[Broadcast on 3 April 2015 with Ian and Nathan]

This week we are looking at recent struggles by indigenous people and refugees against the colonial state – yes the colonial state state of Australia – home to 25 million people in the 21st century but still living in the 19th and 20th centuries where Europeans colonised the developing world.

We wish to thank Nicole and Nathan for their efforts on the Paradigm Shift in past weeks – and to Andy who has become our roving reporter from blockades in the Leard State Forest in NSW to the remote parts of East Gippsland in Victoria. We will continue to bring Andy’s reports to you. be mindful that the efforts of grassroots people comes at a cost. Courts are imposing large fines against people found guilty of civil disobedience in the Leard State Forest.

In recent weeks state and federal governments have been doing their best to make aboriginal people refugees in their own country by forced closure of aboriginal communities in west Australia and South Australia.

At the same time the federal government has been found by the United Nations to have failed its international obligations to refugees fleeing from war torn countries. During the past three weeks Paradigm Shift has been at public rallies where people have voiced their anger at these failings by governments both state and federal. Yet parliaments around Australia do not seem to listen. They seem bent on creating crises so that they can implement harsher social and economic measures by dividing communities and driving people from the country into towns; and when they live in towns to drive them, blackfellas and whitefellas, into cities.

All this while the Queensland State government encourages fly-in-fly-out miners and now fly-in-fly-out police.
Over the past month aboriginal people and their non-indigenous supporters have strongly resisted these moves by government (on behalf of mining companies).
Paradigm Shift brings to listeners what has been said and done – let us go first to a welcome to country in King George Square on 27 March 2015 – the welcome is given by Leanne Ruska, a local yuggera woman.

Donations to the Sovereign Grannies Group for convoy to Western Australia to stop forced closure of aboriginal communities:
Sovereign Grannies Group, National Australia Bank BSB 084009 Account No 837268930

Listen to Paradigm Shift on demand
http://www.4zzzfm.org.au/program/paradigm-shift

Playlist
Eddie Murray Song by Janie Conway-Herron
What is that I hear? by Phil Ochs sung by union choir
The Dead Heart by Midnight Oil (a cover version)
Fool Time Job by LEWKA & TRILLION feat on The Trans-Pacific Partnership
Who killed Reza Barati? by Phil Monsour