A 19-YEAR-OLD man from Katherine in the Northern Territory has snagged the catch of a lifetime, reeling in a tagged barramundi worth $1 million in Australia’s richest fishing competition. Keegan Payne was fishing in the Northern Territory’s Katherine River with one of his sisters and a friend when he hooked the fish on Sunday morning. The teen was blown away when told he had won the massive prize. “This is crazy for us. We’re a big family, there’s eight of us, this is more money than we could ever ask for,” Mr Payne said. “I can buy what I want, maybe help Dad… The post Keegan hooks a million ..read more

FOUR significant cultural heritage items sent to Germany in 1840 by two Lutheran missionaries have been handed back to the Kaurna people in South Australia by a German museum. The 180-year-old-plus items, a kathawirri (sword), tantanaku (club or bark peeler), wirnta (spear) and wikatyi (net) were officially returned during a ceremony at Adelaide’s Pirltawardli (Possum Park) – the location of the original exchange between Kaurna people and German missionaries. The Kaurna people and representatives… The post Germany returns artefacts first appeared on Koori Mail ..read more

FACED with rising seas and the loss of their homes, two Torres Strait Islander Elders have made a final bid to force the Australian government into action. Pabai Pabai and Paul Kabai have launched legal action in the Federal Court, seeking orders requiring the government to prevent further climate change harm to their communities, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Closing arguments were finalised last Friday after on-Country hearings in the Torres Strait in 2023, and the judge has adjourned… The post Torres Strait Islanders ask court to save island homes first appeared on Koori Mail ..read more

NSW South Coast Aboriginal fishers have filed a class action in the Federal Court against the state of NSW. The class action is about their right to practise cultural fishing without fear of prosecution. It will likely take three to four years for the case to go to trial. In 2009 the NSW government passed the Fisheries Management Amendment Act 2009. It exempted Aboriginal cultural fishing from the catch limits that apply to recreational and commercial fishers. Section 21AA of that Act made a special provision for Aboriginal cultural fishing and protected cultural fishers from compliance action ..read more

UNDER cloudy skies that brought shade and refreshing winds from the south, 22 teams played their hearts out at the annual Battle of the Islands Touch Championships on Ken Brown Oval at Waiben-Thursday Island last week. The fast-paced sport, that had a mix of teams from across the Torres Strait, played out over four days, from last Thursday (2 May) through to Sunday (5 May). The teams played across two separate Men’s Open divisions – Pool A (5 teams) and Pool B (6 teams), a Women’s Open division (8 teams), and an Over 40s Mixed division (3 teams). The event is hugely popular across the Straits ..read more

IN our latest edition, ON SALE TODAY, you’ll read about: • A TELEVISION interview with the winner of Australia’s richest fishing prize, the Million Dollar Fish, has been condemned as “disgusting”, “horrible” and “shameful”. Keegan Payne, 19, was fishing in the Northern Territory’s Katherine River with one of his sisters and a friend when he hooked the tagged fish to win a million dollars. And while most media across the nation published the young Aboriginal man’s catch as a good news story, Sky News’ Peter Stefanovic chose to question the teen about an incident involving a stolen buggy th ..read more

HOW did a Gamilaraay man from Walgett, some 460 kilometres from the coast, end up representing Australia at the world oyster opening championship? As Gerard ‘Doody’ Dennis says, “being Aboriginal from the black soil plains and representing Australia in opening oysters is quite ironic”. Perhaps his great-grandmother, a Yuin woman who was stolen from Wallaga Lake, passed something down to him. Mr Dennis moved to Batemans Bay when he was 14. Through school he did work experience at T & J Lucas Oysters and then worked weekends at Batemans Bay Oysters. He loved the work – it was physical and ou ..read more

WARNING: Readers are advised this story mentions themes of suicide and self-harm. REGISTRATIONS are now open for The Push-Up Challenge, Australia’s largest mental health and fitness event. From June 5-28, participants will take on 3,249 push-ups across 24 days, putting the spotlight on the tragic number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2022. Media star, Indigenous & LGBTIQA+ advocate and Health & Wellness Influencer Matty Mills, a proud Kamilaroi man, is taking part in this year’s challenge. He said the challenge is a great way to get fit, connect with your community, and learn ..read more

THOUSANDS of people attended opening night at this year’s Parrtjima – A Festival in Light, and as the free 10-night festival rolled on, thousands more turned out to soak up the spectacular installations under star-studded desert skies. From April 12-21, both locals and tourists flocked to the Alice Springs Desert Park to watch the night sky above Mparntwe/Alice Springs light up against the backdrop of a 300-million-year- old canvas, the MacDonnell Ranges. Celebrating this year’s theme, ‘The importance of interconnectedness across First Nations culture’, curator for Parrtjima, Rhoda Roberts AO ..read more

KYAH Simon believes A- League Women underdogs Central Coast can go all the way, and that her body can help them get there. Simon played a full 120 minutes in the Mariners’ gutsy elimination-final win over Melbourne Victory which sets up a two-legged semi-final with Sydney FC. Simon, 32, was contentiously picked for last year’s Matildas’ World Cup squad, despite having not played since tearing an ACL in October 2022. Multiple setbacks meant she never appeared in her home tournament, then missed a large chunk of the Mariners’ season. “That’s the most minutes I’ve played since… The post Fit again ..read more