Australians will be prompted to include traditional place names when addressing letters and parcels from July 2021, after a community campaign

 

ABC News, 5 July 2021:

Australians will be prompted to include traditional place names when addressing letters and parcels from July 2021, after a community campaign.(ABC News: Margaret Paul)

Australians will now be prompted to include traditional place names when addressing letters and parcels, after a community campaign.

The new Australia Post packaging will include a dedicated spot where customers can choose to include the First Nation country, just above the street address on a letter or parcel.

It will be phased in as stock becomes available, as part of NAIDOC week.

Gomeroi woman Rachael McPhail has been petitioning Australia Post to make the change, as part of a campaign to include traditional place names in all addresses.

"For every town, for every place in this country, we have an original name, and it's important to use them as a celebration and to recognise the history and the connection of First People to country," she said.

She said the next step was compiling a comprehensive database of all traditional place names, so people could easily work out where to send their mail.

She said that would require a national, collaborative effort.

"What that entails is comprehensive and respectful consultation with First Nations people, elders, and community leaders, all around the country," she said.

"We need to make sure we are recording and collating that information all around the country."…….

Turf out the daily prayers in Australia's parliament

Well, wouldn't you know it?

A number of Aussie pollies are jumping up and down over a proposal to have a public debate about whether or not the daily prayer that precedes events in the Australian federal parliament should be rewritten or replaced.

And, guess what? Yes, Immigration Minister Chris Evans is right up there at the front of the group of protesters.

smh.com.au reports that Evans has poured cold water on a suggestion that the Lord's Prayer be replaced by an acknowledgment of the traditional owners of the land at the daily opening of parliament in Canberra.

That comes as no surprise to those who are aware of Evans's background. Prior to entering federal parliament in 1993 Evans was the State Secretary of the WA Fire Brigade Union, so he has form when it comes to pouring cold water on things that have any potential to spark things up.

The Speaker in the House of Representatives, Harry Jenkins, said the prayer was the most controversial aspect of parliamentary procedures and had been raised with him by MPs and members of the public.

Not unexpectedly, church groups (have) reacted angrily to any suggestion of replacing the Lord's Prayer.

But, get this. Senator Evans said he did not think it was uncomfortable for MPs who were not Christians to have to recite the prayer at the beginning of each sitting day.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said it was the responsibility of the parliament's presiding officers to decide whether the Lord's Prayer needs replacing.

Earlier this year the Australian parliament had a formal Welcome to Country and then the Apology, but still the parliament opens with the reading of prayers.

Truly, the time has arrived for daily prayers to be dispensed with and proceedings to commence with the Speaker in the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate beginning the sittings of the houses with an Acknowledgement of Country.