First Nations First

A WARNING THAT THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS REFERENCES TO AN INDIGENOUS PERSON WHO HAS DIED Respected Aboriginal writer, activist and filmmaker Richard Frankland has delivered this year’s Elder in Residence Oration, an annual talk which invites reflection on First Nations issues. The Gunditjmara man has previously served in the Army and worked with the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody...

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are being held across Australia this week to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This year's theme is 'Fifty Years of Deadly', celebrating more than five decades of NAIDOC Week. NAIDOC Week runs from the 5th to the 12th of July. The Committee members say the milestone offers a chance to ho...

Traditional owners in Far North Queensland have come together with scientists for the first time to help tackle threats against human-induced climate change. The inaugural conference with leaders from seventeen different Torres Strait Islands is helping shape Australia's next State of Environment Report due in December this year. Reporter Josh van Staden travelled to Thursday Island with support f...

Community led events are being held across the country to mark National Reconciliation Week, which runs from May 27 to Jun 03. This year's theme is 'All In' - a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation, and to advancing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's rights.

Almost three decades on from the landmark Bringing Them Home report on Stolen Generations, the government has implemented just six per cent of recommendations. This National Sorry Day, advocates are calling for government action to better support survivors and their families.

The impacts of the Stolen Generation policies on families were detailed publicly for the first time in the landmark 'Bringing Them Home' report 29 years ago, following a national inquiry that featured the testimonies of more than 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Many recommendations from the report on redress and support for survivors still remain unimplemented. The Healing Found...

First Nations Australians who have lived experience of incarceration in Victoria are showcasing their work through an art exhibition. The exhibition, highlighting the artists' voices, has proved the ripple effect - where one event can cause a series of bigger effects - for some to take a new path beyond prison.

The Northern Territory justice system is under fresh scrutiny amid allegations people are being held in overcrowded cells for long periods of time without adequate healthcare in a Darwin correctional facility. A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections has said in a statement that the Darwin Transitional Custody Centre accommodates prisoners for a maximum of four weeks. They said prisoners u...

Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man Travis Lovett is now well into his 800 kilometre walk from Melbourne to Canberra. The former Yoorrook Justice Commissioner is leading the five-week long 'Walk for Truth' to call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to establish a National Truth Telling Process. SBS reporter Angelica Waite spoke with Mr Lovett when he was in Seymour, about 150 kilometres into his journey.

WARNING Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this story includes the name and image of an Indigenous person who has passed away. THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRESSING FOR SOME LISTENERS. The desperate search for a five-year-old missing in the Northern Territory has ended in tragedy. Police believe they've found the girl's body. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says the entire North...

[[WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should exercise caution when listening to this audio as it contains names and images of deceased persons, which may cause distress to members of these communities.]] Since the First World War, Indigenous men and women have served in Australia's defence forces, despite the government's refusal to recognise their rights. NITV Radio's Kerri-Lee...

A trailblazer of Australia's arts and cultural landscape, Aunty Rhoda Roberts has been laid to rest on Country in her hometown of Lismore. Hundreds gathered to honour a life dedicated to the arts and elevating Indigenous voices.

The latest report on Closing the Gap Targets, released last month, found just four of nineteen targets are on track. Among those targets Australia is failing to meet, the country is moving backward when it comes to reducing suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which are now more than three times higher than for non-Indigenous Australians. First Nations health advocates a...

The latest report on Closing the Gap Targets, released last month, found just four of the nineteen targets are on track. Among those targets Australia is failing to meet, the country is moving backward when it comes to reducing suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people , which are now more than three times higher than for non-Indigenous Australians. First Nations health advoca...

Tributes are being made to SBS Elder-in-residence and Widjabul Wia-bal woman, Auntie Rhoda Roberts, who has died at the age of 66. Her short battle with a very rare type of ovarian cancer ended on Saturday afternoon on her country surrounded by family. The decorated writer, actor and director was awarded an Order of Australia in 2016 for her service to performing arts and immense impact on and off...

New data from the Productivity Commission reveals that the national effort to Close the Gap is failing. As the 2031 deadline looms, Indigenous leaders and advocates are calling for an urgent shift away from "band-aid" government strategies toward genuine community-led action and structural reform.

A First Nations advocate and activist for incarcerated women says the social contract between the Australian government and the community is broken. Tahlia Isaac, who founded 'Project:herSelf', says authorities are more interested in punishment than providing the conditions to keep people safe. She says the system needs to change and the government needs to start listening to women who have real i...

The Acknowledgement of Country has been translated into 40 languages as part of a project led by Dr Elaine Laforteza. She explains how it started and the vision for what comes next.

The federal government has released its latest report card on its Closing the Gap targets, which are meant to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians. The data shows just four of the 19 targets are on track. Anthony Albanese has used his annual closing the gap speech on Thursday to announce a $144 million boost to Indigenous health to upgrade more than 100 services in cities and regional areas...

The Federal Government has launched a landmark $218 million national plan to end violence against First Nations women and children. It marks the first long-term strategy designed and led entirely by Indigenous communities. While the policy targets specialised healing and emergency services in remote areas, community leaders warn that real change also requires confronting the systemic racism and hi...

A powerful exhibition featuring photographs and stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability has been called a milestone for inclusion and representation. First exhibited at the United Nations in Geneva more than a decade ago, it's now being shown again on home soil in its most accessible format.

This week a treaty between Victoria and the state's First Nations people became law. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria co-chairs Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg signed the treaty at a formal ceremony at Government House on Thursday morning. Kerri-Lee Barry from SBS' NITV Radio has spoken with UNSW Law & Justice Associate Professor, Dr Harry Hobbs, about the histori...

A young volunteer for a football club in central Victoria has won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (NATSI) Sports Awards this year. April Le Sueur has been volunteering at the Rumbalara Football and Netball Club in the Victorian town of Shepparton. She's also the AFL Young Leader of the Year.

It's been hailed as a moment centuries in the making: the signing of Australia's first ever state-wide treaty with Aboriginal people, described as something once thought impossible. The Australian-first treaty will take effect just before Christmas but will not be up and running until mid-2026. And for both sides signing the pact in Victoria, there's recognition of more hard work that needs to be...

Professor Michael Wear, a Malgana Traditional Custodian from Shark Bay, has been honoured at the 26th Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science for his groundbreaking work uniting Indigenous knowledge and marine science. He is the inaugural winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems. Through his company Tidal Moon, Professor Wear is leading a world-f...