TEXT BY GEOFF VIVIAN
Australian Women Online has published my first-ever profile of a living politician.
I really don’t see myself as a celebrity chaser but this one turned out fairly well.
Among other things, Julie told me she was inspired to change her career after meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, who was then under house arrest.
Australian Women Online [read this story]
TEXT BY GEOFF VIVIAN
Theona Councillor launched her second CD album last month and has since been promoting it in Perth and Hedland.
As many of her extended family members live in and around Geraldton I wrote this piece for the Midwest Times.
TEXT BY GEOFF VIVIAN
from The Koori Mail
Ernie Bridge passed away late last month at age 76, suffering from asbestos-related diseases. He launched legal action in WA’s Supreme Court on 15 March for damages connected with the asbestosis and mesothelioma he contracted during his many visits to the former mining town of Wittenoom.
Mr Bridge was best known as a country and western singer and the WA parliament’s first Aboriginal member. He was also believed to be the first Aboriginal cabinet minister in any Australian government.
But as with all people, there was much more to the man. Continue reading
STORY BY GEOFF VIVIAN, PICTURES SUPPLIED
From The Koori Mail
It is a quarter to five in a Pilbara mining camp. Jerry Frewen drags himself out of bed and grabs a quick shower. It is an hour before dawn. He likes to be at his desk before the day shift arrives, so he doesn’t stay long in the small single-men’s quarters. He is grinning because it is the eighth day in his roster and he will knock off several hours before sunset and be back in Perth tonight. Just as he steps into his office, the first rays of the sun hit the red Pilbara dirt of an open cut iron ore mine.
Frewen is a drill and blast engineer at BHP’s Eastern Ridge mine, and unlike most of the professional staff, he is Aboriginal. He says most of the mine’s Aboriginal staff work as samplers, road crew, machinery operators and in the workshop, and there are plenty of job opportunities.
“A lot of mining companies are taking Aboriginal workers to increase their numbers,” he says. “Quite a few these days have commitments to maintaining a certain percentage of Indigenous workers. It’s theirs for the taking if they really want it.” Continue reading