Mission & Justice

Natasha Robinson & Patricia Karvelas; 31/7/08

Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory have been extended to the sea for the first time in a landmark High Court ruling that gives traditional owners in northeast Arnhem Land control over fishing in tidal waters. Yesterday’s ruling by a majority of the High Court’s full bench sweeps away the common law right to fish in the Territory’s inter-tidal zone and grants traditional owners the right to exclude fishermen and others from tidal waters within Blue Mud Bay in northeast Arnhem Land. The ruling - which will apply to 80 per cent of the Territory’s inter-tidal waters - was welcomed by “overjoyed” Aboriginal leaders, who pledged to work co-operatively with fishing interests and the Territory Government to ensure recreational and commercial fishing could still take place in Aboriginal waters.

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10/5/08

The National Government has not provided any money for 12 years to put together reports to the United Nations Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Since ratifying and signing the UN convention on January 12, 1995, PNG has failed to send reports to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Secretary of the Department of Community Development Joseph Klapat said this was because the Government did not provide any specific funds in that period for CEDAW. Mr Klapat said this while announcing PNG was now compiling the first and second periodic reports on discrimination against women in the country.

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