Wai Quarterly now belongs at www.blackkitepress.org. This site is no longer updated, but remains as an archive.
Wai is a free quarterly newspaper produced and distributed across Australia. An independent political and creative publication, engaging with issues of environment, sustainability, social justice, social change, and so on.
We are currently seeking contributions, design skills and donations for future editions of Wai, the next to be printed by Mid-March 2010 . For more details check out Getting Involved or email waiquarterly@gmail.com.
Each edition will also be available electronically on this blog. Please click on the links on the above menu to access. Latest edition below…
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Wai- November 2009 Edition
After a few computer glitches the November 2009 issue of Wai is finally ready to hit the streets, almost a year to the day since the first edition.
In this issue we’ve gone a bit more global with an article on what NGOs in Denmark are expecting for Copenhagen. Speaking of Copenhagen there is also an article on how the coal and other lobby groups are derailing the whole process, fitting given all that transpired climate wise with the amendments to the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme that took place in Canberra.
There’s also articles on the UN special Rapporteur visit to the Australia, an article on the Intervention walkoff at Amplatiwatchj, report back from ANFA, articles on West Papua’s struggle for Independence, Indigenous Water Forum at Mary River, Bi-lingual Education, as well as a piece on our current refugee policy, asking the question has anything changed?
We’ve also got the regular news and update sections as well as our resources and events page. Hopefully there is something of interest there for you all. Feedback and contributions are always appreciated waiquarterly@gmail.com
Read on: November 2009 Wai
Wai Quarterly 
Hi everyone at Wai Quarterly & what a brilliant idea. As part of Indigenous Social Justice Melbourne group and having been involved with the Lex Wotton Campaign that has been calling on the Qld. DPP & Qld. Attorney General to drop the charges against Lex I must say that now Lex’s trial is underway it can only be hoped that he will finally see REAL justice although it will still be a case of too little too late. How many lives have been lost unnecessarily as a result of Hurley’s intolerance and subsquent arrest of Mulrunji Doomadgee? Let’s count them – 1. Mulrunji, 2. Mulrunji’s teenage son, Eric, 3. Patrick Bramwell and then Mulrunji’s mum’s death was seen to be hastened by his death. All those lost lives and still Hurley walks free, continues to be employed as a Qld. police officer and gets a massive insurance payout while Lex Wotton could face life imprisonment if found guilty of the charge of “riot with destruction”! STRANGE JUSTICE, WHITE JUSTICE, BLACK INJUSTICE – call it what you will it doesn’t change anything. Black folk in this country are over-incarcerated ‘cos they can be!
Another worrying case is that of former Redfern Police Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer, Paul Wilkinson, who is currently being held on remand in a NSW Correctional Facility on a charge of murder he states he did not commit. This is the same Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer (ACLO) who was turned away from the Coronial Inquest into the death of TJ Hickey in Redfern in 2004. His approach to the legal team representing TJ’s Mum (Gail) in an attempt to be included in the inquest was refused by them and he was also threatened by police investigating TJ’s death not to return to the Coroner’s Court or he would be charged! Despite informing the appropriate policing authorities of who he says did commit the crime it appears that the information he has given has been ignored and uninvestigated. Much easier to keep a blackfella locked up for a crime regardless of whether he did or did not commit that crime.
On a recent court appearance (1 Oct 08) it was necessary for Paul to explain to Judge Stratton that she was unable to be involved in his case due to her CONFLICT OF INTEREST! After a short recess she stepped down from the case.
What was that conflict of interest – Judge Stratton and her husband were Gail Hickey’s legal team at TJ Hickey’s Coronial Inquest! YES, THEY WERE THE LEGALS WHO TURNED PAUL WILKINSON AWAY & THEREBY PREVENTED HIM FROM DISCLOSING INFORMATION THAT WOULD HAVE UNDOUBTEDLY SEEN A DIFFERENT OUTCOME THAN THE ONE THE HICKEY FAMILY EVENTUALLY RECEIVED IN A CORONIAL INQUEST WHICH TO THIS DAY IS DESCRIBED AS NOTHING BUT A COVER-UP OF MAJOR PROPORTIONS!
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!
PRE-DETERMINED OUTCOMES SEEM TO BE THE ORDER OF THE DAY – LET’S HOPE LEX WOTTON AND PAUL WILKINSON BOTH RECEIVE REAL JUSTICE AND NOT BLACK JUSTICE. DROP THE CHARGES AGAINST LEX WOTTON AND INVESTIGATE THE ALLEGATIONS AND CONCERNS RAISED BY PAUL WILKINSON AS MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST AND DO NOT TARGET HIM TO BECOME AN ABORIGINAL DEATH IN CUSTODY TO PREVENT HIM SPEAKING OUT AS IF THIS WAS TO OCCUR EVERYONE KNOWS IT WILL NOT BE AT HIS OWN HANDS!
Hi Scott,
I am spending a lot of time, reading my way through your newspaper..
Big respect for what you are doing!
Ellen