Bowraville appeal rejected by High Court

RELATIVES of three Aboriginal children who disappeared in Bowraville, northern NSW, nearly 30 years ago have vowed to fight on after the High Court refused to hear an appeal relating to their suspected killer.

The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in September rejected an application by the state’s attorney-general for the man to face a single trial charged with three murders.

Today (Friday), the High Court refused to grant special leave to the government to appeal the decision.

After the decision, angry supporters put painted handprints on the glass outside the building and screamed for justice.

Four-year-old Evelyn Greenup, Clinton Speedy-Duroux, 16, and Colleen Walker, 16, disappeared from the northern NSW town over a five-month period from September 1990.

The man, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was acquitted of Clinton’s murder in 1994 and of Evelyn’s murder in 2006.

EDDIE Betts proved yet again that his skill engaging with the next generation, is a key behind the success of taking the AFL game on the road to rural locations during the pre-season. 

Among the healthy crowd of nearly 5,500 patrons at Port Pirie, considering the extreme heat, was a cohort of students from the Yalata Anangu School, eight hours drive west, some 200 kilometres west from the town of Ceduna on the Great Australian Bight. 

“It was great day for the Yalata Anangu School students visiting Port Pirie for the Crows versus Power JLT Series game,” Tony Roberts, the Principal at Yalata Anangu School, said. 

WHOLE families breached for participating in cultural business, real jobs replaced by ‘modern day slave labour’, workplace health and safety issues, bullying and double dipping are just a few of the Community Development Program (CDP) horror stories First Nation Workers’ Alliance members and educators are dealing with on a daily basis.

Several members of the Australian Council of Unions (ACTU) Indigenous Committee working on the front lines of remote regions across the Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia have committed to change and, with an election looming, they have the Morrison government firmly in their sights.

THE Royal Australian Air Force is set to propel its commitment to embracing cultural diversity with the recent graduation of six proud young Indigenous Liaison Officers (ILO).

The newly commissioned officers will be building relationships between local Indigenous communities where bases are situate and the air force, promoting Indigenous recruitment, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs within the force.

The Indigenous Liaison Officers completed 17 weeks of military management, leadership, military law, air power, ground defence, security, military skills and air force values and ethics training, 

INITIATED Wati man Patrick Ikaringanyi Ferguson is a traditional woodcarver and artist, who had these skills passed down to him from his grandmother Mabel, when he was young. 

Born in in the NSW rural city of Broken Hill and raised in Tibooburra in the North West corner of NSW, Ferguson has an interesting and diverse life. 

After losing his mother at 11, he spent time of boarding school in Forbes before working in mustering and stock camps through the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.

Forced to move to Adelaide due to his son’s illness 14 years ago, Ferguson reignited his passion for traditional Aboriginal wood carved art, producing spears, shields, fighting clubs, boomerangs and coolamons. He has even branched out into making jewellery, like rings, ear-rings and necklaces, along with trophy bases. 

A FORMER high school in Western Sydney is being transformed into a high-tech centre of excellence for Aboriginal young people. 

Due to be completed in coming months, the centre has been named Kimberwalli, which means ‘many stars’ in the Darug language. 

At a recent gathering at Kimberwalli, the head of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs Jason Ardler signed an agreement with Microsoft and Linkedin as part of an initiative to support young Aboriginal people transition from school to further education and employment.

The terms of the agreement will see Microsoft and Linkedin develop digital skills resources for the young students, and also help in the final set-up of the centre’s technology requirements.

NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Sarah Mitchell said the $20 million centre would provide students in Western Sydney with great opportunities.