Uncle Owen Whyman, a Paakindji man from Wilcannia, has brought together a group of nine Indigenous people from across NSW to start the first political party in Australia that centres the concerns and rights of Indigenous people: the Indigenous Party of Australia.
The Indigenous Party of Australia has already recruited over 750 members, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. The 9 members on the executive are Indigenous people from Dareton, Broken hill, Wilcannia, Mutwinji, Newcastle and Central Coast of NSW.
Mr Whyman has run for parliament twice before as an independent and is now formalising his vision of an Indigenous party run by Indigenous people to tackle crucial community and environmental issues at the federal level.
The party's strong environmental focus begins with their campaign Barka-Darling River. Emblematic of the ecological issues facing Australia, the drought impacted and now climate and farming impacted river has no flow of water; the river is stagnant and algae is growing, damaging the local community who depend on it for their lives.
Mr. Whyman says it's time for Indigenous issues to take the centre stage.
"As a national Party, the Indigenous Party of Australia, has to cover a lot of ground and that takes funds. We must get the word out, from Fremantle to Darwin to Port Adelaide to Melboune and Sydney, that Indigenous incarceration, the highest in the world, must end. Our rivers, like the Baak are ready to break as the natural waters are plundered and sacred sites destroyed. We need free homework centres, everywhere, that run every afternoon for Indigenous and non-Indigenous kids so they can have help with homework, improving reading, getting some fresh fruit. There is a lot of work to be done but we can make it with your help and support. "
Federally, a core element of the party's platform will be re-designing the approach to education within Indigenous communities, emphasising that equal opportunities must be given to all young Australians, and matching the needs of students to a curriculum and structure that meets them where they are.
