Wynnum Allies — Bayside Brisbane First Nations Allies
We acknowledge the Quandamooka, Yuggera and Turrbal Peoples and pay our respects to their Ancestors, Elders, Leaders and Communities. Sovereignty never ceded.
We acknowledge the Quandamooka, Yuggera and Turrbal Peoples and pay our respects to their Ancestors, Elders, Leaders and Communities. Sovereignty never ceded.
Who We Are
Wynnum Allies is committed to strengthening relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, learning through truth-telling, and taking visible practical action to support structural justice.
We build genuine, long-term relationships with First Nations peoples and communities. Allyship begins with listening, respect, and accountability.
We create spaces for honest dialogue about Australia's history and its ongoing impacts. Elder-led sessions ground our learning in lived experience.
We move beyond symbolism to practical, visible, local work. Structural fairness requires sustained commitment, not slogans.
Wynnum Allies is a volunteer-run, community-led group in Bayside Brisbane. We meet regularly and organise our activities through published agendas, recorded minutes, email updates, and online group communication. Our Co-Chairs support communication, continuity, and respectful participation as we host learning and volunteer opportunities, truth-telling sessions, and practical visible actions in relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Country.
Aunty Denise Adams is Elder-in-Residence at Lourdes Hill College. Denise has been a Member of Winnam Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for 25 years and held a position on its Board of Directors for fourteen years, retiring in 2016. Denise collaborated with other Board of Directors members to deliver on the Mission and Values of the Corporation, 'Keeping Our People Together.' Denise is a member of the Winnam Elders group, and Co-Chair of First Nations Allies Wynnum.
Linda Harnett earned a Bachelor of Community Welfare (James Cook) and Master of Women’s Studies (Griffith). Her career included Youth and Community work, Disability Coordinator, Manager of an Early Childhood Service and Project Worker with Reconciliation Queensland. She contributed significantly to the establishment of a local Women’s Shelter and the Community Legal Service. She was awarded the Centenary Medal by the federal government for her community service.
Discover the story behind our visual identity — The Wynnum Allies Logo
Our Work
2026 Schedule
All Wynnum Allies meetings, truth-telling sessions, book club dates, and key national and international observances for 2026.
Interested in attending? Register your interest here to receive updates about Wynnum Allies activities.
Get Involved
We host regular gatherings and learning opportunities throughout the year.
Looking Back
Linda Harnett, Co-Chair of Wynnum Allies, does a rapid video review of how local First Nations Allies engaged in support for truth-telling and social justice activities through 2025 in Brisbane and Wynnum.
From community events and truth-telling sessions to cultural tours and advocacy work, 2025 was a year of deepening relationships and visible, practical allyship in our bayside community. See our logo story.
Our Community
Photos will be added as our community activities grow.
Unlocking the Australian Story
Most of us live in a country we don't fully know. History isn't just a collection of dusty dates — it is the legal, moral, and social architecture of the ground you stand on right now. This curated selection is the source code for understanding the First Nations struggle for human rights, sovereignty, and recognition. From the first national protests in 1938 to the High Court's definitive demolition of Terra Nullius, these touchstones represent the roadmap of a movement that has never wavered.
Whether you are here to educate yourself, your team, or your community — these are the documents and moments that rewrote the Australian story. This is where the real conversation begins.
Brisbane Truth-Telling & Healing Inquiry — Hearing Recordings (September 2024)
Australia is a signatory to several international human rights treaties. Over the decades, the United Nations has consistently monitored Australia's progress — and failures — in upholding the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Special Rapporteur Dr Albert Kwokwo Barume will audit Australia's implementation of UNDRIP. This is a critical window for community advocacy.
Briefings & Updates
Evidence-based briefings on pressing issues affecting First Nations communities. Sources are drawn from government data, official inquiries, and community-controlled organisations.
Launched: 4–5 March 2026 • Last updated: 8 March 2026
A landmark parliamentary inquiry specifically targeting racism against First Nations people, referred by Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy to the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs. Chaired by Senator Jana Stewart (Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman).
Why now: The inquiry follows a surge in reported racism and high-profile violence — including the Boorloo (Perth) attack on a First Nations gathering on 26 January 2026 (the first such act charged as terrorism in Australia), the Camp Sovereignty attack in Naarm (Melbourne), and a documented increase in organised hate on digital platforms since the 2023 Voice Referendum.
Terms of reference: Nature and prevalence of racism (interpersonal, systemic, institutional). How social media algorithms amplify radicalised hate. The threat of ideologically motivated extremism and white supremacy. Why previous recommendations — including the 1991 Racist Violence Inquiry — were never fully implemented.
Critical context: The Australian Human Rights Commission has criticised the government for sitting on the National Anti-Racism Framework (2024). Commissioners have stated that this inquiry must result in action, not just more diagnosis.
Last updated: 2 March 2026
Barrambin/Victoria Park is a First Nations cultural place of high significance in Brisbane, with spiritual, ceremonial, ecological, social, and historical dimensions. This issue is also a practical example of how cultural heritage protection processes operate — and where they can fail — under current law.
Why this matters now: The United Nations has scrutinised Australia's First Nations record for over 30 years — and the findings have been consistent and damning. In 1999, Australia became the first Western democracy rebuked for rolling back Indigenous land rights. In 2009, the Northern Territory Intervention was found racially discriminatory. In 2017, a UN Special Rapporteur declared a national crisis in First Nations incarceration. In January 2026, 120 countries demanded Australia enshrine UNDRIP into domestic law. In February 2026, the UN stated Australia needs to do more to protect basic rights.
Now, UN Special Rapporteur Dr Albert Kwokwo Barume is making an official Country Visit in November 2026 — and the Call for Input is open. At the same time, the Australian Parliament has launched its own Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence against First Nations people, with submissions due 1 May 2026.
Two major inquiries are open right now — one at the United Nations and one in the Australian Parliament — and both are actively seeking evidence from people and communities like ours.
Wynnum Allies is preparing a group submission to each. This means your individual input — your experience, your observations, your recommendations — can be included in a formal submission that carries the weight of an organised community group, not just a single voice.
How it works:
1. You share your input using the form below. Write as much or as little as you like — a paragraph is enough.
2. The Wynnum Allies Co-Chairs review all contributions and collate them into a single, professionally structured group submission.
3. The submission is lodged with the relevant inquiry before the deadline, representing the collective voice of our community.
You choose whether your name is included or whether you contribute anonymously. Either way, your voice reaches the people who need to hear it.
The National Agreement on Closing the Gap sets national targets and Priority Reforms intended to shift decision-making and resource control toward Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
High imprisonment rates amplify harm: health deterioration, family separation, and elevated risk of deaths in custody. Remand (unsentenced detention) is a particular pressure point.
Trusted Sources
A curated directory of reputable, reliable, and authoritative websites for learning, monitoring, and taking action on First Nations issues in Australia. Each entry includes a brief note on why it is trusted.
Our Identity
Our logo tells a single story: two standing together under one canopy, on one shoreline. Two tree trunks grow side by side — separate, but leaning toward one another and rising together. This is how we understand allyship: standing alongside in a way that is reliable, visible, and long-term. The canopy of varied leaves represents our members — different backgrounds, roles, and capabilities, yet aligned around a shared purpose. The waves below anchor us in Wynnum as a bayside place.
Join Us
Whether you want to stay informed, attend meetings, or get involved in events and activities — we welcome your interest. Fill in the form below and we'll be in touch.
We've received your expression of interest and will be in touch soon.
Please try again, or contact us directly at .
Get in Touch
We'd love to hear from you. Use the expression of interest form above, or reach us by email:
Bayside Brisbane, Queensland
In-Depth Briefings
