ABC News (Australia) published this video item, entitled “Ken Wyatt and Linda Burney on the proposal for an Indigenous voice to Parliament | ABC News” – below is their description.
David Speers interviews Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt and Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney about the proposed Indigenous voice to Parliament, potential changes to the national anthem and the Government’s refusal to fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag in the Senate this week.
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ABC News (Australia) YouTube Channel
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In This Story: Indigenous Australians
The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians as well as Torres Strait Islanders, and the term should only be used when both groups are included in the topic being addressed, or by self-identification by a person as Indigenous.
Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically and culturally distinct, despite extensive cultural exchange with some of the Aboriginal groups, and the Torres Strait Islands are mostly part of Queensland but have a separate governmental status.
In the 2016 Australian Census, Indigenous Australians comprised 3.3% of Australia’s population, with 91% of these identifying as Aboriginal only, 5% Torres Strait Islander, and 4% both.
In This Story: Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous peoples of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia (nearly 28,000) than on the Islands (about 4,500).
There are five distinct peoples within broader designation of Torres Strait Islander people, based partly on geographical and cultural divisions. There are two main Indigenous language groups, Kalaw Lagaw Ya and Meriam Mir, and Torres Strait Creole is also widely spoken, as a language of trade and commerce. The core of Island culture is Papuo-Austronesian, and the people traditionally a seafaring nation. There is a strong artistic culture, particularly in sculpture, printmaking and mask-making.