Left – Ps Norman Miller speaking at pro-Israel rally in the Brisbane CBD organised by the Jewish community 12.11.23. Iranian supporters attended. Right – Come to the Never Again is Now rally organised by Christians and Jews in the Brisbane CBD June 9 with the most amazing speakers who will be revealed soon. Also wonderful praise and worship and dance. Bring your flags.
Ps Norman will be doing a brief opening welcome at 2.30pm with didjeridoo and shofar. If you feel led to join in the blowing of the shofar wherever you are in the world at the same time, please do so. Joel 2. Right – Rev Mark Leach, co-founder of Never Again is Now speaking at Sydney rally Feb 18 with Ps Norman’s painting in the background. Rev Mark will be speaking in Brisbane June 9 along with key personalities. Don’t miss out!
PRESS RELEASE INDIGENOUS FRIENDS OF ISRAEL RE JOSH FRYDENBERG PROGRAM 30.5.24
Indigenous Friends of Israel co-founders Norman and Barbara Miller have applauded Tuesday night’s Sky News documentary Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism hosted by former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The Millers say, “The Never Again documentary was a defining moment for Australia when a number of prominent Australian leaders called out the alarming rise of antisemitism in Australia.”
“These included former Prime Ministers John Howard and Julia Gillard, the current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton, a former Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove, Denis Richardson, the former Director-General of Security for Australia, Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli and former Aboriginal ALP senator and Olympian Nova Peris.
“What is happening on our streets and in our universities with pro-Hamas protests is unAustralian and we need social cohesion, not division. We don’t want ethnic or religious conflicts from overseas threatening the multicultural fabric of our nation.
“As a network of Indigenous Australians, we support the view that the Jewish people are Indigenous to Israel, having had a presence of 4,000 years there and that the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948 was a matter of decolonization not occupation. Arab Israelis interviewed on the NeverAgain documentary attested to Israel not being an apartheid state. READ MORE
Reconciliation Week 27 May – June 3
Reconciliation Australia website admits that this came from a Christian initiative:
‘National Reconciliation Week (NRW) started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) and was supported by Australia’s major faith communities.
In 1996, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation launched Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week. (Norman and Barbara attended the National Reconciliation Convention in Melbourne.)
In 2001, Reconciliation Australia was established to continue to provide national leadership on reconciliation.
In the same year, approximately 300,000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of National Reconciliation Week and subsequently across bridges in cities and towns to show their support for reconciliation.
Today, National Reconciliation Week is celebrated in workplaces, schools, and early learning services, community organisations and groups, and by individuals Australia-wide.”
26 May – National Sorry Day, officially the National Day of Healing, is an event held annually commemorating the Stolen Generations or children removed from their families 27 May – The successful 1967 referendum giving Indigenous people the right to be counted in the census and the federal government to make legislation for them. 3 June – anniversary of the 1992 High Court Mabo decision that recognized native title.
Our Centre for Int Reconciliation & Peace Vision Statement 1996-2024
To be a Prophetic End-time Ministry without Walls
and a House of Prayer for ALL NATIONS and ISRAELTo share the gospel in a socially relevant way, breaking down the barriers between the church and the community. To be history makers and to transform our city, our nation, and the international community at all levels; becoming more like the Kingdom of God. To share the gospel in a way that is culturally relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people & to people of other cultures. To promote RECONCILIATION of Jew with Gentile, while teaching on the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and Israel’s role in end-time events. To promote RECONCILIATION of humanity with GOD, race with race, culture with culture, tribe with tribe, Male with Female, Old with Young, rich with poor, denomination with denomination and nation with nation. (2 Cor 5:17-21, Gal 3:28, Malachi 4:5-6) To teach on Godly Justice To reach the alienated, the outcast, those living in parks, etc. & running a care ministry To work across denominations to bring unity to the body of Christ To be a prophetic voice to Australia and the nations To engage in spiritual warfare & Intercession on behalf of the saints & for end-time harvest To train, mentor, father & mother Indigenous and non-indigenous leadership then release them into ministry and run a Training School To plant churches throughout the Cape York Peninsula and wherever the Lord leads us. To be a healing church and a miracle-working church.
Left – Reconciliation CD with Darryl Miller on didjeridoo. AVAILABLE HERE. Right – Colleen Burfitt and Norman Miller Tabernacle of David Cairns and Ruth Webb, Tabernacle of David Bendigo leading worship at the Sons of Abraham conference our church hosted in Jerusalem to bring Jews and Arab Christians together. We hosted a similar Sons of Abraham conference in Sydney in 2015. We had wonderful Christian Arab pastors and Messianic Jewish speakers at both.
Left – Read this story of Holocaust survivor Lena Goldstein and you’ll see the similarity of what is happening in Australia today to Europe in the 1930s. Right – Read about Aboriginal Christian William Cooper and his protest against Kristallnacht, the start of the Holocaust in 1938. See www.barbara-miller-books.com
Donations to the ministry of the Centre for International Reconciliation & Peace BSB: 064804 Account no: 14069302 Swift code: ctbaau2s
Commonwealth of Australia Bank, 120 Pitt Street Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Donations to Pastors Account BSB: 064804 Account no: 14258760
THE MOST AMAZING VIDEOS ON ISRAEL, PRAYER, WORSHIP, THE APOSTOLIC AND PROPHETIC AND MUCH MORE – AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!! BE BLESSED!!!
We had an inspiring time when Ps Norman Miller called a Reconciliation Roundtable by zoom on Thursday 19 October. It was called to discuss and pray for strategies to move forward in healing and reconciliation after the Voice Referendum divided our nation and brought grieving and anger to many of the Yes Campaigners. Many of the participants are keen to continue and we are holding another one on Thursday 2 November at 6.30pm Brisbane time, 7.30pm Sydney time and 4.30pm WA time. Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are welcome. Please email us for the zoom link.
There was a powerful communion led by Ps Norman where he pulled the spear out of white Australia as part of removing the payback spirit. We discussed and prayed for:
A new way forward. This included Closing the Gap as practical reconciliation with key performance indicators being met and money spent more effectively.
We need a paradigm shift. We need to change the narrative from victim/oppressor to one where we can work more positively. This means accepting some personal and community responsibility by Aboriginal parents, communities and organisations.
We need to promote the forgiveness side of reconciliation more as it is a two-way street. We could join the National Forgiveness Day on Feb 1 run by the Abdullah family in Sydney.
A workbook could be developed from Barbara’s Voice Treaty Truth Book with 10 lessons that could be used by home groups, prayer groups and Bible Colleges etc.
We could have an online course in reconciliation in race relations that has videos.
We can invite First Nations Christians to do 5-minute videos that could be incorporated in this.
We can promote trauma-informed counselling
We will have monthly Reconciliation Roundtable meetings by zoom and have guest speakers with Q and A. Initially we will have another meeting in 2 weeks’ time to keep the momentum going.
Somehow we need to reach out to schools, maybe through ILO’s or teachers.
We all have the message and ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor 5:17-21
NB I wrote this article for Canberra Declaration as I was concerned about the leaders of the Yes Campaign using similar terms re Australia and Israel i.e. both nations are illegal occupiers & that some First Nations leaders support the Palestinian Cause & support Hamas terrorism
Legitimacy of Non-Indigenous Occupation of Australia Challenged by Yes Campaign
By Barbara Miller 27 OCTOBER 2023
Leaders of the Yes Campaign for the Voice referendum released on Sunday night, 23 October, an anonymous statement condemning Australians for voting no to their proposal to enshrine a Voice in the constitution. They are not accepting the democratic process in this nation and are calling it a shameful act that promotes colonialism.
They also said that racism, ignorance, and misinformation were factors, and they have received a bitter lesson from the vote. This ignores the fact that it was not a referendum where non-Indigenous people voted no, and First Nations people voted yes. There were yes and no voters in both camps.
The Guardianreported that the statement said that the Voice referendum ‘unleashed a tsunami of racism’ and Australia had chosen “to make itself less liberal and less democratic” by voting no. It continued that the result was so mean-spirited it would remain “unbelievable and appalling” for decades to come.
Occupied Territory?
More seriously, they have accused Australians of non-Indigenous heritage, who may have been born here and had many generations of family members living here, as illegal occupiers who need to have First Nations people recognise their right to live here. Who would do that? The government-appointed Referendum Working Group, who, along with Prime Minister Albanese, have managed to divide this nation with this referendum proposal? The editorial in The Australian on October 24 says the statement by the Yes campaign said:
“It is the legitimacy of the non-Indigenous occupation in this country that requires recognition, not the other way around. Our sovereignty has never been ceded.”
So, do they want all non-Indigenous Australians to leave Australia, or do they want co-sovereignty and co-governance and laws that will flow from this that will greatly change Australian life? If it is the latter, it is true that First Nations People did not cede sovereignty. However, two court cases have determined that First Nations Australians no longer have sovereignty — Coe v Commonwealth 1979 and the Mabonative title decision of 1992. Regarding the 1979 case: READ MORE
Makarrata and Reconciliation Part 1
by Ps Norman Miller 21.10.23
PRAYER FOR ISRAEL AND THE HOSTAGES
Led by Ps Norman Miller and the worship team
Vicarious Trauma and Race-based Trauma – God Can Heal by Ps Barbara Miller
Voice Treaty Truth: Has the Christian Voice Been Heard? Book Trailer
Discounted eBook on Amazon to 99c US for 5 days from 7 November 8am PST or 8 November 1am Brisbane time so get the special while you can.
Find out the background story behind the Voice referendum and read a significant Biblical view and prophetic insights. Order the eBook from Amazon or the paperback from Amazon or www.barbara-miller-books.com
William Cooper’s grandson Uncle Boydie (Alf Turner), Abe Schwarz, unknown woman and Barbara and Norman Miller laying a wreath at Be’er Sheva at the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Be’er Sheva on Oct 31 2017. Norman and Barbara led a prayer tour of 50 internationally based Christians through Israel and hosted a Sons of Abraham conference in Jerusalem on this visit as well as attending the Welcome the King of Glory conference.
The charge of the Australian Lighthorse, as well as the fighting by the New Zealanders and British, was crucial to opening up the way for Jerusalem to be wrested from 400 years of rule by the Muslim Ottoman Empire in 1917. A Jewish homeland was set up under a British Mandate and eventually, in 1948, the state of Israel was reborn.
THE MOST AMAZING VIDEOS ON ISRAEL, PRAYER, WORSHIP, THE APOSTOLIC AND PROPHETIC AND MUCH MORE – AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!! BE BLESSED!!!
Norman & Barbara Miller handing his big boomerang on “No Racism in the constitution” to former speaker of federal parliament Bronwyn Bishop accompanied by former Minister for Indigenous Australian Ken Wyatt and Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch at Parliament House Canberra 27.11.2013 – 10 years ago. Norman was campaigning for Indigenous recognition in the constitution at the same time.
AUSTRALIA VOTES NO TO RACISM & INEQUALITY OF VOICE
By Barbara Miller 15.10.23
About 60% of Australians voted no in the Voice referendum held on 14.10.23 with no state having a majority of yes voters. The ACT, Teal electorates, and the richer electorates had a majority of yes voters whereas electorates that had a high percentage of First Nations people had a majority of no voters. So, it was clearly not an issue that had the support of a majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
This is a big blow to the efforts of Prime Minister Albanese who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this referendum that could have been spent on improving health, education, and housing etc. on the ground for First Nations people and easing the cost of living pressure for many Australians. Albanese was so intent on getting this Voice up as his legacy that he was blind to other issues, including joining world leaders in a quick response to the Hamas massacre of Israelis.
Millions were also spent on the yes campaign by big corporations that would have been better spent Closing the Gap between First Nations and other Australians. We have a combination of Big Government, Big Name First Nations leaders, Big Business, Big Banks, Big Sports, and Big Faith and Multicultural groups who all supported the yes vote by saying they were taking the moral high ground on this issue. However, the Australian people pushed back against the elites and voted for a united nation not divided by race and they voted for equal citizenship of Australians. They stood up to the moral intimidation and voted no.
The sad thing is that the Prime Minister and the First Nations leaders who ran the yes campaign have set back the cause of reconciliation in this nation and now we need some healing as a nation. First Nations leaders and voters who supported the yes vote are saying that they have been rejected by the Australian people and are in a time of mourning for the result of the vote, their dreams for their reshaping of Australia dashed. They say they have a media blackout for one week with flags at half-mast to grieve and reassess. We certainly feel for them and want to comfort them at this time.
However, Australians have great goodwill towards First Nations people. They would have voted for recognition of First Australians people in the constitution if it had not been conflated with the Voice as a way to do it. What the people of Australia did is to reject the particular model that was put forward. While there are a few racists in Australia, both in the non-Indigenous and the Indigenous communities, Australia is not a racist nation and has made many important steps to advance the cause of First Nations people.
As the no campaign First Nations leaders have said, the referendum was based on a lie that there was not a First Nations voice advising government because there are many national First Nations organisations advising government including the Coalition of Peaks which represents them all. It has about 80 member organisations. Also, there is no guarantee that the Voice would have made a difference to close the gap. We do believe a reassessment needs to be made of the programs run for and by First Nations people and the effectiveness of these.
Ps Norman Miller is calling for a reconciliation roundtable gathering to be held by zoom on Thursday 19 October at 6.30pm Brisbane time and 7.30pm Sydney time which he and I will be hosting. He is doing this because over 25 years ago, he had a prophetic word that he and I were called to be watchmen over the nation of Australia in the area of reconciliation. Norman is calling Christians, First Nations and others to pray for reconciliation and to pray for strategies for our nation to move forward and heal after the failed referendum. Contact us to join in.
We all have the message and ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor 5:17-21
RECONCILIATION ROUNDTABLE BY ZOOM 19.10.23
Ps Norman Miller is calling for a reconciliation roundtable gathering to be held by zoom on Thursday 19 October at 6.30pm Brisbane time and 7.30pm Sydney time which he and I will be hosting. He is doing this because over 25 years ago, he had a prophetic word that he and I were called to be watchmen over the nation of Australia in the area of reconciliation. Norman is calling Christians, First Nations and others to pray for reconciliation and to pray for strategies for our nation to move forward and heal after the failed referendum. Contact us to join in.
We all have the message and ministry of reconciliation 2 Cor 5:17-21
Israel and Gaza at War: Gaza is part of the Promised Land
by Ps Barbara Miller
Watch this up-to-date message on the Biblical history of Israel and Gaza and some prophetic insights.
WELCOME THE KING OF GLORY
By Ps Barbara Miller
This is a photo of the Welcome the King of Glory event in Israel taken 13.10.17. It was the first one and Norman and I attended it taking a team. A huge number attended, mostly from Pacific nations as the All Pacific Arise (formerly APPA) came at the invitation of Messianic Jewish leaders from Israel. This year 300 attended and it was held at the King of Kings congregation in Jerusalem. While there were calls to cancel it, half of the delegates had already arrived, being there when the Hamas massacre of Israelis occurred. Because of security concerns, the government only allowed 50 people at a time in a room so 6 rooms were used with TV screens.
The 3-day conference is now ended but half of the delegates have not been able to go home because the airport was closed. There are likely to be other Christians still in Israel from the ICEJ and ANCJ conferences so we pray for the safety of Christians in Israel as well as the Israeli people.
The Welcome the King of Glory conference was reportedly successful. We have some of our Indigenous Friends of Israel state coordinators at this conference. The nations repented of their idolatry and covenanted their nation to the Lord and Messianic Jewish leaders repented for Israel’s rejection of Messiah. No doubt heaven took note. Messianic leaders would have found comfort from the nations standing and praying with them in their hour of need.
We ask for prayers for Christian Arabs as well. Forty Arabs were killed among the Israelis killed by Hamas as they tend to be indiscriminate in their killing. There are good relationships between Messianic Jews and Christian Arabs in Israel built up over a long time. However, there are tensions in Israel as Arabs don’t want to be mistaken for Hamas.
We continue to pray as well that this does not develop into a global conflict before the appointed time of the Lord.
Find out the background story behind the Voice referendum and read a significant Biblical view and prophetic insights. Order the eBook from Amazon or the paperback from Amazon or www.barbara-miller-books.com Australian amazon linkUS Amazon link
THE MOST AMAZING VIDEOS ON ISRAEL, PRAYER, WORSHIP, THE APOSTOLIC AND PROPHETIC AND MUCH MORE – AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!! BE BLESSED!!!
A historic vote has just taken place (Wednesday night 22.3.23) to pass the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill in both houses of federal parliament. Opposition leader, Peter Dutton, gave Coalition support after securing some amendments in relation to the referendum on the Voice that will be held between October and December this year. (Cartoon by Independent News)
Whereas governments in the past had funded both the yes and no campaigns for referendums, the Albanese government had been planning to only fund an information campaign that would in essence be pro-voice and were seeking to censor misinformation, which people took to mean, no campaign arguments. They were also only granting tax-deductible gift recipient (DGR) status to the yes campaign. This was discriminatory. That mostly changed this week.
While Dutton was not able to secure funding for a no campaign, representations from the coalition have meant that the government will only be able to fund a neutral civics and education program so that any public funding on activities considered partisan can be legally challenged. Also, the no campaign can now benefit from DGR status.
There have been divisions with the referendum working group the government set up to advise it. These were over whether to include advice to executive government (public service and ministers) as well as parliament. When the Attorney General and Solicitor General raised concerns that including advice to executive government with the referendum working group, they were rejected. While the Solicitor Generals advice has not, and should be, made public, it appears the recommendation was to include “ministers of the crown” and not the public service.
Right up to the last minute, it looked like the Albanese government would end up in a big fight with the referendum working group over the final wording of what would be put to the public in the referendum. However, it was the Prime Minister (PM) himself who had added “executive government” into the wording for the Voice referendum he gave at the Garma Festival. So, despite the possible legal minefield and possible bogging down of government, the PM has agreed to their advice. As the PM has said in the past, it would be a brave government that did not take the advice of the Voice even if it is not a veto.
After cabinet approval, the PM (Albo as he is called) met with some of the 21 members of the Voice for a press conference on 23.3.23 to confirm the wording that would be put to the Australian public on referendum day. The consensus was nearly not there in time but the deadline was Thursday as there would be a final vote in parliament next week on the wording when a constitutional alteration bill will be put to parliament.
Albo was a bit teary as he is staking his political career on the referendum’s success as it will be a big part of his legacy. Albo’s draft amendment was, the Voice “may make representations to parliament and the executive government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.”
The final wording the referendum working group put to cabinet who agreed to it is, “A proposed law: To alter the constitution to recognize the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?”
On face value, this looks as simple a proposition as Albo keeps maintaining. However, the documentation accompanying it also says, that if it succeeds, the constitution will state that, the “Voice may make representations” to the Parliament and the government “on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
This could mean anything and everything and it will include the public service. The details of the composition, functions and powers of the Voice will be worked out after the vote which means that there is still not the detail that many would like.
Prof Megan Davis of the referendum working group released the nine key design principles that will guide the Voice with details to be worked out after the referendum. The working group will stay in place to advise the government for a long time into the future till the Voice is established. Some of the design principles were in The Australian 23.3.23
That the Voice provides independent advice to the parliament and the government
That it is chosen by First Nations people based on the wishes of local communities
That it is representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
That it’s empowering, community-led, inclusive, respectful, culturally-informed and gender-balanced and includes youth
That the Voice is accountable and transparent and works alongside
existing organisations
The Voice will not have a veto and will not have a program delivery function
Megan Davis and other members of the Uluru Statement of the Heart visited Yarrabah Aboriginal community near Cairns for a meeting on Voice Treaty Truth on 10 April 2022. Why were they there? Because one of the few surviving campaigners of the successful 1967 referendum, Alf Neal, lives there. The 1967 referendum to count Aboriginal people in the constitution and give the federal government the power to legislate for Indigenous people had bipartisan support and was passed with over 90% support. Norman and I were invited to attend by the Mayor of Yarrabah, Ross Andrews and is pictured here with Alf’s son, former mayor Percy Neal.
So, what are the arguments for and against the Voice that people have been discussing?
Arguments for the Voice
There should be constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Nations people. When the constitution was written in 1901, it was about the states coming together to form a commonwealth and so the focus was on delineating states’ rights and powers and commonwealth rights and powers – shared sovereignty if you want to put it that way. The First Peoples of Australia were left out of the constitution and this is a worthy argument to recognize them in it. This is why some commentators are saying that the wording of the referendum vote should be in two parts as there is a lot of support for constitutional recognition but a lot of debate about how to do it.
First Nations people should be consulted on matters affecting them. Few would argue in principle about this. Again, it is about the process.
It is another step towards reconciliation. There have been a number of significant steps in this direction. Albo is saying it would break the hearts of First Nations people for the referendum to fail and set back Indigenous affairs.
Albo is saying that Australians would feel better about themselves if the referendum passes and Australia would look better in the eyes of the world. (See above video)
Launch of the Yes Campaign
The Yes Campaign was launched in Adelaide on 23.2.23 after workshops on strategies. The yes campaign director, Dean Parkin was upbeat. The Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic body, announced $5m in funding for Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition (AICR), which will be the movement’s fundraising and governance body.
Their website, yes23.com.au, provides talking points for the volunteers it will recruit, and provide posters and flyers for the campaign.
The AICR co-chair, Rachel Perkins, well-known filmmaker and daughter of famous activist Charlie Perkins, said the campaign now had “tremendous momentum.”
Before going to the against arguments, I will give a little background on the long journey to recognition which I covered in detail in my book Secrets and Lies: The Shocking Truth of Recent Australian Aboriginal History, A Memoir. See www.barbara-miller-books.com. The big question is how to do that.
Former Prime Minister John Howard wanted Indigenous recognition in the preamble to the constitution but First Nations people rejected this as not enough
There have been a lot of processes over the years. Ps Munganbana Norman Miller campaigned for recognition of Indigenous people and removal of racism from the constitution based on the Expert Panel’s advice. He travelled Australia at his own expense and gathered over 5,000 signatures on a petition on these issues which was presented to federal parliament.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart 40 years after the 1967 referendum came up with Voice Treaty Truth. The game plan had changed, apparently advised by sympathetic constitutional conservatives.
The coalition government was prepared to work towards the Voice but to legislate it not have it enshrined in the constitution, and they continued consultations on how to design the Voice. Out of this came the Calma Langton report on the Indigenous Voice Co-design process.
The Albanese government after winning the election committed to a referendum to enshrine the Voice in the constitution but have been prepared to release little information on it saying that would be worked out after the vote.
What are the opponents of the Voice saying?
Two no campaigns are being led by Sen Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Nyunggai Warren Mundine, both Aboriginal. A group of traditional people from around the Northern Territory who oppose the Voice travelled to Canberra but were not given the courtesy of meeting Linda Burney, Minister for Indigenous Australians or the PM on March 22 when discussions were underway at Parliament House. Yet the PM said the Voice was informed from the bottom up not the top down. So here are the arguments:
It will give us a race-based constitution and divide the country by race. Even the word apartheid has come up, and lack of equality of citizenship
First Nations people will be double dipping with 2 “votes” or representations so that though they are only 3.2% of the population, they will have a special say over matters affecting all Australians
However, they won’t be voted in, they will be selected. So, it will not be a democratic process.
There are already 11 First Nations MPs which is higher than their proportion of the population.
There are hundreds of Indigenous organisations and over 80 national organisations with a voice to the government already and have been advising the government for a long time.
There is a Coalition of Peaks consisting of all these national organisations who negotiated with the government the updating of the Closing the Gap initiative. They are an effective voice already.
There have been comments on Sky News re the National Indigenous Australian Agency having in its charter to be a voice to the government and it is very well-funded to do so but we must realize it is really a government department staffed by public servants, many of whom are Indigenous.
Concerns that the Referendum group advising government are an elite or “aristocracy” and they will ensure they are still seated at the table as part of the Voice after the referendum.
The biggest concern is that it may not make any difference to the disadvantage and problems on the ground for First Nations people but only create another bureaucracy that will divert a large amount of money from the real needs of people at Alice Springs and many other places.
There may be legal challenges in the high court and judicial activism over the parliament or government not asking for their advice before making decisions or for not taking it. There have been arguments for and against by legal advisors in the Constitutional Experts Group e.g. Prof Greg Craven and Fr Frank Brennan who both support the Voice but have concerns. Prof Craven is also a member of Uphold and Recognise which seeks to uphold the constitution and recognize Indigenous people.
Also, it could bog down the machinery of government and particularly of publicservants if they have to consult the advice of the Voice on just about everything. This is the reference to Executive Government which the Referendum group would not bend on despite the reported request from the Attorney General and the Solicitor General. It also appears from the statement today that National Cabinet and state governments will not be within the scope of the Voice.
While there is a lot of information on what the Voice could look like e.g. the Langton- Calma report, the Albanese government have not said if they accept any of this report or not. Also, they have given out as little information as possible hoping that people will vote for it because of goodwill. This has led to a lot of confusion however and aloss of support. One example is Peter Dutton’s 15 questions submitted some time ago that have not yet been answered though today’s statement will go somewhat towards answering them. As this was an election tactic of a small target with little information the ALP used successfully to win the election, they seem to hope it will work with the referendum.
It will be a trojan horse because, according to the Uluru Statement which the government accepts, the next step will be treaty or makarrata and truth-telling. There are concerns that demands for sovereignty will lead to Australia being divided into two nations. There are concerns treaties are meant to be between two nations but there are examples overseas of treaties between nations and their Indigenous people.
There is a concern, which is under the surface, that First Nations people will want redress or compensation for lost lands and autonomy etc.
Opposition to the Voice is from both the left and right of Aboriginal leaders. Sen Lidia Thorpe does not want First Nations representation in the “colonizing constitution” and has proclaimed herself one of the leaders of the Blak Sovereignty movement. Those who endorsed the Uluru Statement were hand-picked from meetings around Australiawhich were by invitation only or attended by those in the know. Some sovereignty supporters went to Uluru anyway and walked out because they did not agree with the decisions. They were in the minority.
There has been no public consultation process, no constitutional convention with stakeholders and negotiations have been held in secret.
Albo said from the outset that he didn’t need bipartisan support and there has been little attempt to garner it. Referendums in Australia don’t tend to pass without bipartisan support and rarely do anyway unless they are about minor changes. The Nationals have opposed it and the federal Liberals will probably oppose it in its current form.
Nevertheless, Australia is at a crossroads on this matter of dealing with the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It is a momentous time. However, there is no doubt that this will be a radical alteration to Australia’s constitution with unforeseeable consequences if the yes vote is successful.
Hi all. We bless you in the name of the Lord. Despite losing our Christian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, at the recent national elections, we praise the Lord that He is in control and His ways are higher than our ways. After all, history is His story. We hope it’s not a story of God giving us what we want despite His will which is what happened when God gave Israel King Saul at their request. 1 Sam 12:13.
There has been a recent change of government in Australia with the Australian Labor Party taking control of the House of Representatives with preference votes from the Greens. They will depend on the Green vote to pass their bills through the Senate. Both parties have antisemitic policies so we need a lot of prayer for Australia to continue to be a sheep nation. See the comment from a Jewish news service here.
KEYS TO AUSTRALIA’S DESTINY
Keys to Australia’s Destiny was launched Saturday, May 14. Jill Curry is the editor and there are 24 key leaders who have written chapters in it. Barbara’s chapter was called “The Prophetic Destiny for Australia and the Pacific” but Jill changed the title to “God’s Story – Past, Present and Future.” Norman’s chapter is “Healing the Hurts of History” where he shares about our journey of reconciliation.
Jill says, “May 14 is a significant day for both Australia and Israel. It was not only the day Israel was born in 1948 (on the Western calendar) but also the day that de Quiros made his proclamation in 1606 regarding the ‘Southlands of the Holy Spirit’ from Vanuatu over all the lands south to the pole. This is referred to by numerous writers in the book. Both of these events are keys to Australia’s destiny.” You can order through the Gifts for the King website – http://www.giftsfortheking.com.au/
You can change the history of nations. You can shift atmospheres. You can command barriers to come down. Doors to open. Hopeless situations to shift. God wants you to partner with Him to establish His will. Yet, prayers of petition will sometimes not be enough. Instead, it is more powerful to decree from your position in heavenly places with Jesus Christ. To do that, you first must spend time with God and listen to His heart. Decree from the Father’s heart, not vain imagination. The print book will be available soon but the ebook is available HERE
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO JOIN A FACEBOOK GROUP CALLED DECREES & APOSTOLIC PROPHETIC PRAYERS SO YOU CAN BE PART OF A CHRISTIAN GROUP WHO DECLARE DECREES FROM OUR POSITION OF SITTING IN HEAVENLY PLACES WITH JESUS RATHER THAN ONLY PETITIONING FROM EARTH, CLICK HERE
GOD TV SATELLITES TO GO INTO CAPE YORK
The Restoring Hope Ministry team will be in Cape York from 5-28 June installing reception for GOD TV in a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. They have been taking the Good News to remote communities across the Top End of Australia installing God TV satellite dishes and bringing clothes, books, prayer and music to the communities. You can support this wonderful outreach by contacting – Brian https://restoringhope.com.au/contact/
We have been privileged to help them make the contacts they need and will lay hands on them in Cairns and pray for them before they go. The team consists of our precious friends David Jack, Rod Baker and others. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgfw_6wJqtc.
SHAVOUT AND PENTECOST
Norman and Barbara will be sharing on Pentecost Sunday 5 June at 9.30am AEST at Ps Jack Yeo’s church, Emmanuel Blessings in Sydney by zoom so if you want to attend, please contact us for details – cfirp@bigpond.com. Photo on the left is Ps Jack Yeo and his congregation when we shared there before the pandemic.
Photos – Statue in Kensington commemorating Ukraine becoming a Christian nation in 988. It is a statue of St Volodymyr. I received the photos from Sally Rickard from CityPrayerNet in the UK. The second photo is the base of the statue. Please continue to keep Ukraine in prayer. Reports from Israel are that the situation is dire.
RECONCILIATION WEEK – 27 MAY – 3 JUNE
Photo on the left – The Catholic Cathedral Cairns where Norman was the artist in 2017 for the Sea of Hands display for Reconciliation Week. He also taught the students at one of the Catholic schools a song he had written on reconciliation and they sang it together at a Reconciliation Mass at the Cathedral.
This year, St Josephs School in Cairns used the Reconciliation song Norman wrote to play when the students entered the school hall for the Reconciliation Mass. Norman was able to do an interview with our local newspaper The Cairns Post for Reconciliation Week 2022 and the removal of the Captain Cook statue to another resting place as it made way for redevelopment for James Cook University.
WORSHIP OF ORIGINAL MUSIC BY TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH INCLUDES THE RECONCILIATION SONG IS AVAILABLE HERE
Photo on the right – Norman outside Parliament House Canberra with a giant boomerang he made making the point that there should be no racism in the Australian constitution. He presented the boomerang to the then parliament.
55TH ANNIVERSARY OF REUNIFICATION OF JERUSALEM
May 29 is the anniversary of the Six Day War when the Arab states invaded Israel and Israel defeated them in 6 days in a miracle. Jerusalem was reunited and Israel gained back Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights. It is celebrated as Jerusalem Day and a march is held each year called a flag march. Hamas has called for violent demonstrations against the Jewish state and the march using the false accusation that Israel is going to tear down Al-Aqsa mosque. Clashes occurred today – https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjeesal00c
We post nearly every day on our Facebook page for Indigenous Friends of Israel and this refreshes the front page of our website. Please like it so you can get updates from us of what is happening around the world that is affecting the Jewish community and Israel as many of you, like us, pray for Israel daily. This will give you some prayer points. To like it, click here.
We celebrate 25 years since we planted the Pentecostal Church of Reconciliation in Cairns in Oct 21 which became the Tabernacle of David local congregation and the Centre for International Reconciliation and Peace para-church ministry, the latter being launched in 1998.
We are celebrating with a service and festive meal on Sat 30th at our usual time and then by a zoom meeting at 7pm Sydney time on Nov 1st so our friends from around Australia and overseas can join us to celebrate. We will send you registration details for this soon.
We would like those who have journeyed with us over the years to attend the zoom if you can. Whether you can attend or not, please send us a few words of your memories or testimonies and a photo of yourself so that we can make a powerpoint of these. Short video messages are also welcome. Please please send any photos you may have of conferences we’ve hosted that you attended or meetings we spoke at that you attended. We would like to record some of our history.
We will also be putting a special page on our website that will have a timeline from 1996 to now with events and photos and add a prophecy page with all the prophecies from 1996 to now. Unfortunately, they have not all been typed up and some are on audiotapes and CDs which will not see light of day but we still have many.
PLEASE SEND US PHOTOS, VIDEOS, TESTIMONIES, MEMORIES FOR OUR 25TH!!
LAUNCH OF INDIGENOUS FRIENDS OF ISRAEL WEBSITE SOON!!!
The co-founders of the Indigenous Friends of Israel are Norman and Barbara Miller. Norman is Aboriginal and is of the Jirrbal, Bar-Barrum and Tableland Yidinji tribes. While the Indigenous Friends of Israel was founded in 2017, the Millers have been proactive in support of Israel for nearly 30 years. Norman’s Aboriginal name is Munganbana which means Mountain Water in the Jirrbal language. We are working on the following:
Standing with Israel and affirming that the Jews are Indigenous to the land of Israel
Combatting disinformation that Israel is a colonial settler apartheid racist state
Combatting antisemitism and racism
Providing an Indigenous voice from the nations re Israel
Educating the community locally and internationally with relevant materials
Collaborating with other Indigenous leaders and groups
Creating a platform for Indigenous stories and initiatives
Speaking at conferences and events on issues relevant to Indigenous support for Israel
Liaising with the Jewish community in Israel and the diaspora
Linking and working with like-minded groups
PLEASE SEND US ANY RELEVANT INFORMATION AND BE PART OF IFI. WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO JOIN US.
Welcome to the new year! Isa 43:18-19 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
2020 may have been a difficult year for you but God is purifying us so our light can shine. We have been privileged to host an Australia Day Prayer event by zoom on 26 January. It is a controversial day on our calendar with some celebrating and Aboriginal people reminded of colonisation and the pain that came with it. So, for Norman, as an Aboriginal, to host it is significant and we have done so a number of times over the years, the last 2 years in Canberra. This time was by zoom because of covid-19. The Lord has given him Genesis 26 about re-digging the wells as Genesis is the first book of the Bible and January is the first month of the year. So, we don’t want esek (disputes) or sitnah (hatred). We want rehoboth (open space) to live together in peace.
We believe we experienced a shift over our nation on Australia Day by the grace of God. We were blessed by prayers by video from the Hon. Senator Eric Abetz, the Hon. Senator Amanda Stoker and audio by Rev the Hon. Fred Nile MLC NSW Parliament. National Prayer leaders Brian Pickering, National Coordinator, Australian Prayer Network and Ps Warwick Marsh, National Coordinator, National Day of Prayer & Fasting & Canberra Declaration joined us live to pray.
A large number of enthusiastic pastors and intercessors prayed through the day. We had 2 beautiful worship segments, one led by Glen Sebasio of Tabernacle of David Canberra and one led by Tabernacle of David Cairns, the latter with original songs especially for Australia Day.
After the introductions by parliamentarians and national prayer leaders, we had a session where First Nations leaders from each state prayed for Australia. Ps Norman and Ps Barbara both shared stirring prophetic messages. Norman’s was focused on reconciliation – https://youtu.be/lJ62CuLsGLc and Barbara’s was on foundations, including our constitution – https://youtu.be/4xpdb9WTSQI.
We also had a session praying for the seven mountains of cultural influence/spheres – family, government, media, education, economy, religion and celebration/arts with different people appointed to pray for each mountain. Rev 11:15, NIV: “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.'” Until then, we are called to be salt and light and a godly influence on our society. Mat 5:13-16 ESV
The last session was praying for Australia as a Nation of Refuge and a blessing to Israel & the Nations (Heb 13:1-2, Lev 19:34, Gen 12:3) with different ethnic groups leading prayer. Australia has a redemptive gift of being a nation of refuge.
We thank the Lord that Ps Irwin Ross and Glen Sebasio, leaders of the Tabernacle of David in Canberra were able to join us on zoom with their congregation and that Ps Ross and Bronwyn Poulton were able to join us on zoom with a group from the Healing Rooms in Nowra.
Barbara released a decree “I decree that the captives who are under the spell of the dragon and the spirit of communism and the leviathan spirit and rainbow serpent will be set free all over Australia and the Asia Pacific and I release the angels of the Lord to accomplish this. I decree all vestiges of the Bamboo Curtin come down and all walls and rulers protecting the enemies of God to crumble. I decree that the people of Australia and Asia Pacific will achieve their God-given destiny and redemptive purpose.”
I (Barbara) went out on a limb on 26.11.20 and released what the Lord put on my heart about the deception that Trump would serve a second consecutive term. WhatsApp groups were furiously reposting what they received from well-known prophets and prayer leaders from the USA and internationally. They were also reposting with gusto and passion about conspiracy theories from alternative media outlets.
The Lord was on my case that this was wrong and that even a lying spirit had been put in the mouth of the prophets. I kept praying, reluctant to release it because who was I and I didn’t want to touch the Lord’s anointed. However, the Lord kept disturbing my sleep and warned me of my and Norman’s responsibility as the leader of prayer networks. Ezekiel was warned that blood would be on his hands if he didn’t warn when called to. (Ezekiel 3:18). So I released 2 messages and Norman also released one. They are below:
We are meant to use our discernment re prophecies and re media reports etc. Please ponder these scriptures and check out the messages below. We need to be careful not to add to deception by spreading it.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Mat 24:4-13. V4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, they shall heap to themselves teachers in accordance with their own lusts.