Yarn Issue 4, November 2009

YARN ISSN 1836-8549

NOVEMBER 2009

National Tertiary Education Union − Indigenous members’ Newsletter

National

National Council 2009

ion

ucation Un

Tertiary Ed

NTEU National Council was held in Melbourne from 9–11 November, with members of the Indigenous Policy Committee (IPC) raising a number of important motions pertaining to Indigenous employment, education and wider social justice issues. ls y Protoco to Countr Welcome

Policy

National Council 2009

1

Smoking ceremony opens new SA Division office

2

Latest developments at Batchelor Institute

3

Resiliency in teaching Indigenous content

3

As is tradition, the Indigenous report and motions were the first items of business at National Council, with IPC Chair, Terry Mason providing an overview of the range of issues that formed the work of the Committee over the previous twelve months.

Indigenous delegates then opened debate on the motions, and spoke passionately about the need for the Union to support for the range of employment, education and social justice issues affecting members and communities across Australia.

The motions tabled at National Council 2009 covered the following topics: ●● Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. ●● NTEU Welcome to Country Policy. ●● Indigenous superannuation and retirement. ●● Indigenous higher education funding. ●● Discrimination and intolerance. ●● Self determination. ●● Northern Territory Intervention.

Poetry by Kym Walker

3

Welcome to Country Policy

NTEU Membership form

4

The Welcome to Country policy was introduced to National Council delegates by

Inside this issue:

Peter Pinnington, ACT Division Indigenous Councillor, who spoke in support of the necessity for a detailed policy ensuring Indigenous community protocols form part of all Union business, and that these protocols are incorporated into all internal and public Union events.

The new policy is available online at www.nteu.org.au/welcome_to_country

Superannuation access A motion on early access to superannuation and Government retirement benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers was tabled. Terry Mason gave an overview of the work undertaken to date by the National Office and IPC. ACTU Congress 2009 incorporated the issue of early access to superannuation and retirement benefits for Indigenous workers into their new policy platform. It is expected that in the coming months a delegation from the NTEU will lobby superannuation funds and the Federal Government to make changes to Government policy. continued on page 2...

Contact details National Indigenous Officer Adam Frogley.............afrogley@nteu.org.au Postal..........................NTEU National Office PO Box 1323, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Ph..........................................03 9254 1910 Fax.........................................03 9254 1915 Web............... www.nteu.org.au/indigenous

IPC representatives and NTEU Officers at National Council 2009. L–R: Grahame McCulloch, General Secretary; John Graham (Qld); Craig Somerville, IPC Deputy Chair; Adam Frogley, National Indigenous Officer; Bronwyn Fredericks (Vic); Carolyn Allport, National President; Deb Brown (Tas); Marilyn Strother (WA); Terry Mason, IPC Chair; Frances Wyld (SA).

Authorised by Grahame McCulloch, General Secretary, National Tertiary Education Union, PO Box 1323, South Melbourne VIC 3205

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NOVEMBER 2009

page 2

Smoking ceremony opens new SA office The new NTEU South Australian Division offices received a traditional smoking ceremony on 5 November.

The traditional ceremony was conducted by Major Sumner, a senior Ngarrindjeri Elder. The event was attended by Indigenous NTEU members from the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, NTEU Officers including Grahame McCulloch, General Secretary and Gregory McCarthy, South Australian Division President, plus staff from the National Office, Division and local Branches.

The ceremony cleansed and renewed the office space, and gave the opportunity to pay respect to traditional owners and ancestors. The smoking ceremony was the first to be conducted at any NTEU

office and the first since the launch of the Union’s Welcome to Country policy.

Above: NTEU member from the University of Adelaide, Dylan Coleman with Ngarrindjeri Elder, Major Sumner.

Left: Major Sumner and NTEU National Indigenous Officer, Adam Frogley.

National Council cont... ...continued from page 1

Sector improvements A number of motions pertaining to the higher education sector were tabled for debate. The motions called for improved Indigenous funding arrangements for universities and Indigenous support units; an end to discrimination and intolerance within the sector; and mechanisms to ensure Indigenous self-determination, through participation on a range of university and government committees.

Marilyn Strother, Frances Wyld and Terry Mason all spoke ardently about the requirement to adequately fund Indigenous support centres, eradicate intolerance and discrimination from the sector and to guarantee Indigenous representation on reviews, frameworks and relevant research projects that directly affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Craig Somerville, Curtin University Aunty Carolyn Briggs conducts the Welcome to Land

NT Intervention The IPC and RMIT Branch jointly tabled a motion on overturning the Northern Territory Intervention. Alma Mir from Batchelor Branch gave Council delegates an overview of how the Intervention continues to affect community members. Frustration with the Federal Government’s approach has seen members of the Ampilatwatja community walk away from their town camp.

Deaths in Custody IPC Deputy Chair, Craig Somerville from Curtin University, gave a compelling summary of the situation facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples when in custody, particularly the recent case of Mr Ward in WA, and the conditions he faced when being transported through the central desert in over 40° heat.

Mr Ward’s death, and those of many other community members, is a national shame.

Despite the Royal Commission, much work still needs be undertaken to ensure these preventable deaths never occur again.

Wrap up

Alma Mir, Batchelor Institute

YARN – NTEU INDIGENOUS MEMBERS’ NEWSLETTER

IPC Chair, Terry Mason, UWS

All motions tabled by the IPC were passed unanimously by Council delegates, with many Branch and Division representatives seeking further information on how they can assist with campaigning on the many issues debated.

The IPC will continue to provide updates to members on the progress of the motions throughout the course of 2010.

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NOVEMBER 2009

page 3

Latest developments at Batchelor Institute

Poetry TAKE ME HOME I have return to you my mother

NTEU National Office, NT Division and the Batchelor Branch are in the process of working to ensure the long-term sustainable future for Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE). Representatives from the National Office, the Division and Branch have sought a meeting with the Administrator at Batchelor Institute, to ensure members concerns about the future of the BIITE are expressed.

NTEU wrote to the Administrator on 27 November to seek a meeting to discuss any potential staff reductions, and to seek an assurance that any process complies with both the Fair Work Australia Act 2009 and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Enterprise Agreement 2005.

The Union has also sought a guarantee from the Administrator that no further action is taken on staff reductions until there has been a formal discussion between all parties concerned, including the relevant Unions.

The Administrator from KordaMentha is to meet with representatives from NTEU on 19 November, this meeting will provide an

opportunity for the Union to gain further information on the financial status of BIITE, and the Administrator’s recommendations for a restructure of the Institute.

NTEU believes that our members are entitled to a more detailed and up-to-date explanation of BIITE’s current financial position, including the rationale for any job cuts which might be proposed. The information gathered will help inform the Union’s position with respect to the long-term sustainability of BIITE. Members at Batchelor will be kept informed on the outcome of the meeting with the Administrator and recommendations for the future of the institution.

Resiliency in teaching Indigenous content Frances Wyld, a lecturer in Aboriginal Studies at the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research at the University of South Australia and South Australian IPC representative, presented ‘Pedagogies for Resilience’ at the Worlds Indigenous People’s Conference: Education (WIPC:E) in December 2008.

The paper is based on the premise that teaching Indigenous content as an Aboriginal person is challenging and that a strategy can be developed to increase resiliency in teaching.

Frances discusses the teaching that she currently engages in and the framework she uses. She then gives suggestions that help build teacher resilience yet still allow for student centred learning.

The paper covers issues from ‘Teaching Indigenous Content’, through ‘Planning for a student centred classroom’ and ‘Teacher resilience’ to ‘Mentoring and debriefing’.

An extract from ‘Pedagogies for Resilience’ is available as an online appendix to this issue of Yarn. Go to www.nteu.org.au/getinvolved/equal/indigenous/yarn/04/extra

A broken child, my spirit torn and weary My soul wounded and bleeding Un-grieved pain from lovers I thought I knew rests upon my heart PLEASE TAKE ME HOME to our land Of my grandmothers dreaming Take me home so I can learn, heal and grow in the beauty, strength and wisdom that she holds My spirit will soar on the wings of my brother the sea eagle Gently, gliding above my grandmothers land Floating upon the spirit of the wind While he casts his eyes into her mirrors to the sky Seeking the knowledge and wisdom that lays in her soul Take me home so I can learn, heal and grow in the beauty, strength and wisdom that she holds While I lay my tired body upon her golden skin Her tears she cries for her children of long ago Quenches the thirst in my soul Flowing like veins across her body to meet the sea That will nourish me and strengthen me as I grow Take me home so I can learn, heal and grow in the beauty, strength and wisdom that she holds Resting my head upon her As she embraces me in the warmth of sister sun Comforting me with her love Giving me the knowledge and wisdom To let my spirit fly without fear

Do you want to receive the Australian Universities’ Review, NTEU’s journal on higher education?

NTEU members are entitled to a FREE subscription. Simply login to www.nteu.org.au and edit your Profile (in ‘Publications and Communication Preferences’), or email a request to aur@nteu.org.au.

PLEASE TAKE ME HOME Kym Walker 1994 ©

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