we're going to con-

tinue to stay here," she said at the

time.

"We're here in sovereignty, we

have never signed a treaty, we

have never relinquished sover-

eignty to our country and that's

what this Aboriginal Tent Embassy

is all about and that's why they

want to remove us."

Ms Coe's cousin, Matilda House,

says she had been instrumental in

keeping the Tent Embassy going.

"She kept it going because she

believed that all things would come

right, which they didn't, and she'd

still be sitting there today because

she knows the job was a never-

ending job," Ms House said.

Legacy

Ms Coe also played a key role in

setting up many of the Aboriginal

organisations in Redfern in Sydney.

Her cousin Ann Weldon says she

leaves behind a huge legacy.

"She was a Wiradjuri woman, she

was a founder and a leader that

established organisations in Red-

fern, that's her legacy, that she's

built on for every Aboriginal person

and indeed every Australian per-

son."

Ms Coe spent most of her time

between Redfern and Canberra,

but most recently she went back to

her home town of Cowra in the cen-

(Continued from page 4)


6/18

Page 6

BabanaNews

Volum

e4Issue6

Too quick to take offence

woman, Bess Nungarrayi Price, has

spoken out about Aboriginal people

being easily offended, and has been

verbally attacked herself for doing

so. These attacks do not prevent her

doing her job. She is bigger than her

critics and encourages others to get

on with the job of addressing the real

problems facing Aboriginal people.

So who is Aboriginal? It has been

claimed that only Aboriginal people

can decide. There are two problemswith this. First, there is the circular

nature of Aborigines defining

Aborigines.

Imagine if the government

announced a stimulus payment of

$10,000 for the poor, and that it

was only the poor who decided who

were poor? We could have

millionaires claiming to be poor with

a justification of "I believe in my

heart I am poor and I will be

offended if you disagree with me".

Clearly, more objective criteria are

needed than self-identification.

Further, some of the Aboriginal

people I know from remote parts of

Australia have a very different

definition of what it means to be

Aboriginal from that of their city

cousins. Whose definition should we

accept? Second, when deciding who

is Aboriginal, you are by default

deciding who is non-Aboriginal. As

such, it is surely illogical to deny

"other Australians" any role in these

determinations.

It is strange that if someone has

seven Caucasian great-grandparents

and one Aboriginal great-grandparent, they are able to identify

as Aboriginal. That is their right, but

could this be considered racist, or

even a form of ancestral genocide

against non-Aboriginal people

because it is denying a person's non-

Aboriginal ancestry?

The usual argument that gets

trotted out whenever reference is

made to a person's appearance of

"fair skin" is that "being Aboriginal is

not related to skin colour". I agree

being Aboriginal is not about skin

colour, but it should be about having

substantial Aboriginal ancestry, andone's appearance is often a

reasonable indicator of one's

Aboriginal ancestry. People have a

right to identify however they like, but

they should not be surprised or

"offended" when they are questioned.

This is especially important given

that self-identification is a key factor

determining how Aboriginal

disadvantage is addressed through

the allocation of public spending.

Let's not lose sight of the fact that

while some people are getting upset

(and seeking payouts to ease that

upset), many Aboriginal people,

especially in remote Australia, have

basic needs such as housing and

health, that need attending to. Can we

please get our priorities right?

Anthony Dillon is an academic atAnthony Dillon is an academic atAnthony Dillon is an academic atAnthony Dillon is an academic at

The University of Western Sydney andThe University of Western Sydney andThe University of Western Sydney andThe University of Western Sydney and

identifies as a partidentifies as a partidentifies as a partidentifies as a part----AboriginalAboriginalAboriginalAboriginal

AustralianAustralianAustralianAustralian....

The Australian

Anthony Dillon

16 November 2012THE contentious issue of Aboriginal

identity has come up again with

people getting upset because certain

words were spoken that were

deemed racist.

We live in an age where people can

be offended by almost any word or

phrase, particularly if is there is

some social mileage in it for them or

a financial gain.However, words are neither

offensive nor inoffensive in

themselves; they are simply words,

and this is true even if a judge says

otherwise. People choose to make

words offensive to themselves, which

is why one person can be offended

and another amused by the same

word.

Those who make certain words

offensive do so because there is

something to be gained. For many, to

feel offended is to feel important,

validated.

It is sad and strange that 200

years ago this country's first peoples

were strong and adaptive, able to

live under harsh conditions. But

today, some of them claim they are

traumatised, simply because

someone remarks about their skin

colour.

Many of the people identifying as

Aboriginal today lack not only the

culture and colour of Aboriginal

Australia, but the strength and

determination. Many may claim that

my last sentence has offended them,

and will do so as long as someone

will reward them for being offended.

Thankfully, a strong Aboriginal


7/18

Page 7

down, down, down.''

The students also hold deep affectionfor their patron because he is opposed

to the college's rector, Michael

Bongers, and his crusade to stamp out

outdated traditions.

As one senior college insider put it:

''He is king of the kids at the college

and wild horses couldn't keep him

away.''

But while some fellows and staff have

overlooked his close-knit relationship

with students, his performances with

the microphone have grown

increasingly hard to ignore.

Numerous sources have said that

around the last election, he stood

before staff and students at a formal

dinner and referred to the Prime

Minister, Julia Gillard, as a ''red-headed

witch''.

Fast forward to September 3 this year

and Mr Phillips addressed the entire

student population with the following: ''I

would like to acknowledge the

traditional custodians of this place the

Benedictines who came from the great

English nation.''

The comment drew a combination of

laughs, gasps and disbelieving groans

from those present.

While he continued to spark

controversy by referring to the college's

original founder, archbishop Bede

Polding, as someone ''who looks like

he's on his way to a Lady Gaga

concert'', it was his opening remarksthat continued to linger with many.

Fairfax Media understands there

were four indigenous students

present, one of whom is taking thematter further.

Yesterday, Mr Phillips said his

comments had been taken out of

context, adding that he had sent the

upset student a letter.

''It is a great pity that my speech

was misinterpreted by one student,''

he said in a statement. ''The speech

was not intended, nor delivered in

any way to disrespect or mock

indigenous people. On the contrary,

the speech had an important

message of forgiveness and

tolerance. Neither the rector, Mr

Bongers, nor anyone else present at

the speech complained. In fact, the

Rector personally thanked me

warmly for my speech. Whilst I

apologised to the student, as she

had been offended, it is important,

especially in an environment of

vigorous debate, such as a

university, that simple

misunderstandings by one student

not be blown out of proportion."

the turmoil. One of those hoping

to stay is Mr Phillips. In the

moments before his

controversial comments on

September 3, student house

president Matt Sunderland had

described him as ''a mentor'' of

the student club and a ''great''

and ''fair man''.

Mr Phillips graduated from the

college more than three decades

ago but today he is back and, on

occasions, reliving the good old

days. The students appointed

him as patron of the student

club in 2009 and he is always a

phone call away. He drinks and

sings with them at formaldinners. He invites a select

group to long lunches and

''networking'' events in the city,

including a recent cigar and

whisky appreciation night. He

helps to find work for the law

students of the college and

hosts an essay competition each

year, with a prize of $500.

The current Johnsmen even

tweak the words of a traditional

college ditty, normally sung

about each other, as if to the

include the middle-aged old boy

as one of their own. The song

goes: ''Here's to Jeff, he's true

blue, he's a pisspot through and

through, he's a bastard so they

say, tried to get to heaven but he

went the other way, drink it

(Continued from page 3)


8/18

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ume4Issue6

BabanaNews

Awards made


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[


11/18

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Carers WeekBabana celebrates in Martin Place

Page 12

NewsletterTitle

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13/18

Page 13


14/18

Page 14

NewsletterTitle

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NAIDOC celebrations at Nura GiliUniversity of NSW


15/18

Page 15


16/18

Page 16

NewsletterTitle

Volum

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Balnaves Place - Home of Nura GiliIndigenous education has taken

its rightful place at the heart of

the UNSW campus with the

opening of Balnaves Place -

Home of Nura Gili.

Balnaves Place -- Home of Nura

Gili was made possible thanks to

a generous donation of $1.5

million from The Balnaves

Foundation.

The new centre provides a

central hub for Indigenous

programs on campus, increasing

UNSW's capacity to provide

Indigenous student support

services and courses and

research using state-of-the-art

technological facilities with work

and study spaces. The centre has

been officially opened by NSWGovernor Professor Marie Bashir.


17/18

Page 17

winning two world titles from German

fighters on German soil. Daniel is

desperate to avenge his controversial

loss to Mundine in 2009."

Geale outpointed Sebastian Sylvester

via split decision to win a 160-pound

belt in Neubrandenburg, Germany in

May 2011, made two title defences and

then unified two belts by winning a split

decision against Felix Sturm on Sept. 1

in Oberhausen.

One of Geale's mandatory defences

was due against Gennady Golovkin. But

rather than face him, the 31-year-old

Geale elected to go for revenge against

the 37-year-old Mundine in a more

lucrative fight, forcing him to give up one

of his belts.

Mundine (44-4, 26 KOs) handed Geale

(28-1, 15 KOs) his lone career defeat by

12-round split decision in May 2009.

Geale has won seven consecutive fights

since the loss, including winning both of

his world titles.

"I'm happy we are able to move

forward with the promotion now that we

have a date and venue sorted,"

Geale said. "The Sydney

Entertainment Centre is a fantastic

place to hold this fight. The whole

country is talking about this fight,

and I can't wait to put Mundine in his

place after all the trash talking he's

been doing."

Mundine, a

former super

middleweight

titlist, will be

fighting at the

venue, which he

calls his

"spiritual home"

for the eighth

time.

"I've had some

of my best fightsin this venue

and I can't wait

to get back here again on Jan. 30,"

Mundine said. "I made my pro debut

and won my first world title here. It's

a special place for me, and in

January I'm going to write another

chapter in my legacy by stopping

Daniel Geale."

ESPN.com

13 November 2012

Middleweight titleholder Daniel

Geale's defense against

Australian countryman Anthony

Mundine was announced in mid-

October, but the date and venue

had not been finalized -- until

Tuesday.

The much-anticipated rematch,

heralded by many as one of the

biggest fights in Australian

history, will take place Jan. 30 at

the 11,500-seat Sydney

Entertainment Centre in Sydney,

promoter Gary Shaw announced.

"In all my years in boxing, this is

the biggest fight in Australian

boxing history, and we are

delighted to be able to bring it to

Sydney," said Shaw, Geale's

promoter. "This city has a proud

history of

"Daniel Geale is considered tobe, by many, one of the best

middleweights in the world after

Daniel Geale to fight in Sydney


18/18

BabanaAboriginalMensGroupInc.GeneralMeeting

Babanainvitesmembersandinterestedmento

joinusatourgeneralmeetingFriday30NovemberNCIEGeorgeStreetRedfern12:00midday

Allmenofgoodwillwelcome


PO Box 3292

Redfern NSW 2016

Phone: 0402 567 473

Email:

[email protected]

[email protected]


Our web sites

http:www.myspace.com/

babanaboriginal

http://www.facebook.com/

profile.php?id=1715072238&ref=profile

Babana members, guests and friends

Tosupport,enableandempowerAboriginalmenandfami

liesinourcommunity

What is the Dreaming?

"The Dreaming means our identity

as people. The cultural teachingand everything, that's part of our

lives here, you know?... it's the

understanding of what we have

around us."

Merv Penrith, Elder, Wallaga Lake,

1996

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2012 November Final

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