Adani faces strong Indigenous fight despite court outcome
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/adani-faces-strong-indigenous-fight-despite-court-outcome/ ~ Members of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Council 12 April 2017:
“Members of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Council say there is nothing in today’s court decision on the Native Title Act Section 66B application that will stop them in their fight against Adani in the courts.
“Senior spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J)Traditional Owners Council, and member of the existing Applicant, Mr Adrian Burragubba said, “The decision today shows how vulnerable the rights of Traditional Owners are when they don’t agree to the destruction of their country by big miners like Adani.
““Adani has actively worked to divide our community, undermine our representatives,
and register a sham agreement with our people to pave the way for the destruction of our lands and waters. …
“Youth spokesperson for the W&J Traditional Owners Council, MsMurrawah Johnson, said,
“Adani are pretending this mine is inevitable but it still faces a series of other court cases we are running.
We are currently in the Federal Court, working to prove Adani does not in any event have our consent
and its land use ‘deal’ is a sham and a cover for the destruction of our country.
““Adani is also before the Queensland Court of Appeal in May, when we challenge the Queensland government’s issuing of mining leases to Adani”.
““This proposed mine project will wreck our land and waters, and destroy our culture.
It will ride roughshod over our rights. It will unleash enormous environmental damage and
drive dangerous climate change in the process. … “
Turnbull offers to sacrifice Aboriginal rights to Adani in an act of national betrayal
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/turnbull-offers-to-sacrifice-aboriginal-rights-to-adani-in-an-act-of-national-betrayal/ ~ Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners 11 April 2017:
“The Turnbull government is willing to sacrifice Aboriginal people’s rights in pursuit of a deal with Adani for its proposed coal megamine, sanctioning the destruction of the lands and waters of the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) traditional owners.
The Prime Minister has courted Gautam Adani with the offer of ‘fixing the native title problem.’
This is an act of national betrayal, says the W&J Traditional Owners Council. …
“Senior spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J)Traditional Owners Council Mr Adrian Burragubba said,
“The Prime Minister is another in a long line of political leaders, Federal and State,
who are willing to sacrifice Aboriginal peoples’ rights if a profit or a deal is attractive enough.
It is extraordinary to have the Prime Minister travelling to India to tell a businessman that he will change the Native Title Act in Australia and undermine our rights so that his destructive project can proceed. …
“Youth spokesperson for the W&J Traditional Owners Council, MsMurrawah Johnson, said,
“The Prime Minister has promised a foreign billionaire and head of a shady industrial conglomerate
that he will fix his ‘native title problem’ by changing the law in Australia.
We have always maintained that the Government’s rushed changes to the Native Title Act were ‘Adani amendments’. Today the Prime Minister has made it plain that this is another special favour for Adani. …
“For more information and to arrange interviews: Anthony Esposito, W&J Council advisor … “
How Prime Minister Robert Menzies, and Sir Ernest Titterton sold us all out for British nuclear testing
Australian tolerance of the British and their obsessive secrecy may be explained by the deference and loyalty to the ‘motherland’. Prime Minister Menzies identified so strongly with Britain that he considered British national interest as Australia’s national interest.
Another factor which underlay Australian deference during the course of the testing program was the role of Sir Ernest Titterton.
The full legal and political implications of the testing program would take decades to emerge. The secrecy which surrounded the British testing program and the remoteness of the tests from major population centres meant that public opposition to the tests and awareness of the risks involved grew very slowly.
Wayward governance : illegality and its control in the public sector / P N Grabosky
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1989
“…..Admittedly, in the 1950s knowledge of radiation hazards was not as advanced as it is today. At the time it was not generally recognised that small doses of low level radiation might increase the risk of cancer years later. But even in the light of knowledge of the time, the information on which Menzies based his decisions was seriously deficient.
There seems little doubt that the secrecy in which the entire testing program was cloaked served British rather than Australian interests. Continue reading
A toxic legacy : British nuclear weapons testing in Australia
Australia’s hospitality, largesse and loyalty to Britain were not without their costs. Moreover, the sacrifices made by Australians on behalf of the ‘motherland’ were not equally borne. Whilst low population density and remoteness from major population centres were among the criteria for the selection of the testing sites, the Emu and Maralinga sites in particular were not uninhabited. Indeed, they had been familiar to generations of Aboriginal Australians for thousands of years and had a great spiritual significance for the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people.
A variety of factors underlay the harm to public health, Aboriginal culture and the natural environment which the British tests entailed. Perhaps most significant was the secrecy surrounding the testing program.
During the entire course of the testing program, public debate on the costs and risks borne by the Australian public was discouraged through official secrecy, censorship, misinformation, and attempts to denigrate critics
Wayward governance : illegality and its control in the public sector / P N Grabosky
Canberra : Australian Institute of Criminology, 1989 “……. In 1950, Labor Prime Minister Clement Atlee sent a top secret personal message to Australian Prime Minister Menzies asking if the Australian government might agree to the testing of a British nuclear weapon at the Monte Bello Islands off Western Australia. Menzies agreed in principle, immediately; there is no record of his having consulted any of his Cabinet colleagues on the matter.
The Monte Bello site was deemed suitable by British authorities, and in a message to Menzies dated 26 March 1951 Atlee sought formal agreement to conduct the test. Atlee’s letter did not discuss the nature of the proposed test in minute detail. He did, however, see fit to mention the risk of radiation hazards:
6. There is one further aspect which I should mention. The effect of exploding an atomic weapon in the Monte Bello Islands will be to contaminate with radio activity the north-east group and this contamination may spread to others of the islands. The area is not likely to be entirely free from contamination for about three years and we would hope for continuing Australian help in investigating the decay of contamination. During this time the area will be unsafe for human occupation or even for visits by e.g. pearl fishermen who, we understand, at present go there from time to time and suitable measures will need to be taken to keep them away. We should not like the Australian Government to take a decision on the matter without having this aspect of it in their minds (quoted in Australia 1985, p. 13).
Menzies was only too pleased to assist the ‘motherland’, but deferred a response until after the 195 1 federal elections. With the return of his government, preparations for the test, code-named ‘Hurricane’, proceeded. Yet it was not until 19 February 1952 that the Australian public was informed that atomic weapons were to be tested on Australian soil. On 3 October 1952 the British successfully detonated a nuclear device of about 25 kilotons in the Monte Bello Islands. Continue reading
Labor claims Coalition’s proposed native title changes breach deal deal struck between major parties
Coalition’s proposed native title changes a breach of deal struck between major parties, Labor claims, ABC News, 2 Apr 17 By political reporter Dan Conifer Federal Labor has accused the Coalition of bungling native title changes and breaching a deal struck between the major parties.
The Coalition moved to amend the Native Title Act in February soon after a court scuttled a multi-million-dollar deal between the West Australian Government and traditional owners.
The Federal Court rejected the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) between the parties because it was not signed by all native title claimants.
Until February’s court decision, ILUAs could be made without the support of all native title applicants.
The court ruling overturned years of established law, throwing doubt over current and future agreements nationwide.
“It is once again clear that these new amendments have not been subjected to any form of consultation with legal experts, Indigenous Australians or industry.
“The repeated breaches of faith by your Attorney-General in this matter, and the clear unwillingness of your Government to properly consult on the significant issues at hand, have meant that Labor remains concerned about some aspects of the bill.”
The correspondence was also signed by shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and shadow assistant minister for Indigenous affairs Pat Dodson.
The letter said Labor wanted the Senate committee’s recommendations enacted “as quickly as possible” and offered to work with the Coalition over coming weeks……..
The amendments have not been debated in the Senate.
Parliament next sits in May. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-02/native-title-proposal-by-coalition-breaches-deal-labor-says/8407964
The Coalition and Labor agreed on the need to amend the legislation to reverse the effect of the recent court decision, allowing at least 126 ILUAs already proposed or registered to continue with as few as one claimant.
But the Opposition claims Attorney-General George Brandis has proposed changes that go beyond what the major parties agreed during a Senate committee process.
Shorten ‘uncomfortable’ with Government handling of issue In a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten accused the Government of “repeated breaches of faith”.
“These amendments failed to deliver on the prior agreement and were again defective in a number of respects,” the letter said.
Adani coal project gets major setback as Government fails to pass Native Title Bill
Government fails to pass Native Title Bill: Major setback for Adani http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/govt-fails-to-pass-native-title-bill-major-setback-for-adani/~ Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners Council 31 March 2017:
“The Turnbull Government failed to push through its controversial Native Title Bill by the end of the Parliamentary sitting, despite the Labor Opposition’s readiness to negotiate on the amendments.
“The next opportunity for the Federal Senate to consider the Native Title Amendment Bill is the Budget Sitting in early May and, if not then, the next sittings are mid June. …
“Youth spokesperson for the W&J Traditional Owners Council, MsMurrawah Johnson, said,
““The Adani Board is reported to be set to make a decision within the next two weeks on whether to push on with the mine project. But it still faces our court actions. Right now their purported land use agreement is worthless. … “
Success of Indigenous rangers program: calls for it to be expanded
Call to expand Indigenous rangers program http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-30/indigenous-rangers-boosting-habitat-and-species-preservation/8401662 by national Indigenous affairs correspondent Bridget Brennan, 30 Mar 17, Indigenous rangers are helping to prevent habitat loss and species decline across an area 10 times the size of Tasmania, a new report says.
The Country Needs People alliance — which represents dozens of ranger groups across the country — said it should be an incentive for the Federal Government to commit to extending funding for Indigenous Protected Areas.
The report found multiple examples of ranger groups, in each state and territory, controlling fires and destroying feral animals and weeds. The Prime Minister’s Indigenous Affairs adviser, Chris Sarra, said he supported a call to expand ranger numbers.
In the report, Dr Sarra said rangers were succeeding because supporting their work encouraged self-determination and connection to country.
“That success is built on the strength of our connection to culture and country,” he said.
Country Needs People also called on the Government to set an ambitious target to employ an extra 4,200 Indigenous rangers by 2022.
The chief executive of the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation, Debbie Symonds, said her group had just four rangers covering 860,000 hectares on Cape York in Queensland.
“To be able to employ even another four rangers would be an amazing leap for us,” Ms Symonds said.
Funding for 800 rangers has been given a lifeline by the Federal Government until 2020, but funding to operate the 75 Indigenous Protected Areas they work on runs out in the middle of next year. Ms Symonds said on a recent “bush blitz”, Olkola Land Managers had recorded new skinks, bats, moths, spiders and birds in their area.
She said with “limited resources”, the rangers were also working to conserve the tiny population of the golden-shouldered parrot, a totem for the Olkola people.
“It was on the brink of extinction and we’re slowly bringing it back from extinction,” she said.
Adnyamantha Aboriginal elder considering legal action against federal government’s proposed nuclear waste dump
Aboriginal Elder Tony Clark concerned with nuclear waste facility, Transcontinental, 23 Mar 2017, Adnyamantha and Kujani Traditional Elder Tony Clark says if the federal government’s proposed nuclear waste facility at Barndioota continues to the next stage, a federal court legal intervention may take place.
Mr Clark has previously led the charge of the Kujani people’s Federal Court win against the federal government’s proposed nuclear waste facility for Woomera in 2004.
The potential intervention would come from a group of Adnyamantha and Kujani people who are concerned the proposed facility holds a significant risk to the survival of the Pungu Purrungha song line.
The songline travels across a body of water more than 70 kilometres in length from Hawker to Lake Torrens, and is an important piece of local Aboriginal history.
It’s also believed to be at least 85,000 years old.
Mr Clark said he’s opposed to the facility and that he and others are not afraid of taking potential legal action. “If they proceed to the next step on our country … then we would look towards seeking legal intervention in the federal courts,” he said.
The proposed site,130 kilometres north of Port Augusta, will store low-level and some intermediate-level nuclear waste. The low level purpose-built repository would be about the size of four Olympic size swimming pools with a 100 hectare buffer on the 25,000 hectare property.
Designs have not been prepared for the national repository but it will be modelled on above-ground storage and disposal facilities overseas……
Mr Clark said the ‘cultural and spiritual well-being’ of the Adnyamantha people is at risk if the facility proceeds, and he believes section 47 of the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act (1989) plays an important role in the facility’s future.
The act states an Aboriginal person may enter, travel across or stay on pastoral land for the purpose of following the traditional pursuits of the Aboriginal people.
Mr Clark said the Adnyamantha people’s cultural and spiritual well-being may be at risk if they can’t access the Pungu Purrungha song line and that this section shows no Pastoralist can stop Aboriginal people accessing a traditional site like the Pungu Purrungha song line.
“Our cultural and spiritual well-being is at risk, along with our physical contact to the land under various acts of parliament, including section 47 of the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act (1989).”
A Spokesperson for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science said the (federal) government has said it will deliver a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility in a centralised, purpose-built repository.
“The government has not formed a view that it should be located in Barndioota,” the spokesperson said…..http://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/4547617/nuclear-proposal-may-go-to-courts/
Senate Inquiry report tabled: Labor support for Native Title Bill profoundly disappointing
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/senate-inquiry-report-tabled-labor-support-for-native-title-bill-profoundly-disappointing/ 21 March 2017:
“Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners fighting Adani’s Carmichael mine are profoundly disappointed that Labor senators have today backed in the Government’s rushed and ill-considered amendments to the Native Title Act, giving a free kick to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and plans for a Qld coal mine.
“The Native Title Amendment (Indigenous Land Use Agreements) Bill 2017 is designed to overturn the recent McGlade decision that upheld the Native Title Act requirement that all applicants are needed to sign a land use agreement. The bill is expected to be debated in the Senate today.
“Senior spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners Council Mr Adrian Burragubba said, “Labor has lined up with the Government to wind back our rights – and their own commitment to land rights. They have swallowed the arguments of the mining and agricultural lobby that there is a crisis that needs an urgent response. …
“Youth spokesperson for the W&J Traditional Owners Council Ms Murrawah Johnson said, “The major parties have given Adani and their dirty mine a free kick today.
““Politicians at the Federal and State level are falling over themselves to push this controversial proposed mine through, denying us our rights to self-determination. …
“Mr Colin Hardie, Lawyer for the W&J native title claimants objecting to Adani’s purported ILUA said, “The risk involved in this legislation is so great it should not be proceeding.
It is a case where the cure is worse than the complaint. My clients will retain their objection to the purported Adani ILUA in the court, and consider grounds for challenging the legislation”. … “
‘Utopia’, the film, can be viewed for the first time online
Bronwyn Lucas Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste Dump In Flinders Ranges SA, 20 Mar 17,
Do we believe what the Feds say? It’s propaganda +++ and poor Kimba, about to have a three-month intensive ‘community consultation’ roadshow …
John Pilger – johnpilger.com … a great Australian journalist! https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556/
First Nations Renewable Energy Alliance- a formidable lobby group takes off
Whereas high energy prices often drive Indigenous people off their traditional lands, lower-cost renewables can help communities to thrive no matter how remote.
“We can build a power station where the community exists,” .. “so people are able to successfully live in the environment the way they want to live and have access to power which enables them to better determine their economic future.”
How an Indigenous renewable energy alliance aims to cut power costs and disadvantage
First Nations lobby group will support remote communities looking to make transition – and tackle climate change, Guardian, Dyani Lewis, 17 Mar 17
Like so many of the Indigenous communities dotted across the Australian continent, the remote communities in north-west New South Wales are struggling. “These are not happy places,” says the Euahlayi elder Ghillar Michael Anderson.
Many of the 300 or so residents of Anderson’s hometown of Goodooga rely on welfare, he says. Exorbitant electricity bills – up to $3,000 a quarter for some households – further exacerbate the poverty. “We’re always at the end of the power line, so the service that is there is quite extraordinary in terms of cost.”
Many other communities rely on expensive, emissions-intensive diesel-powered generators to meet their electricity demands. “It’s a real problem and we need to make sure that we fix this,” Anderson says.
To that end, Anderson and 24 other Indigenous leaders have formed the First Nations Renewable Energy Alliance, which aims to tackle high power costs and entrenched disadvantage – along with climate change – by pushing for renewable energy in Indigenous communities. Continue reading
Open Letter to Adani
We ask you to abandon proposal to dig coal mine in Qld’s Galilee Basin https://www.fightforourreef.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2027/03/Open_Letter_to_Mr_Gautam_Adani_March2017.pdf 16 March 2017:
“Dear Mr Adani,
“We are writing to respectfully ask you to abandon the Adani Group’s proposal to dig the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
“We would like to put to you three reasons why this mine should never go ahead.
Once its coal is burnt, it will contribute more climate-changing pollution to the atmosphere
than the entire country of New Zealand does every year. …
“Two, coal is a killer.
Coal is the biggest single cause of air pollution in Australia. …
Last month The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, published a report that described your company’s Carmichael mine proposal as a
“public health disaster”. …
“Three, this mine proposal does not have wide public support in Australia
and does not have the support of the Traditional Owners of the land where the mine would be dug.
There are concerns about the impact the mine will have on groundwater resources and on nearby farmers who rely on this water for their livelihoods. …
“We the undersigned – and we believe all Australians – would support and welcome moves by your company to invest further in renewable energy in Australia. … “
Clinton Pryor’s Walk for Justice from Perth – through Port Augusta
Clinton Pryor’s Walk for Justice comes through Port Augusta http://www.transcontinental.com.au/story/4516323/big-crowd-for-justice-walk/ 8 Mar 2017 The Joy Baluch Bridge and parts of Port Augusta were shaking under the loud voice of Clinton Pryor’s Walk for Justice on Wednesday March 8. Starting outside the Standpipe Motel at 10am, the walk went up the Augusta Highway and across the Joy Baluch Bridge. The group then travelled down Mackay and Young Street, before finalising with speeches and a community barbecue on the Port Augusta foreshore.
The crowd included kids under 10 to retirees, all of whom were supportive of achieving justice for Aboriginal people. Chants heard during the walk included, ‘When your rights are under attack, stand up, fight back!’ and ‘Always was, and always will be Aboriginal land!’.
It left Clinton speechless, and thankful for all the help and support he’s received from Port AugustIt was amazing to see the community backing me up in this walk I did over the bridge
“It was unbelievable and I’m really proud of Port Augusta and seeing everyone together in one group is really good,” he said.
In September 2016, Clinton left from Matargarup, near Perth, to Uluru, Coober Pedy, on his way to Canberra.Along the way he’s spent time in Aboriginal communities; meeting with elders, hearing their stories, talking with school kids and community groups.
The walk centres around holding governments to account over their treatment of Aboriginal communities around Australia and bringing justice for non-Aboriginal Australians too. Port Augusta Barngarla man Stephen Atkinson was part of the walk across the bridge and said he, and many others in Port Augusta, are proud of Clinton’s efforts. “Hopefully we’re all equally proud of walking across the bridge with Clinton as you should be, we should be really proud of ourselves,” he said. “Port Augusta, we all know is the crossroads of the country, we got that many different mobs here, and 30 odd different languages spoken in this town.
“We’re all different tribes, we’re all different language groups, we’re from all different parts of the country, but when something like this is on we all come together and we’re one people.”
For more information and photos taken during Clinton’s Walk for Justice, make sure to visit his website, www.clintonswalkforjustice.org.
Traditional Owners v Adani in Federal Court today, then to Canberra to discuss Native Title Amendments
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/traditional-owners-v-adani-in-federal-court-today-then-to-canberra-to-discuss-native-title-amendments/
Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners Council 27 February 2017:
“Traditional owners fighting the Carmichael megamine are on the front foot this week,
challenging in court the native title process which allowed the Qld Government to issue a mining lease without their consent, and meeting with Federal MPs to present arguments why the Government’s amendments to the Native Title Act threaten the rights of Traditional Owners and fail to deal with the real issues arising from the recent McGlade decision.
“Senior spokesperson for the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owners Council, Mr Adrian Burragubba, says, “The W&J Family Council have voted three times since 2012 to reject Adani’s sham deal, while the National Native Title Tribunal gave the green light to the Qld Government to issue Adani with a mining lease, after the mining company applied to have our decision overridden. This is the crux of our appeal before the full bench of the Federal Court on Monday”.
“Spokespeople for W&J, Mr Burragubba and Ms Murrawah Johnson, will also visit Canberra this week to meet with key Federal MPs about the Government’s Native Title Act Amendment Bill and explin the failures of the native title process.
Labor and The Greens voted against rushing the Bill through the House of Representatives last week. The Bill is now being scrutinised by a Senate committee which is due to report on 17 March 2017. … “
Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Council submission on the Native Title amendment bill
W&J Traditional Owners Council submission on the Native Title amendment bill
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/wj-traditional-owner-council-senate-submission/
“The integrity of our decision making, especially regarding our laws and customs, and our rights to self-determination and to withhold our consent to the destruction of our country and heritage, are central to our issues with the bill.
“The bill would alter the fundamentals of our traditional decision processes. The integrity of Traditional Owner decision making and rights to speak for country must be protected.
“Checks and balances are required, as is respect for property rights associated with customary tenure
and the right to speak for country. The inalienability of our rights in land must be respected. It is the ground on which we seek to protect our country and heritage from the mass destruction that would ensue from the Carmichael mine.”
To read the submission in full download this document
http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/WJ-TO-Council-_-Submission-to-the-Senate-Constitutional-and-Legal-Affairs-Committee-re-the-Native-Title-Amendment-Indigenous-Land-Use-Agreements-Bill-2017_complete.pdf
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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