Lowitja O'Donoghue is a truly great Australian. She is arguably our nation's most recognised Indigenous woman. A powerful and unrelenting advocate for her people, an inspiration for many, a former Australian of the Year, she sat opposite Prime Minister Paul Keating in the first negotiations between an Australian government and Aboriginal people and changed the course of the nation.

The story of the twelve Regional Dialogues and the Uluru National Constitutional Convention, attended by 1500 everyday First Peoples. The unanimous result was the Uluru Statement From The Heart, and its call for Voice and Makarrata.

Davis presents the Voice to Parliament as an Australian solution to an Australian problem. For Indigenous people, it is a practical response to the torment of powerlessness. She highlights the failure of past policies, in areas from child protection to closing the gap, and the urgent need for change. She also brings out the creative and imaginative dimensions of the Voice. Fundamental to her account is the importance of truly listening. In explaining why the Voice is needed from the ground up, she evokes a new vision of Country and community.

This report was handed to the Joint Council on Closing the Gap on 24 January 2024 and publicly released on 7 February 2024. This is the Productivity Commission’s first review of progress on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The key message of this report is that fundamental changes are required to deliver on the Agreement.

The key messages are: there is some evidence that governments demonstrate ability and willingness to partner in shared decision-making but change is not occurring; accountability is limited; progress is falling short of envisaged expectations.

Compiled by Belinda Mason and Dieter Knierim from Blur Projects, this is a photographic exhibition (with accompanying personal stories) depicting dozens of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have served in the Australian Defence Force. The photographs are beautiful, the stories often revealing, but the very occasional references (we found about five from more than 200 people) to First Nations warriors defending Country but not serving in the ADF (that is, references to the Frontier Wars) are guarded and wary. They are, of course, entitled to be that way if that is the feeling of the people speaking. The website has an introduction from Governor-General David Hurley, who notes that 'Australia’s First Nations peoples have a long tradition of serving in the Australian Defence Force'. The Department of Veterans' Affairs is one of eight Supporters of the exhibition.