Torres News Thursday, October 14 2021
News and events of the Kaurareg homeland of Kaiwalagal, the Torres Strait homeland and Cape York homelands of the Anggamuthi, Atambaya, Wuthathi, Yadhaykenu and Gudang Peoples.
Edition 4
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Our football futures Asuelu Aniba (pictured) was one of seven aspiring rugby league stars who played in the Under-16 comp at the Arthur Beetson Foundation Murri Carnival in Brisbane late last month. This weekend football comes to TI as the 25th Zenadth Kes Cup carnival kicks off with – at the time of writing – eight mens’ and three ladies’ sides, ready to battle it out. It is anticipated several NRL and former-NRL players will compete, including former NRL Dally M winner Ben Barba and long-time NRL player Travis Waddell. Torres News has got your footy weekend covered, see our sports pages for our Zenadth Kes Cup previews as well as more coverage of the Murri Carnival and Townsville’s Bindal Sharks Allblacks carnival last weekend! See our full coverage Pages 5, 8, 10, 11 & 12
10-year plan to end domestic violence Mental health, unemployment and COVID-19 have all been key factors in higher rates of domestic violence around the whole of Australia, but the picture in the Torres Strait is less clear because of a lack of shared data across the region, community stakeholders say. But Torres Strait representatives had an opportunity last week to talk about ways our region might have input into a national 10-year plan to eliminate domestic violence. National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance (NATSIWA) CEO and National Plan to End Domestic, Family
and Sexual Violence representative Sandra Creamer was joined by Mura Kosker Sorority representative Geiza Stow at the first of a series of meetings, starting from last week, which will help to bring the voices of communities in our region to the table. Ms Creamer said they were looking for community solutions which, in the first instance, meant finding ideas around forming partnerships and sharing decision-making, building the communitycontrolled sector, transforming government organisations and sharing access to data at regional level. “We will be doing
Geiza Stow and CEO NATSIWA Sandra Creamer at the Waiben meeting. a roadmap, and I will be back in January looking at what can come out of the Torres Strait that brings culture, tradition and values into community solutions,” Ms Creamer said.
“That has never happened before. “Each community and area is different, in every community they are already looking at solutions but they lack the funding or policies.”
She said they were not the ‘quick fix it’ group. “What do you think is needed in this community to help bring your family back together?” she said.
“Men, what do you think is needed? “We have a responsibility to our children and grandchildren. “Grassroots people share lived experience – they know where the gaps are.” She said part of their outreach to communities would be a survey to try and put together a picture of what is going on in the Torres Strait. “We are looking at how we look at the programs and what is required to bring DV rates down,” she said. “What is required to strengthen our children and, in the future, look at eliminating the different sorts of behaviours that are happening?
“In March we will present the rollout to the ministers as part of the national plan for the next 10 years. “What they’re looking for is more community solutions and their priorities.” Mrs Stow said she was honoured to represent the Torres Strait for Mura Kosker Sorority and at that first meeting, most of the discussions had been around how they were going to rollout into the region for feedback through the surveys. “We will invite all the key stakeholders to come,” she said. “We will try and make sure we don’t miss anybody and in January we will present to Sandra.”