Stigmabase | Australia - New Zealand

Meet Baker Boy: the 20-year-old Aboriginal Australian rapping in his mother language - Danzel Baker is a 20-year-old Australian performer, sending some positive vibes to Indigenous Australian communities and we’re sure, the music world. Baker has already released Cloud 9 , a track featuring him rapping in the Yolngu Matha language; a first for Aussie indigenous rappers, who don’t actually have a history of performing in their native language. Baker’s intention is to become a role model to kids living in remote communities, using traditional culture to reach out to those involved in drug use and drinking.

Indigenous destiny dances to united beat with constitutional reform agenda - Yolgnu elder Djunga Djunga Yunupingu said he had been asked by his uncle, Galarrwuy Yunu­pingu, to bring to central Australia a fire “that gives us the power and identity of who we are” and that “tells us that no matter what happens to us, we are strong and unbreakable”. “Our fire was lit by our ancestors and lives through our songs and our dance; all of us are linked throughout the country by songlines and kinship and friendship and a common history in this land,” Mr Yunupingu said. The flame he invoked was painted on the bodies of his countrymen: red and yellow on their torsos symbolising its heart and tongue, the black the charcoal it creates, and a series of white dots, or nilng-nilng, the shower of sparks that can spread its power. “We are coming here to light a fire, and have them take the strength of that fire into their discussions,” he told The Australian .

Indigenous activewear gears up for success - Producing running tights and fitness accessories decorated with Indigenous art, the 22-year-old has won the attention of some big names including ...

Indigenous VET students find employment success - A report by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research highlights bright spots in the generally gloomy outcomes for indigenous VET ...

Rise in reported Indigenous family violence victims as police push for change - Carol told her abusive partner she was not going to pick him up from the pub. He told her he was going to come home and smash her. That was the ...

Invisible victims: single older women in the housing crisis - Single older women represent the fastest growing group among the homeless in Australia , where 17 percent of homeless people are aged 55 or over.

Dozens of Australian child brides forced into illegal marriages - A generation of young Australian girls are being forced into illegal ... married to much older men with authorities relying on the community to alert them ...

Stamp out this evil from face of earth - The barbarity behind a suicide bombing of children does not stop at Australia's borders. IS has already recruited South Australians . In 2015 ...

Hell no': government rejects push for revamped anthem - Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said a tweaked anthem was less relevant to the lives of Indigenous Australians than a discussion about reparations for ...

What does 'recognition' for Indigenous Australians actually look like? - It has taken some time for the debate on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians to focus on the question of what "recognition" means.

Emotional Turrnbull says 'sorry' to Stolen Generations - Today, we again acknowledge the Stolen Generations, those Aboriginal ... The Opposition Leader said it was time Australia “talked of reconnection, ...

LGBTI activists force News Corp journo to quit NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby - Jill Stark, an SBS columnist who reports on LGBTI issues, said Molloy had been pressured to quit by third-party activists who complained that his ...

Middle East gay man writes beautiful letter to late father: 'Thank you for accepting me' - An LGBTI activist based in Jordan has written a moving letter to his late father. Hasan (who has asked us not to use his full name) lost his father just a ...

It looks like we've missed the boat' - As lifelong activists, Bon and Peter forged a path for the gay and lesbian community. Together, they shared Australia's first televised gay kiss, ...

Coal impacts could push 122 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. - That's according to a report from the global anti- poverty organization Oxfam, which specifically calls for Australia to stop propping up the coal industry ...

Julie Bishop Has Raised "Serious Concerns" With Indonesia Over Public Lashing Of Gay Men -  Australia and Indonesia have a crucial bilateral relationship, with significant cooperation on a number of economic and ... called on foreign nations to ramp up international pressure on Indonesia over its treatment of LGBT people.

More Asians and Maori - The changing face of Tauranga - The city's increasing ethnic diversity and the ageing of the population are key building blocks underpinning the development of the council's vision for the city - the 2018-28 Long Term Plan. Statistics New Zealand data said the Maori proportion of the population would grow 2 per cent to reach 21 per cent by 2028 - the same increase as the Asian population that would reach 10 per cent. Asians included migrants from the Indian sub-continent. And Tauranga residents in the 65 plus retirement bracket have been forecasted to make up 23 per cent of the population by 2028 - up 4 per cent on next year's projected proportion of elderly residents. Responding to the projections, New Zealand China Friendship Society Tauranga branch president John Hodgson said work needed to be done to encourage integration.

Become a "hero" and work in NZ Prisons is a joke -  Maori were being challenged to become "heroes " and work in New Zealand prisons as part of a strategy to try to reduce the high Maori imprisonment ...

Māori in NZ Screen Industry say Budget allocation not enough - The New Zealand Film Commission currently supports Ngā Aho Whakaari and its ... Māori producer/director Lanita Ririnui-Ryan says, "I think drawing ...

Urban Māori hold own hui on govt strategy for suicide prevention -  "25% of Māori live in this city of Tāmaki Makaurau, so we're a huge player in ... The strategy to prevent suicide in New Zealand is only a draft for public ...