BY KIM BULLIMORE
SYDNEY — Thirty-five people, including members of the Indigenous Student Network from New South Wales and ACT, Arbunna elder Kevin Buzzacott and elder Ray Jackson, attended the newly formed Indigenous Solidarity Action Collective at the University of Technology Sydney on May 9. ISAC is an initiative of the ISN and includes both indigenous and non-indigenous members. ISAC is to work in solidarity with the ISN to promote the July 1 national indigenous mobilisation in Canberra.
The July 1 action, which has the theme "Fight the fight", will take place at the beginning of National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Celebration week. It will include a march on Parliament House.
ISN member and July 1 NSW organiser Corrie Hodson told Green Left Weekly that the ISN is expecting the rally to be attended by indigenous communities from all over Australia. "While this is a day for indigenous struggle, we want all those people who support indigenous rights to stand beside us", Hodson said.
While the state and federal governments were busily promoting the 100th anniversary of federation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had very little to celebrate, Hodson noted. "Indigenous Australians are still being jailed for trivial crimes and misdemeanours, we are still dying at a younger age and the health of our people is well below the rest of the population".
Hodson hopes the rally will send a strong election-year message to the federal government. Recent studies reveal that the massive cuts to Aboriginal funding, including to Abstudy, have resulted in a drop in the number of indigenous students of 15.2% between 1999 and 2000
For more information on ISAC and July 1 contact Corrie Hodson on 0416 270876,