Sunshine Super Girl to play Sydney

BARDI and Jabirr Jabirr woman Shari Sebbens has been appointed resident director at the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).

“It is an incredible honour to be promoted to resident director for a company that is constantly pushing the boundaries of what constitutes theatre and not scared to engage in the necessary conversations and actions required for cultural growth,” Shari said.

“I’ve worked with Sydney Theatre Company as both an actor and the Richard Wherrett Fellow in the last few years and I’m excited to continue my creative development under the company’s invaluable guidance. 

“As a Bardi and Jabirr Jabirr artist I am also proud of the choices STC continues to make in producing Indigenous work. 

THE Queensland Government has made the decision to scrap a program that was designed to keep young people in the justice system out of adult facilities because it wasn’t “cost-effective”.

Four bail houses were established in 2017 — two in Townsville and two in Logan — to bridge the accommodation gap for young people in the justice system who were also in the child protection system.

A recent report by consultants Ernst and Young found that the bail houses “provided safe, secure and stable accommodation with wrap-around services for young people” but that they were expensive, according to Children and Youth Justice Minister Leanne Linard, who made the announcement to scrap the program late last year.

Amnesty International Australia Indigenous Rights advisor Rodney Dillon told the Koori Mail that the government’s decision to scrap the bail house program was short-sighted and showed the need for urgent law reform.

ABORIGINAL and Torres Strait Islander women are often too scared of losing their children to report domestic violence.

According to a new report, Improving family violence legal and support services for Indigenous women, fear of the state removing their kids and a high risk of becoming homeless are two of the major barriers Indigenous women face in a family violence situation.

Professor Marcia Langton, University of Melbourne foundation chair of Australian Indigenous studies and lead author of the report, said the findings underscored the urgency of increasing funding for agencies working directly with the women and men who need support.

“These are the agencies and service providers who know what is needed in their communities and can get it done — if they have adequate financial support,” Professor Langton said.

The report also identifies the availability and acceptability of services in the communities.

“We were struck by a number of things – one is that the services aren’t funded adequately,” Professor Langton said. “Secondly there are services where women are at risk of losing their children immediately upon reporting violence.

FROM whacking a ball against a tin wall in the small country town of Barellan, NSW, to winning 14 Grand Slam titles and becoming a household name, Evonne Goolagong’s story is a tale of triumph. 

And now, for the Sydney Festival, Sydney Town Hall transforms into a tennis court with court-side seating for Sunshine Super Girl, a celebration of Wiradjuri woman and tennis legend Evonne Goolagong’s inspiring life story.  

A pioneering legend of Australian sport, Goolagong was the first Indigenous woman to win a Grand Slam; the first mum in 66 years to win at Wimbledon; a player whose speed and power saw her overcome top-seeded players like Margaret Court, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. 

Sunshine Super Girl is a remarkable life story told with humour and humility by creator and director Andrea James, that asks audiences to consider Australia’s future, the injustices of the past, and the part we can all play for the next ‘Goolagong’ waiting in the wings. 

AUSTRALIA’S first Indigenous senior counsel Tony McAvoy has argued that the national anthem should be replaced by one written by the likes of Dan Sultan and Paul Kelly. 

The top barrister has weighed into the ongoing debate over the anthem, which sparked up again when the Wallabies Rugby team sang along to a version of the anthem in the Eora language. 

Olivia Fox – a young Wiradjuri singer from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts – delivered a stirring rendition before the Wallabies clash against Argentina, which ended in a 16-all draw. 

The rendition drew praise from many quarters, but copped criticism from South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell and boxer Anthony Mundine. 

Yorta Yorta soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham told the Koori Mail the Premier is right when she calls for change to Australia’s national anthem. 

“I applaud Premier Berejiklian for seeing the need for change, but I think she should leave the crafting of the song to the poets and the songwriters,” she said. 

“There is a need for change, but changing the word ‘young’ to ‘one’ really doesn’t capture the sentiment, it’s not accurate, and it’s just not correct…

THE northern NSW town of Walgett gets a bad wrap from White Australia. It always has. 

It was once referred to as the worst town in Australia. Search Walgett in Google and you can see all this mainstream stories pop up to paint such a bad picture of such a beautiful town. 

But those Whitefullas don’t know shit! They’ve probably never been to the community let alone met someone like Uncle Daniel ‘Carb’ Walford. After couple of Lillymans Club Nectars with him, the real Walgett emerges from the racist ashes of mainstream media. 

For nine years now, Uncle Carb and his family have relentlessly given back to the community of Walgett and surrounds, as each year he takes on the role of the famous Black Santa of the North West. 

Walgett, affectionately known as ‘the Gate’, is nestled on the junction of the Namoi and Barwon rivers, which makes sense because it takes its name from the Gomeroi word meaning the ‘meeting place of two rivers’. Its small population of around 2200 people is made up of nearly 50% of Blackfullas, giving it a real sense of Aboriginal identity and strength.