Mission & Justice

John Wiseman; 3/12/08; (3 Items)

Tensions have erupted into violence on the remote Aboriginal lands in South Australia in the lead-up to today’s hotly contested elections for a new land council. South Australian police last night confirmed there had been “issues” at Ernabella, the biggest community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands in the state’s remote northwest. Sources on the lands described it as a dangerous confrontation between some residents and police, who were trying to make an arrest.

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Natasha Robinson; 2/12/08; (2 Items)
Aborigines who live in the most remote parts of the Northern Territory are to be excluded from an inquiry into their very existence. Territory consultant and Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson yesterday conceded he would spend the next two weeks conducting public hearings on the future of remote outstations - without visiting any of them. The Territory Government is formulating a policy on the future of about 500 outstations, following an agreement last year that it would take over responsibility for the settlements from the federal Government. Under that agreement, the commonwealth will hand over $20million a year over three years to provide municipal and essential services such as water, electricity and sewerage, as well as infrastructure. Mr Dodson described the amount as “very minimal”.

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Carol Nader; 24/11/08

Euphemia Day and June Gill played together on this precious piece of land as children. Ms Gill, 78, can still remember the day Ms Day was born 70 years ago. Their love of the Lake Condah Mission site in southwest Victoria has seen them through a native title fight that spanned more than a decade and was finally won last year. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin yesterday transferred the deeds of the title of the site to the local Gunditjmara people. The site includes the mission and the cemetery where many of their ancestors are buried.

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Michael Pelly; 3/10/08

Aboriginal activists have declared that a land rights victory in the High Court yesterday should cause the NSW Government to “pause and reflect” on its attitude to claims over Crown land. In a 5-0 decision, the court said the Government had no right to block a claim over an old motor vehicle registry in Wagga Wagga, 500km southwest of Sydney, on the basis that it was preparing to sell the site. The case turned on the definition of “claimable Crown lands” in the Land Rights Act and whether it was limited to places that were “not lawfully used or occupied”. The court found there was “no doubt” that the sale of the land would amount to “exploitation” but said it did not “amount to lawful use, let alone lawful occupation”.

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30/8/08: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24262436-5013404,00.html

The articles “Land council ‘$2m in the red’” and “Aboriginal land council in the red”, published on 17 March 2008, “Probe ordered into land council”, published on 18 March 2008, “NLC staff to pursue ‘bullying compo’”, published on 19 March 2008 and “Northern Exposure”, published on 19 March 2008 concerned the alleged conduct of Ron Levy, Principal Legal Officer of the Northern Land Council. The Australian accepts that the allegations published about Mr Levy are untested and are regarded as false not only by Mr Levy, but by the Northern Land Council which since has investigated them. The Australian did not intend to suggest that the allegations are true and withdraws any such suggestion.

20/8/08: http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20080820/wehome.htm

Taking land from customary landowners through trickery, bribery and divide and rule tactics for administration and business purposes without proper compensation by both German New Guinea and British Papua is a legacy that continues today. Former parliamentarian Ben Micah told the Waigani Seminar last week the old people who had witnessed the arrival of white men and who witnessed such actions rencounted the stories to the leaders of the movements who had been exposed to and educated by the colonial system. Mr Micah said those early experiences were no different to the cries of customary landowners for equitable benefits from the exploitation of natural resources. “They are no different to Rex Dagi’s historical challenge of BHP in the high court of Australia with regards to environmental damage caused by Ok Tedi mine,” he said. Mr Micah said this was no different to the demands made by Francis Ona and the Panguna landowners in 1988 which were badly handled by our politicians and developed into an unnecessary conflict which brought the country to its knees. He said this showed the Independent State of PNG no longer represented and did not exist to serve the true interests of the Melanesian people.

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Greg Roberts; 9/8/08

Nestled in a valley behind the high-rise bustle of Australia’s fastest growing metropolis is an oasis of tranquillity. The 4ha of the Currumbin Valley Reserve, in the Gold Coast hinterland, is a tiny remnant of the Big Scrub, a once vast tract of rainforest that covered the lowlands of southeast Queensland and northeast NSW before they were farmed. Many of the Big Scrub’s special plants and animals survive in the Currumbin Valley. Among them is the macadamia tree, the only native Australian plant to be farmed commercially, and the endangered sweet myrtle. The reserve was owned by Alex Griffiths, the founder of Currumbin’s internationally renowned bird sanctuary. He could have made millions selling it to developers but wanted it protected in perpetuity. Griffiths, who died in 1998, did not trust governments so he bequeathed the land to Bush Heritage Australia. BHA has acquired 938,000ha in 30 properties and aims to lock up 1 per cent of Australia in private reserves. Another 3.5 million hectares of sanctuary have been set aside by other private organisations.

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13/5/08

New laws have been passed by the Queensland parliament allowing for the compulsory acquisition of indigenous land to build essential services such as schools, hospitals and police stations. The reforms to the Land Act 1994 and the Aboriginal Land Act and Torres Strait Islander Land Act, passed late tonight, have been described as “historic” by Natural Resources and Water Minister Craig Wallace. Earmarked last month, the changes make indigenous and non-indigenous land subject to the same acquisition laws. They will help indigenous Queenslanders to own their own homes, Mr Wallace said, allowing residential and commercial leases of up to 99 years.

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Natasha Robinson; 30/3/08

A slow but radical shift is occurring on Aboriginal township lands. Liberal economists hail it as the legislative tool that will finally allow indigenous people to believe in the great Australian dream; land-rights diehards warn it will be the end of native title at remote townships. More than a year after the Howard government changed the Land Rights Act to allow 99-year leases on Aboriginal township lands, leasing is emerging as the legislative tool that will allow governments to improve the parlous condition of infrastructure in remote communities and provide basic services to growing indigenous populations. It has not been an easy ride. Former indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough convinced only one community, Nguiu at Bathurst Island, to sign up to a 99-year township lease since introducing the legislation in 2006. Brough’s vision for remote Aboriginal towns - as vibrant, bustling hubs with bakeries and corner shops, where indigenous residents had the opportunity to buy their own homes - did not win over the communities.

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