NATIONAL TALK BLACK – 24/03/2025
On todays Talk Black via NIRS – National Indigenous Radio Service we have:
Jenny Parkes, Connecting Communities Australia – Project Lead and and FRRR Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) grant recipient, talking about their Yacaaba Head Restoration Stabilisation Project + Fire Breaks in Pindimar project. More than 80 community groups across remote, rural and regional Australia are sharing $827,253 in grants thanks to FRRR’s flagship grants program, Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC). The funding will be used by grassroots not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) for a wide range of initiatives that celebrate, strengthen and support their rural communities to be more vibrant, resilient, sustainable places to live. Through this grant, Connecting Communities Australia is In consultation with local First Nations Rangers and volunteers, develop native plantings, fire breaks and trails to improve the stability and resilience of the Yacaaba Spit landscape and mitigate future bushfire impact. The SRC program is collaboratively supported by donors, ranging from private individuals to larger foundations, who are acknowledged on the FRRR website. If you would like to help, you can donate at www.frrr.org.au/donate. FRRR always accepts applications to this program, which awards funds around four times a year. Local not-for-profit organisations and community groups are encouraged to review the program guidelines and apply. More information about the SRC program is available at www.frrr.org.au/src. To see The full list of grant recipients and their projects, visit the link below!
https://frrr.org.au/blog/2025/03/13/src-r23-recipients/
Selwyn Button, Commissioner, talking about the new Closing the Gap data that shows focus on Priority Reforms by governments need to see real improvement. The latest update of the Productivity Commission’s Closing the Gap Dashboard, which measures progress towards the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, adds a new year of data for eight of the 19 targets and 15 of the supporting indicators.
This update shows the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prisons increased by 15% between 2023 and 2024 (target 10). This represents a further worsening of outcomes against this target – the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prisons has now increased 30% since 2019 (the baseline year). For the first time since 2014-15, data is available on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s access and use of the internet (target 17). Nationally in 2022-23, almost nine in ten (88.3%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over, used the internet in the past three months, and eight in 10 used it daily. However, assessment of progress against the target is not possible. New data shows the amount of land and sea country subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders rights or interests (targets 15A and 15B) has continued to increase and is still on track. This update also shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be over-represented in the child protection system (target 12). Nationally in 2024, the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 0–17 years in out-of-home care was 50.3 per 1,000 children. The 2024 rate is the same as the rate in 2023, and it is an increase from 47.3 per 1,000 children in 2019 (the baseline year). In 2023, the rate of suicide among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 30.8 per 100,000 people. This is the highest rate over the period from the baseline year in 2018 (23.6 per 100,000 people), although caution is advised in interpreting this result as changes were made to data collection from 2022. Overall, four targets are now on track to be met and a further six targets show improvement but are not on track to be met. Outcomes are worsening against four targets and a further four targets are not able to be assessed.
Mabel Gibson, Author, talking about her book ‘Crybaby’. CryBaby is a debut collection of micro-memoirs which chronicles the artistic growth of Mabel.Moving across the distinct landscapes of Albany, Geraldton and Perth, these short autobiographical stories chart Mabel’s life, from the age of two to twenty-four. They tell her story as a Yamatji woman who, in the consuming storms of personal challenges and grief, finds her voice and strength as a writer. In a style that is riveting, honest and relatable, Mabel’s stories address issues that affect all young people – mental health, love, loss and accepting the unfixed nature of identity. The collection’s dreamy and fragmented structure, with unvarnished layers of truth and insight, will leave you breathless and in awe of this exciting new talent in Australian writing. This is Mabel’s first flash memoir by a First Nations writer published in Australia – a deeply emotional coming-of-age story.
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