Antinuclear

Uranium miners and others will have to deal with some very savvy Aboriginal landowners in the Kimberley

Protests, jailing pay off as elder finally sees native title granted VICTORIA LAURIE AND PAIGE TAYLOR THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 31, 2014 JOHN Watson stood on an Aboriginal picket line at Noonkanbah 36 years ago opposing the mining industry and earned himself a place in Australia’s land rights ­history. The respected Kimberley elder vividly remembers the drilling rigs advancing, the police convoy that held objectors back, and the ­moment when drilling began on sac­red ground at the remote Fitzroy Crossing cattle station.

The dispute had gathered pace after the land rights of Aborigines in the Northern Territory had been recognised in parliament in 1976, a development Mr Watson and other Noonkanbah protesters highlighted as they tried to block company AMEX at Pea Hill.
Mr Watson and others were eventually carted off to jail in Fitzroy Crossing, an experience he ­describes as terrifying……..

This week, Mr Watson took centre stage in a new chapter in the Kimberley’s land rights history.
He watched as state Attorney-General Michael Mischin and Federal Court officials handed nativ­e title rights over about 26,000sq  km of land to his Nyikina Mangala people.

Their land is a new frontier for exploration, mining and drilling. There are 96 pending and granted mineral titles and 20 pending and granted petroleum titles on it. Mr Watson said his people were willing to talk to miners and oil and gas companies but that did not mean the companies could have everything they wanted.

“The door is not open for mining, not open for mining but open to sit down and talk and get a good feeling,” he said. “We want to get a good outcome.”

Thursday’s determination means Western Australia has reached a landmark of one million square kilometres to have been recognised as Aboriginal land………..

May 31, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, Western Australia