This is Australia – um…isn’t it?

Australia – the land of a fair go, of mate-ship and of lending a hand. I’ve always believed that. But under Abbott, is this changing? When I hear the line “This is Australia” from the well known GANGgajang song, Sounds of Then (This is Australia) this is how I feel.  

This song resonates with me. When I hear this song, I feel the sounds, smells, the beauty of our country and our mateship are unique to Australia. They are ours and it is something to be proud of.  It makes me feel grounded. Something I heard on the radio on Wednesday night made me think “This is Australia…..um…isn’t it?”

On Wednesday night, one of the members of GANGgajang,  Graham “Buzz” Bistrup (ex-Angels, GANGgajang and one of the masterminds behind the best ABC show ever “Sweet and Sour“) was a guest on radio show The Musical Chair.  He was discussing GANGgajang, his work on the ABC’s 80’s iconic Sweet and Sour and the good work of the Jimmy Little Foundation.  Buzz is the CEO of the Jimmy Little Foundation.

The Jimmy Little Foundation is a not for profit organisation who aim to improve the quality of life for Indigenous Australians and to provide health and nutrition education and to strive for excellence in health care for Indigenous Australians.  They do this through music and video.  Jimmy Little was a celebrated and beloved Australian Aboriginal musician, actor and advocate whose career spanned six decades. A Yorta Yorta man, he was raised on the Cummerangunja Mission in New South Wales.

The Jimmy Little Foundation runs a great program called the “Thumbs Up – Healthy Tucker for Life” program.  The program advice on the website states that this is a “Schools Program aimed at Indigenous children aged 5-16. A creative environment using music and new media workshops in schools and community concerts is employed to promote healthy eating education and information in partnership with local stores and local health services.”  Other great programs the Jimmy Little Foundation runs can be found here.

It was on this radio segment I found out that the Abbott Government has cut funding to the Jimmy Little Foundation’s Programs. Once again the Abbott Government reinforces that they are not serious about funding Indigenous programs or services in Australia.

The Jimmy Little Foundation has released this statement:

Our organisation was previously funded by the Federal Department of Health but the current Government has ceased funding our programs. Our venture is to raise enough money to keep our office open with a skeleton staff for 12 months so we can “stay in the game”.

Through this blog post, I encourage everyone who reads this to donate whatever they can.  Even if it is a small amount. Every bit helps.  So please donate to “Start Some Good” Crowd-funding to keep these wonderful programs going.  Please Tweet, Share, Re-Blog so people are aware that another savage cut by Abbott affects the people who need it most and money can be raised for this very worthy cause.

Please…Start some good and donate now: