Antinuclear

In October, minister for western NSW Kevin Humphries announced his intention to introduce legislation to parliament which extinguished land claims under the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act on beaches and coastal reserves. It would have affected have affected more than 600 current Aboriginal land claims around NSW. This is the legilsation which was withdrew on Monday.

The furore followed yet another win by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) in the land and environment court, over coastal land at Red Rock, on the mid north coast of NSW. NSWALC won the case on behalf of the Coffs Harbour Local Aboriginal Land Council, and title to the land was accepted with the caveat that public access to the beach must remain open.

This was a simple decision for Coffs Harbour LALC – in the 31 year history of Aboriginal land rights in NSW, no public access to beaches has ever been under threat, on any single occasion. Indeed, public access to the beach at Red Rock was restricted by the NSW government when the land claim was first submitted. It is now open to the public, courtesy of Coffs Harbour LALC.

Coffs Harbour LALC’s agreement to this condition was in good faith, only to see the NSW government introduce legislation which sought to shift the goal posts, and play on the ignorance of the broader population about “the blacks locking up the land”.

It should be noted, the land rights act in NSW has delivered less than 0.1% of the total NSW landmass back to the original custodians. No case can be made that blackfellas have made out like bandits through land rights.

The government’s hurried assault on Aboriginal land rights – albeit followed by a hasty retreat – is a deeply unfortunate development, and has badly damaged any trust Aboriginal people can have in the Baird government in treating matters of Aboriginal rights with honesty and integrity.

Aboriginal people must not negotiate with NSW minister for Aboriginal affairs, Victor Dominello or the Baird government, at least not until an explanation (and apology) is forthcoming as to why members within the Liberal and National Party were permitted to assault the land rights of my people.

While anger towards the Baird government grows, it’s also worth noting how their legislation was defeated, at least temporarily (despite the backdown, the NSW Government has insisted that the legislation will be brought back to the parliamentary table).

On Monday, hundreds of Aboriginal people – from land councils, medical services legal services, and other organisations – turned out to a rally in the centre of Sydney. We closed down Macquarie Street.

The marches were a salient lesson for young people. Sometimes, like the old days, you do still have to hit the streets and fight for your rights.

That’s how we got land rights in the first place, and it’s encouraging that Aboriginal people today still understand the power of collective protest…….http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/06/aboriginal-people-must-not-negotiate-with-politicians-permitted-to-assault-their-land-rights