Antinuclear

Western Australia’s remote Aboriginal communities will not be getting state royalties – Premier Barnett

Redman said in December the $1bn “Royalties for Regions” fund, which is drawn from 25% of the forecast mining royalties paid to the state, could be used to support 274 remote communities threatened with closure after the federal government withdrew funding for essential services in November.

But Barnett said on Monday that Redman had been “misunderstood” and that the royalties cash would instead be used for things like required investment in power generation or water supply systems to those communities, which was an “appropriate and proper” use of the fund.

“But we are not, and I stress, we are not simply going to replace the amount of money withdrawn by the commonwealth,” he said.

Asked whether the money would be used to keep the communities open, he indicated it might, “in some, where there’s a case for reinvesting”. In other communities, he said, “that’s not viable”.

That is a stricter reading of the use of royalties than the state’s Aboriginal affairs minister, Peter Collier, gave Guardian Australia on Monday.

Collier reiterated that royalties would not fill the gap left by federal money, but said Redman’s offer of using the development fund was a “positive commitment” that could be used to support those communities determined to be “sustainable”………..

About 80 of the 150 communities Barnett suggested in October might close are in the Kimberley.

The Kimberley Land Council, which heard about the funding cut through the media, is still waiting to see the government’s criteria for a “viable community”.

Anthony Watson, a Nyikina Mangala man and chairman of the land council, said remote communities wanted to work with the government to develop a viable long-term solution. He said so far consultation had been “not good”.

“They call it consultation but it’s never been a situation when we actually sit down and resolve these issues,” Watson said. “We really would like a genuine discussion. We’re saying to the premier: come and sit with us.”

Watson said they wanted to be told which communities the government considered “unviable” so they could help those communities improve, and said they wanted to see a housing package accompany any community closures………

Watson said many groups in the Kimberley were still reeling from being moved off country in the 1950s and 1960. “To go back to square one is just bringing nightmares to a lot of families to relive,” he said.

The Kimberley Land Council is organising a meeting with WA’s other major land councils, to be held in Broome in March, in order to talk to the government. Both Collier and Barnett will be invited.

The opposition Aboriginal affairs spokesman, Ben Wyatt, said it was unacceptable that organising a meeting was left up to Aboriginal groups.

“The arrogant contempt that both Mr Barnett and Mr Collier have for the Aboriginal community, where they refuse to even visit remote communities but are content to sit in Perth and decide if they are ‘viable’, is breathtaking,” Wyatt said.

“It shows total contempt for the impact of government decisions in times gone by. Some of these remote communities are located where they are for very specific reasons.”………

“How are health and education outcomes going to be improved by forcing people to move into shanty towns at the edge of larger town centres?” he said. http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/03/wa-premier-withdraws-royalties-help-for-struggling-aboriginal-communities

February 4, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, Western Australia