Macklin pledges national Aboriginal body this term
Patricia Karvelas; 24/9/08
Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin has promised Labor will established a fully functioning national indigenous representative body by the next election. Until now, Labor has not been clear on when the body will be established or how it will work. Ms Macklin told The Australian she was not convinced yet about whether it should be directly elected, appointed or a mix of both. She said the Government would make sure that women and young people were well represented on the new body.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24393706-5013404,00.html
Indigenous Land Corp ‘just like white owners’
Paul Toohey; 24/9/08
Wwest Australian lobbyist, lawyer and native title consultant Peter Dowding has attacked the commonwealth-backed Indigenous Land Corporation, saying it has become no different from any other monolithic, white-owned cattle empire. Mr Dowding, a former West Australian premier and company secretary of the Aboriginal-owned Mount Welcome station in the state’s northwest, said the ILC had not fully supported a proposed cattle enterprise on Mount Welcome because Aborigines declined to cede control of the project to the ILC. Mr Dowding was questioning a story in The Australian on Monday that celebrated the success of an ILC-run cattle project at Waliburru, 500km southeast of Darwin, where Aborigines have leased their station to the ILC for 11 1/2 years.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24393703-5013404,00.html
Cattlemen muster pride; 22/9/08; http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24380396-28737,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Reconciliation, Trade