Motions

The National Indigenous Times

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. T.A. Franks:

That this council notes—

1. The immense contribution of The National Indigenous Times as a powerful voice for Australia's First Peoples;

2. The investment made by the founders of The National Indigenous Times, John and Beverley Rowsthorne;

3. The National Indigenous Times' record as Australia's most awarded Indigenous publication, including a Walkley Award for Indigenous coverage in 2005; and

4. The sad departure of the newspaper from the media landscape following an announcement that its parent company, Destiny Publications, had gone into voluntary administration in January and the subsequent closure of the newspaper in February 2015.

(Continued from 18 March 2015.)

The Hon. T.T. NGO (21:25): I rise on behalf of the government to support this motion. The National Indigenous Times first hit the street on 27 February 2002 as the first weekly national newspaper that focused specifically on Indigenous issues. The paper was staffed and owned by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and hosted a dedicated team of predominantly Indigenous Australian writers and columnists.

Their primary goals were to bridge the knowledge gap for mainstream Australians of the aspirations of Indigenous Australians. They wanted to inform all Australians of the social and political issues affecting Indigenous Australians, and to promote to them the many positive achievements in business, academia, sport and community life of Indigenous Australians.

The National Indigenous Times for many years succeeded in this and more. By publishing the news and opinions, both good and bad, that they did, and by doing it in a way that was straightforward and frank, they inspired others to speak up and to speak out with similar frankness. I believe that it is crucial that we all employ this same frankness when talking about social and political issues affecting Aboriginal people.

We do ourselves no favours in Australia by not speaking frankly about issues impacting the Aboriginal community. This is something that I am particularly passionate about, given my role as the Presiding Member of the Aboriginal Lands Parliamentary Standing Committee. I thank The National Indigenous Times for their contribution to serving the voice of the Aboriginal community, and I also thank the newspaper's staff and sponsors for their dedication over many years.

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (21:27): The Hon. Tammy Franks, on 18 March, introduced a private member's motion:

That this council notes—

1. The immense contribution of The National Indigenous Times as a powerful voice for Australia's First Peoples;

2. The investment made by the founders of The National Indigenous Times, John and Beverley Rowsthorne;

3. The National Indigenous Times' record as Australia's most awarded Indigenous publication, including a Walkley Award for Indigenous coverage in 2005; and

4. The sad departure of the newspaper from the media landscape following an announcement that its parent company, Destiny Publications, had gone into voluntary administration in January and the subsequent closure of the newspaper in February 2015.

Earlier this year, it had been reported in the media that The National Indigenous Times had been put into administration and placed for sale. The ABC reported that the paper went into administration because of increasing legal bills as a result of actions brought against it, unpaid creditors and other legal matters, including a long-running unfair dismissal case and an undisclosed defamation matter.

Although the future of the paper at this stage remains sort of unclear, it is one of the main publications comprehensively covering Indigenous affairs issues throughout the nation. It certainly was a voice that I am sure championed the rights of Indigenous people. It will certainly be sorely missed, but, sadly, it is not an isolated case.

Just recently, a number of excellent publications that serviced rural and regional South Australia have bitten the dust or heavily reduced their local content and frequency of publication, so I am not sure that this is just particular to an Indigenous newspaper. I think it is a bit of a sign of the times with regard to hard copy publications which, sadly, I miss because it might be all right for the younger generation, but I still like my hard copy publication.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS: Thanks, the Hon. Kelly Vincent, you are very kind to me. With those few words, I note the Hon. Tammy Franks's motion and on behalf of the Liberal Party we support the motion and notice, sadly, the demise of The National Indigenous Times.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (21:29): Dignity for Disability, like other members, is sad to hear of the end of The National Indigenous Times. The National Indigenous Times first hit the streets in 2002, with Indigenous and non-Indigenous owners and predominantly Indigenous Australian writers and columnists. The act of reconciliation takes an ongoing and concerted effort. It is about everybody taking small steps to learn about, understand and repair the damage of the past and the present, to work towards a future where we have a greater understanding of Aboriginal Australians.

When it comes to representing Aboriginal Australians, our mainstream media in particular too often focuses on the bad, stereotypical representations of Aboriginal people, as with many other minority groups, that do not help to heal, and that is what we need to do. So, we certainly have a long way to go and I will miss The National Indigenous Times as a voice in that path to healing. With those few brief words, on behalf of Dignity for Disability I thank the Hon. Ms Franks for bringing this important motion forward and commend it to the chamber.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (21:31): I would like to thank the Hon. Tung Ngo, the Hon. Terry Stephens and the Hon. Kelly Vincent for making a contribution on this motion. I note it is a sad time to see the passing of The National Indigenous Times, but it was also a publication worthy of celebration and I know that many people who were involved in this newspaper will be interested to see the support of the council tonight and I note that they conveyed to me at the time that they were touched that we put a motion to this council noting the importance of that newspaper, particularly to the First Peoples of this nation, but indeed to this nation.

Motion carried.