Koori Mail
100% Aboriginal owned and self-funded, the Koori Mail is Australia's only fortnightly national Indigenous newspaper. Since 1991 it has acted as a platform for the voices of Indigenous Australians, something that has been historically absent or widely underrepresented in the mainstream media. The newspaper is wholly owned by five Bundjalung Aboriginal Community Organisations, and all profit is returned to Indigenous Australians as dividends for their owner organisations, scholarships for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and sponsorship of Indigenous community events.
Based in one of the worst hit areas during recent flooding events, Koori Mail suffered significant damage to their headquarters and for a period of time, were forced to halt production of the newspaper for the first time in 30 years. Despite suffering extensive damage themselves, they began coordinating massive flood relief efforts from their Lismore office, now temporarily known as The Koori Mail Flood Relief Hub. They have become the lifeblood of their community during this time, particularly in the absence of timely and adequate support from government and larger well-known charities.
Bundjalung Community Flood Relief
While they don't ordinarily operate in the crisis relief space, Koori Mail have been (and still are!) instrumental in coordinating the community-led recovery in Bundjalung. Providing emergency relief to everyone, from individuals and families through to local businesses. By converting their headquarters in Lismore into a makeshift support centre they’ve established a hub through which the community can find access to essential goods and services such as temporary accommodation, food, medical supplies and other essential items, legal advice, community support, and general assistance.
“We have a GP, a registered nurse, we have a diabetic nutritionist coming down today because a lot of our mob, you know, have chronic disease, and need to have access to healthcare for that” - Koori Mail General Manager, Naomi Moran, speaking with VICE
To sustain the provision of these essential services Koori Mail have been fundraising for the Bundjalung Recovery Relief Fund via GoFundMe. Registration for support from this fund is open to individuals and families to assist with re-furnishing of homes, cost of repairs (home owners), and/or to cover the costs associated with new rentals or accommodation. Indigenous community organisations and NFP’s can also register for support for the rebuild and repairs of office premises, rebuild and repairs for their tenants of Aboriginal housing, and/or to provide other support for Indigenous communities that have been affected.
For this quarter, it was our privilege to be able to give $3,255.00 towards the Koori Mail’s Bundjalung community flood relief campaign and to support an impossibly resilient community that, from their own accounts, have had to orchestrate and self-fund their own flood recovery. At the time of writing, the campaign has received 98% of the $1.25m they are seeking for the Bundjalung Community Flood Relief GoFundMe, and with hundreds of registrations already coming in from the Lismore, Coraki, Casino, Wardell, Cabbage Tree Island, Ballina, Tweed Heads, and surrounding areas, it is so important that this community receives as much support as possible, as quickly as possible.
You can donate to the Koori Mail’s Bundjalung Community Flood Relief GoFundMe here and you can follow for updates via their instagram page here.
Why not also support the Koori Mail by subscribing here, or picking yourself up a copy of their latest edition at any of these news outlets.
