Indigenous Television in Australia?
Comments (2)
The Australian Government is reviewing the viability of Indigenous Television and is calling for submissions and conducting nationwide public consultations.
Did you love the Bush Mechanics series? Want to see more David Gulpillil, Aaron Pedersen and Deb Mailman?
The right to see your culture on Australian TV is a right most Australians take for granted. Indigenous Australians are still denied this fundamental right. Of the thousands of Australians regularly seen on TV, only two are Indigenous. Not one of our 250 Indigenous languages can be heard regularly on any national TV channel. We are invisible in our own country.
Yet Indigenous television has been operating in many countries for more than twenty years. In Wales since 1982, Spain since 1983, Ireland 1995, Canada 1999 and this year in New Zealand.
Right now the Government is reviewing the viability of introducing Indigenous Television. As part of the review the Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA) is calling for submissions with a deadline of the 10th August. It is also conducting nationwide public consultations.
DCITA have indicated that unless there is a strong show of support from both the Indigenous media industry and the public, they will not recommend in favour of Indigenous television. This may be the only review of Indigenous television that happens in the next twenty years. We need your support at this critical time.
Indigenous culture is the longest continuous culture in the world. Help us keep it alive and share it with all Australians by giving Indigenous TV your support.
- Display this flyer and circulate it to your friends, family and colleagues.
- Email elizabeth.nelson@dcita.gov.au expressing your support and cc us at rachelp@mira.net so we know you have.
- Even better, attend the DCITA hearings at;
Mon June 28th 5.30pm, Sapphire Resort, 55 Boundary Street, South Brisbane
Tues 29 June 5pm, St Theresa’s Community Centre, Meenan Street, Garbutt, Townsville
Wed June 30th 4.30pm, Bumma Bippera, Office 17, Level 12, 135 Abbott Street, Cairns
Wed June 30th 5pm, Goolarri Media, 7 Blackman Street, Broome
Thurs July 1st 5pm, Crowne Plaza, 32 Mitchell Street, Darwin
Tues July 13th, 5.30pm, Tandanya Centre, 253 Grenfell Street Adelaide
Thursday July 15th, 5.30pm, Aborigines Advancement League in Thornbury
Thursday July 15th 5.30pm, Kings Hotel, 517 Hay Street, Perth
A discussion paper on the review is also available from DCITA at www.dcita.gov.au.
A national Indigenous media response is available at www.aica.asn.au.
Prepared by the Indigenous TV Working Party, June 24th 2004
Source: fibreculture::announcements
Comments
From: c. howell on 2004-07-12 From: andrew garton on 2004-07-13There was an excellent program on the ABC, a drama series featuring a young Ernie Dingo. It was screened last year, but easily 10 or more years old. It portrayed a small NSW country community in one of the most balanced, no bollocks productions I have seen... I don't watch television, but we were drawn to this at every occassion and missed it terribly when the season came to an end. More indeed!
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I am an overseas fan of Aussie television.I would definitely like to see an indigenous channel as maybe we would see more of great actors like Aaron Pedersen. I find it amazing that most Aussie tv shows have no aboriginal actors. One would think there were no black people in Australia at all by what we see on telly.