It’s 48 hours after Cyclone Larry hit north Queensland and the devastation is still being fully realized. A total of 84,000 far north Queensland homes remain without power. In an effort to show support for Indigenous people of the region the wire has made an effort to contact Indigenous communitites and health services. Joyce Savage CEO of Cairns Aboriginal Health service Wuchopperrun explains the known damage for Community Health Services in the area.Yarrabah community have heeded the call for more volunteers from State Emergency Minister Pat Bursell. Michael Sands of the Yarrabah Council says there is a real will to help out.

In the Lake Cowal region of New South Wales, a culturally and environmentally significant wetland is facing devastation, when gold mining operations begin next week. Environmentalists, traditional owners and politicians have joined together in Sydney today to call for government intervention. We spoke with Friends of the Earth’s Natalie Lowrey, New South Wales Greens MP Lee Rhiannon and Wiradjuri Traditional Owner Stephen Coe - who says Barrick Gold is using a self-appointed council of elders to by-pass cultural hertiage obligations, and he believes they should be investigated for corruption.

Tasmanian Premier Paul Lennon was returned to power on Saturday, and has said this week he believes the island state can “once and for all fulfil the desires of Tasmanian Aboriginal people” on the issue of financial compensation and a formal apology to Tasmanian members of the stolen generations. The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre’s Michael Mansell says the Premier’s stance creates a challenge for other state leaders. While Tasmanian Stolen Generations advocate Annette Peardon says it’s important to continue raising awareness about the stolen generations.

The Wire continues to put the UN Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People under the microscope. Caitiona Murtagh talks treaties with Maori legal expert Claire Charters and International Indian Treaty Council Director, Andrea Carmen.

In efforts to further pressure the federal government to tackle the issue of border security in the countrys’ north, a federal Labor taskforce has this week visited the North-East Arnhem Land community of Maningrida. Ian Munroe from the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation took the opportunity to point out that local sea rangers have reported 26 illegal boats since September, but Customs still treat them with no respect. Taskforce chair Anna Burke says the Howard government has been negligent in its refusal to address the situation.