Click to View Our Current Job and General Web Ads

NEW edition out on Wednesday

NT: For the first time since the early 1990s, tweaks have been made to the 99-year lease for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Anangu Traditional Owners have agreed to a lease variation with the federal government that will double their national park revenue share and ensure more jobs for their people.

NT: Nearly a year after a young disabled Aboriginal man’s death, an external police review of the use of force by officers who held him down has been completed. 

NSW: Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) has lodged applications with the federal government. It is trying to protect Aboriginal heritage on sites at West Culburra and East Crescent that are slated for housing developments on Jerrinja Country on the NSW South Coast.

VIC: Eleven police officers called to give evidence into the death of an Aboriginal man in custody have sought certificates to protect themselves from self-incrimination.

TAS: A magistrates court is considering whether to grant an application from First Nations woman, Ruth Langford / Tipruthanna, for evidence to be heard on culturally-significant land.

TAS: Newly discovered rock art raises the possibility Tasmanian tigers and devils may have survived longer in northern Australia than previously thought.



Latest News Stories

One of the proposed development sites. Picture: supplied.

Protecting Jerrinja cultural heritage from development 

Thursday, 9 April 2026 10:26 am

By Marion Williams

Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) has lodged applications with the federal government. It is trying to protect Aboriginal heritage on sites at West Culburra and East Crescent that are slated for housing developments on Jerrinja Country on the NSW South Coast.

At the West Culburra site, property developer Sealark Pty Ltd plans to create a new suburb on 68 hectares of freehold land close to Culburra township. It would clear some 47 hectares of largely undisturbed bushland for 244 medium-density residential lots, 13 industrial lots, several public parks and open space areas, and a town centre with 45 integrated housing lots and two medium-density residential lots for 96 dwellings, plus associated roads, stormwater, sewer, water and other infrastructure. 

At risk is the Jerrinja people’s cultural landscape which is rich in ecological and archaeological evidence of long occupation. The landscape’s ecosystems, species, landforms and geology are of profound significance for the Jerrinja People. 

Nala Mansell and Ruth Langford outside court. Picture: Jillian Mundy.

One step closer to hearing on Country

Thursday, 9 April 2026 10:25 am

By Jillian Mundy 

A magistrates court is considering whether to grant an application from First Nations woman, Ruth Langford/ Tipruthanna for evidence to be heard on culturally significant land.
Approval for a court sitting on Country would be a monumental step towards justice for Aboriginal people, says Langford who is facing trespass charges.

The Tasmanian-born Yorta Yorta / Dja Dja Wurrung woman, who is self-representing, is accused of two counts of trespass and one of failing to comply with a request from an authorised officer. They stem from peaceful action protesting clear-felling of native forests in Lutruwita/Tasmania on January 21 and April 3 last year. 

Langford has maintained she was acting within her cultural obligation.

Marine turtle. Picture: supplied.

Rangers unite to protect turtles

Thursday, 9 April 2026 10:22 am

Ranger groups on Cape York Peninsula are leading the way in tackling key threats to endangered marine turtles, with new data highlighting the scale and impact of their work.

More than 70 representatives from nine ranger groups, state and federal government agencies and other organisations committed to turtle conservation came together in Cairns for the annual meeting of the Western Cape Turtle Threat Abatement Alliance (WCTTAA) — the largest gathering in the program’s history.

The meeting, held in March and hosted by Cape York NRM, showcased how Indigenous ranger groups are combining on-ground action with long-term monitoring to improve turtle hatchling survival rates and better understand populations across remote nesting beaches.

Danny Eastwood among the carved trees at Nurrangingy Reserve in Doonside. Picture: Christian Morrow.

Danny’s artistry captures time and honours Country

Thursday, 9 April 2026 10:16 am

By Christian Morrow

Here at the Koori Mail we thought it was high time we caught up with our original and still resident editorial artist, Danny Eastwood.

A descendant of the Ngemba group of western New South Wales. Danny was born and grew up in the Eora area of the Gadigal nation around Redfern and Waterloo. For the past 43 years he has been a proud member of the Darug area of western Sydney.

Although Danny’s contributions to the Koori Mail can often raises a laugh you’d be hard pressed to call his work a cartoon, such is the impact and seriousness of the images he produces and the issues he tackles head-on for the paper every two weeks.

Kaiyukan Kawuma. Picture: Joseph Mayers

DanceRites returns for 2026

Thursday, 9 April 2026 10:12 am

Registrations have opened for DanceRites 2026, the ninth iteration of the national competition celebrating First Nations dance, music and culture. 

Taking place over the weekend of Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, dance groups will represent their country and community on the sand circle stage on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt. 

 DanceRites has welcomed more than 1800 performers to the Opera House since the inaugural festival in 2015, offering a showcase of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. 

Formed to safeguard First Nations cultural practices – including language, dance, song and skin markings – the biennial event was most recently held in 2024 and featured dancers from 18 groups representing more than 40 nations and clans. 

Former Rabbitohs player Nathan Merritt rings the clubs Legacy Bell. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/ Getty Images.

Merritt’s legacy recognised with the ringing of the bell 

Thursday, 9 April 2026 10:06 am

By Kris Flanders

Shock and sadness. Those are some of the strong emotions being felt by the rugby league world and all those who know former NRL player, Nathan Merritt, who recently spoke about his battle with cancer and the timeline for his illness.

The 42-year-old has revealed that he only has about 12 months to live. Merritt has been undergoing chemotherapy for stage-four cancer of the liver and oesophagus. Merritt opened up aboutthe battle ahead that he faces.

“It feels like your soul has been taken away. There are nights where I have my little breakdowns and think about my kids. I don’t know how many mor football games I will be going to after this one,” Merritt said.