The Centralian Advocate Fri 28 May 2021
Centralian Advocate; NewspaperNT
2021-05-28
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Alice Springs; Tennant Creek (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Alice Springs (N.T.) -- Newspapers; Australia, Central -- Newspapers
News Corp Australia
Darwin
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/838630
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/838631
FRIDAY MAY 28 2021 ADVOCATE 23 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA AFLNT Auskick co-ordinator Max Duffell with seven-year-old Antonio Wilson. Picture: Supplied IF distance makes the heart grow fonder, then seven-year-old Antonio Wilson must have a soft spot for footy. Every week, Antonio makes the 300km drive with his grandmother Cheryl from Yuendumu to Auskick training in Alice Springs. Ms Wilson said the three-hour drive each way isnt an issue. It is well worth the drive just to see Antonio and his little brother, Tysons faces lit up with happiness and excitement, she said. Ms Wilson said she enjoyed watching her grandkids running around with friends and kicking goals. NAB AFL Auskick is currently recruiting for boys and girls aged 5-12 across Australia. LEE ROBINSON FOOTY NUT GOES THE DISTANCE TWO dozen skate enthusiasts packed into the Alice Springs Town Council meeting on Tuesday night to ask questions of the recent shock closure of the towns only skate park. Community members in the gallery raised concerns about where the decision to shut the park over safety issues had left the scores of skate park users while they wait for a reopen date, which has not been specified. I see the skate park as an inclusive place where everyone can come and have a good time, one community member in attendance said. If we had different options, we wouldnt have the problem we face today that when one park is closed they have nowhere to go. Members of the age-diverse gallery said they felt disregarded in the skate park decision-making process and questioned why plans for a new skate park in 2018, which were unanimously supported by council, were ultimately scrapped. Council chief executive Robert Jennings said council sought to find both an interim solution to reopen the 17year-old park as soon as possible as well as a long-term solution that would see a new park or multiple parks built in town. Mr Jennings said the best outcome for the skate park would come through working with the community. Weve got engineers and architects and all those people, but we need the users input to get the best result, he said. A motion was passed to establish a skate park users working group, which will be invited to contribute to the planning of new skate park facilities. 23 Whats the wheel deal Skaters query closure of park LEE ROBINSON FOUR YEARS SINCE ULURU STATEMENT centralianadvocate.com.au Aavoca1e 1 WARREN SNOWDON MP MEMBER FOR LINGIARI This week marks four years since First Nations leaders from across the nation delivered the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Alice Springs: 8952 9696 Katherine: 8971 7312 Coolalinga: 8983 3129 The statement was the result of dialogues with First Nations communities around Australia, culminating in a summit at Uluru, as part of the broader national conversation on constitutional recognition and reconciliation. The Government asked First Nations people their vision for constitutional reform, through the appointment of the Referendum Council in 2015. Throughout 2016, 12 regional dialogues were held across the country. Between 23 and 26 May 2017, the First Nations National Constitutional Convention met and it delivered the Uluru Statement from the Heart was adopted - and later included in the Final Report of the Referendum Council. The desires of First Nations people as outlined in the Uluru Statement were reasonable and generous. A constitutionally enshrined voice to the parliament; and a national process for agreement making and Truth Telling. It is simply a desire to be heard on the issues and decisions that affect us - a secure voice that cannot simply be abolished by the government of the day. It also expresses an aspiration for acknowledgement of the truth and history of our nation. It asks so little, yet would mean so much to so many. Four years later and the Government continues to place these very reasonable aspirations in the too-hard-basket, kicking the can down the road. The Government says it will legislate a voice to the government. This is not what First Nations people asked. And there remains no further details or developments on what the model would like, or a timeline for when it will be revealed. Since the last term of the parliament, the Government has appropriated funds for a referendum on constitutional recognition. And yet there remains no indication of when the Government will make good on this promise. In 2019, the Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said there would be a referendum in this term of the parliament - now he says it is unlikely. We've seen a lot of talk from this Government, but time and again it always fails to match its own rhetoric. How long should First Nations people have to wait before the Government shows the leadership and respect First Nations people deserve?