Patricia Karvelas; 20/6/08
Aborigines in the Northern Territory will double their money - with an extra windfall of up to $10 million - if they agree to a Rudd government plan to put mining royalty payments in a special education trust fund. The proposed education fund would be in line with the recent call by federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin for royalty and native title payments to be distributed for the benefit of communities, rather than individual landholders. The fund would be used to pay for scholarships for Aboriginal children to study away from their homelands. If the deal goes through, the Government is likely to consider offering more communities similar arrangements. The Government has approved a lease agreement between the traditional landowners in the northwest region of the Northern Territory and the owner of the Bonaparte Gas Pipeline. Under the deal, 2500 people, making up 19 land-owning groups, will share in about $10 million over the term of the lease.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23892774-12332,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Education