2010

1. 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

2011

1. June Politics

   The Australian Capital Territory gets its first Aboriginal politician when Gamilaroi man Chris Bourke is elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly. Mr Bourke is the son of Prof Colin Bourke, the first Aboriginal person to qualify as a dentist.

2. June Northern Territory Intervention

   From June to August the government holds 'consultations' in NT communities to get feedback on the intervention.

3. 8 June Self-determination

   The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples gets the first elected board, giving Aboriginal people the first elected national representative body since the abolition of ATSIC.

2012

1. 18 June Northern Territory Intervention

   Campaign Stand For Freedom presents 43,000 signatures to the Australian government supporting Aboriginal demands that the Stronger Futures legislation be withdrawn.

2. 30 June Northern Territory Intervention

   Despite fierce resistance and a petition with 43,000 signatures, both government and opposition pass the Stronger Futures legislation, extending the Northern Territory Intervention for another 10 years. The laws introduce tougher penalties for alcohol offences (up to 6 months imprisonment for a single can of beer and 18 months for a 6-pack), extend pornography restrictions and continue to prevent courts from taking customary law or cultural practice into consideration. The law introduces the most severe social security penalty in living memory – a 13 week non-payment period – for parents and carers whose children are not attending school regularly.

2013

1. 2 June Arts

   Yothu Yindi lead singer Yunupingu dies of kidney disease at his home in Yirrkala in Eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, aged 56.

2. 6 June Arts

   The Musée du Quai Branly (MQB) in Paris unveils the largest Australian Aboriginal public artwork in the world on its roof, a detail of Lena Nyadbi’s painting Dayiwul Lirlmim (Scales of the Barramundi). The permanent artwork is only viewable from atop the Eiffel Tower.

3. 27 June Politics

   Kevin Rudd becomes Prime Minister (again).

4. 28 June Northern Territory Intervention

   Marrickville Council in Sydney's Inner West becomes the first local government body to pass a motion opposing income management. It passes the motion in support of local community services who placed a work ban on referring people to the scheme.

2014

1. 24 June Recognition

   Inaugural National Indigenous Human Rights Awards at the NSW state parliament. Among the categories are the Dr M Yunupingu Human Rights Achievement Award (awarded to Arrernte elder Rosalie Kunoth-Monks), the Edward ‘Koiki’ Mabo Social Justice Award (awarded posthumously to Arthur and Leila Murray) and the Anthony Mundine Courage Award (awarded to Gamilaroy woman Barbara McGrady).

   There is no greater rights struggle on this continent than that of the Aboriginal struggle.

   — Shaoquett Moselmane, NSW parliamentarian who conceived of the awards ^[1]

2. 25 June Arts Recognition

   

   The Royal Australian Mint issues a 50 cent coin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). The coin shows the AIATSIS logo, derived from the boomerang totem of the Gu:na:ni (Kunjen) people from the Mitchell River region, Gulf of Carpentaria, North Queensland. The design illustrates the symmetrical style of north-eastern Queensland art, and utilises rich colours used in Aboriginal works of art. A small number of coins shows this logo in colour.

2015

1. June Remains repatriation

   Museum Victoria returns the skull of Jim Crow, believed to have been a member of the Wonnarua people of the Hunter Valley. The skull was stolen from his grave in the early 1860s and later stored on Museum Victoria shelves for 126 years. ^[2]

2. 3 June Recognition

   On the 23rd anniversary of the landmark Mabo decision, Sydney Observatory honours Eddie Koiki Mabo’s legacy by naming a star after him (SSSC star Koiki, constellation: Crux).

3. 8 June Land & land rights

   

   After extensive negotiations the Western Australian government signs the South West Native Title Settlement, a set of six Indigenous Land Use Agreements with the Ballardong, Gnaala Karla Booja, South West Boojarah, Wagyl Kaip & Southern Noongar, Whadjuk and Yued groups. It is the largest and most comprehensive native title agreement to settle First Nations interests over land in Australia. The agreement covers 200,000 square kilometres of land, from Jurien on the west coast to Ravensthorpe in the south, and includes the Perth metro area. The settlement applies to Aboriginal Heritage Surveys on all land in the settlement area, including private land. After a lengthy court process, the settlement formally commences on 25 February 2021.

4. 21 June

   Denise Champion, an Adnyamathanha woman from the Flinders Ranges, becomes the first Aboriginal woman to be ordained as a Christian minister in South Australia.

5. 25 June Stolen Generations

   The Legislative Council refers to the General Purpose Standing Committee No.3 the Inquiry into Reparations for the Stolen Generations in New South Wales.

2016

1. June Treaty

   During the election campaign, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces that he believes a formal treaty would undermine the campaign towards constitutional recognition. Meanwhile opposition leader Bill Shorten says he is 'up for the conversation on a treaty'.

2. 6 June Treaty Land & land rights Recognition

   The Western Australian government recognises the Noongar people formally through the Noongar (Koorah, Nitja, Boordahwan) (Past, Present, Future) Recognition Act 2016 of the WA Parliament as the traditional custodians of the south west region of Western Australia. The government "recognises the Noongar peoples' important relationship with the Noongar lands, and their significant and unique contribution to the heritage, cultural identity, community and economy of WA". ^[3] The recognition is part of Australia's most comprehensive native title agreement, the South West Native Title Settlement (see June 2015) and the first statute in WA to incorporate a First Nation's language (in its Noongar Recognition Statement). ^[4]
   

3. 9 June Protest

   Aboriginal leaders come together to announce the Redfern Statement, an urgent call for a more just approach to Aboriginal Affairs and government action. Read the statement

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References