2010

1. 17 February

   Singer and actress Ruby Hunter dies of a heart attack aged 54.

2. 23 February

   The Queensland Parliament amends the Constitution of Queensland to include a preamble recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians. The preamble now reads: “The people of Queensland, free and equal citizens of Australia… honour the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the First Australians, whose lands, winds and waters we all now share; and pay tribute to their unique values, and their ancient and enduring cultures, which deepen and enrich the life of our community…”

3. 24 February

   The final report of the UN's special rapporteur on Indigenous rights, Professor James Anaya, finds the intervention limits the rights and freedoms of Indigenous people in breach of Australia's international obligations.

4. 19 March

   Australia’s richest man, Andrew Forrest, launches GenerationOne in the presence of the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and celebrities and actors such as Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe. The campaign aims at convincing Australians to help end Indigenous disadvantage.

   Australia changes with each one of us making a change… Let's change Australia for the better. — Prime Minister Kevid Rudd launching GenerationOne ^[1]

5. 20 March

   Veteran Aboriginal rights activist, Charles ‘Chicka’ Dixon, dies aged 81. Dixon was active in the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and its campaign for the 1967 national referendum. Dixon was also active in the Aboriginal Tent Embassy movement in the 1970s and a major player in establishing Australia’s first Aboriginal legal and medical services. He received a state funeral on March 31st.

6. 22 March

   The South Australian government loses an appeal against the $775,000 payout to a member of the Stolen Generations. The Full Court of the SA Supreme Court ruled that the government had been negligent in its treatment of Bruce Trevorrow, who was taken from his parents as a child more than 50 years ago.

7. 1 April

   During a visit to Australia, Prince William takes up a request to return Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy's remains to Redfern (Sydney), making front page news.

   

8. 19 April

   New Zealand signs the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, leaving only the USA and Canada rejecting it.

9. May

   Aboriginal academic Megan Davis becomes the first Aboriginal person appointed to a UN body when the Australian government nominates her for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

10. May

    Following discussions between Stolen Generations peak organisations and government agencies, the Stolen Generations Working Partnership is launched to track the outstanding recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report.

11. 28 May

    Michael Leslie wins the $50,000 Red Ochre Award for lifetime achievement in Indigenous dance.

12. June

    

    19-year-old Aboriginal model Samantha Harris makes it to the cover of Vogue Australia’s June issue. Harris got her first break into modelling after entering a competition in the Australian teenage magazine Girlfriend in 2003, aged just 13.

13. 9 June

    The Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Act is introduced, entitling all artists to a 5% royalty whenever their work is re-sold. Thousands of Aboriginal artists can benefit from the scheme. ⇒ Aboriginal art profits

14. 12 June

    Timana Tahu, an Aboriginal player of the Sydney-based Parramatta Eels Rugby League club, walks out of the NSW Origin team camp in response to racist comments by the team’s assistant coach Andrew Johns, sparking a media debate about racism against Aboriginal players and people.

15. 21 June

    The government passes legislation to re-instate the Racial Discrimination Act by extending compulsory income management nationwide. The administration is estimated to cost taxpayers $350 to $400 million dollars over the next four years, or about $4,000 a person a year. Reports indicate that people under income management feel "severely demoralised". ^[3]

    Re-instating the [Racial Discrimination Act] restores dignity and helps Indigenous Australians to take ownership of their lives and to drive change in the NT. — Jenny Macklin, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister ^[3]

16. 24 June

    Julia Gillard, previously Deputy Prime Minister, becomes the first female Prime Minister of Australia after Kevin Rudd lost the confidence of his party. Rudd served the shortest period of any Prime Minister so far.

17. 27 June

    French-born tourist Alizee Sery, 25, outrages Aboriginal and non-Indigenous people by walking to the top of Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock) and performing a strip show which she sees as a ‘tribute’ to Aboriginal people. ⇒ Threats to Aboriginal land

18. July

    The National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA returns Aboriginal remains taken from their burial places during the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land (Northern Territory) ^[4].

19. 29 July

    The West Australian government approves $3.2 million, one of the largest ex-gratia (voluntary) payments ever made in Australia to the family of an Aboriginal Elder who died of heatstroke in the back of a prison van in 2008. ⇒ Aboriginal deaths in custody

20. 27 August

    The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination releases its Concluding Observations following a review of Australia’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Among other things the committee recommends that the government "consider the negotiation of a treaty agreement to build a constructive and sustained relationship with Indigenous peoples". ^[5]

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References