‘
Wangan and Jagalingou people vow to ‘take the fight up a notch’
after mine’s endorsement by Queensland parliament’ Joshua Robertson, The Guardian Australia: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/mar/17/indigenous-opponents-of-adanis-carmichael-mine-to-intensity-court-battle
“Indigenous opponents of Adani’s Carmichael mine have vowed to ramp up their legal fight against the project despite fresh progress by the miner and its endorsement by the Queensland parliament.
Representatives of the Wangan and Jagalingou people, the traditional owners of the site of Australia’s largest proposed coalmine, are considering a series of high court and federal court actions to broaden their unfolding battle against the Indian miner.
Adani’s failure to secure an Indigenous land use agreement (ILUA) with the Wangan and Jagalingou continues to pose a key obstacle for the project, … “
March 19, 2016
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18 Mar 16 Traditional Owners and members of the Aboriginal-led Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) have today reaffirmed their opposition to the suggestion that South Australia should host a high level international nuclear waste dump. This announcement comes as the submission period closes for comments on the tentative findings of South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission
A major recommendation of the Commission to date has been that South Australia could host an international waste storage and disposal facility. This suggestion is strongly rejected by Aboriginal people across the state because of the risks posed to country and culture. Several Aboriginal communities throughout South Australia live with the negative impacts of the nuclear industry through uranium mining and nuclear weapons testing and are committed to resisting any further nuclear proposals.
“We have long memories; we remember the atomic weapons tests at Maralinga and Emu Fields and the ongoing denial around the lost lives and health impacts for Aboriginal people. We don’t want any nuclear projects here in South Australia and we won’t become the world’s nuclear waste dump,” said Arabunna elder and Australian Nuclear Free Alliance president Kevin Buzzacott.
Enice Marsh, senior Adnyamathanha woman and Australian Nuclear Free Alliance member said:
“Any kind of radioactive waste dump would put our groundwater at risk. Groundwater is about survival; we don’t want to be faced with another huge risk like this.”
Sue Coleman-Haseldine is a Kokatha-Mula woman and co-chair of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance. She has recently travelled to Vienna to share her family’s experience with the nuclear industry: “They’ve poisoned us once and there’s no way in the world they’re going to do it again.”
“This problem doesn’t stop at South Australia’s border, there is nowhere that should be designated an international waste dump,” Ms Coleman-Haseldine concluded.
For comment contact: Sue Coleman-Haseldine: 0458 544 593
March 18, 2016
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Aboriginal Heritage Act changes give traditional owners less say: Indigenous groups ABC News By Nicola Gage 10 Mar 16 Proposed changes to South Australia’s Aboriginal Heritage Act will reduce powers of traditional owners, according to Indigenous groups.
Amendments to the act were introduced to Parliament a fortnight ago and today passed the Legislative Council.
South Australian Native Title Services chief executive officer Keith Thomas believed amended language in the act would give traditional owners less say over their heritage. “This is going to help people who want to access lands and destroy heritage, rather than improving the protection of Aboriginal heritage,” he said.
There are tens of thousands of sacred Indigenous sites across South Australia, from ancient song lines and springs to burial grounds.
The act is in place to protect them from different activities, including mining operations. Mr Thomas said the proposed changes would make it harder to prosecute companies if they had disturbed a site without approval.
“At the moment they’re very concerning, because it’s diluting Aboriginal rights, whereas the Aboriginal Heritage Act should be strengthening Aboriginal rights to protect their heritage,” he said. Mr Thomas said the changes would also remove clause 6-2 in the act, which stipulates the minister must delegate his or her powers to the traditional owners of a site.
Aboriginal groups from Lake Torrens have been trying to use that clause over recent years to stop a mining operation from going ahead. “I think the amendments are being rushed through for some reason,” he said. “It means that the minister doesn’t have to delegate his powers and it paves the way for the miners to come back and have another go.”
Some Aboriginal groups said they had not been properly consulted over the amendments.
Traditional owner Karina Lester grew up on South Australia’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands and did not know the bill was in Parliament. “That was quite concerning for us as native title [holders] because we hadn’t been informed,” she said.”Therefore, we didn’t know what changes were being proposed.”…..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-10/changes-aboriginal-heritage-act-give-traditional-owners-less-say/7236302
March 12, 2016
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“Sir – I am an Alyawarr traditional custodian and I am calling for a treaty on the back of
Dr Dennis Jensen MP’s controversial speech in Parliament last week regarding Aborigines. …
Greater autonomy within Aboriginal communities is necessary to address these issues and the way to achieve this is through treaties, and I call for one between the
Commonwealth Government and the Alyawarr people.
March 9, 2016
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Diane King, 5 Mar 16 The Government may have agreed to mine uranium and take back the waste for storage, but the People DID NOT. The Government does not own the land, it belongs to the Original Sovereign Tribes, who never ceded their Sovereignty to the Grown or the Government. The ‘Australian Government’ is a separate State, an administrative Corporation, who’s services can be dispensed with on your land, if that is what you want. Reasserting Sovereignty over your land is the way to regain control of your land and your future.
Please learn about Sovereignty at the Sovereignty-Truth website:
http://sovereignty-truth.net/about
If government continues the acts of genocide and ‘crimes against humanity’ against you, such as removal of children, unwarranted incarcerations, removal of services and the creation of conditions designed to destroy in whole or in part, your tribe and your culture, severe mental and physical torture, you can ask the International Criminal Court to prosecute them by submitting a detailed complaint to:
otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int
Please note that they will only prosecute crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity committed after 2002, and there are strict criteria to be met for an investigation to take place. These are
outlined in Article 6 and article 7 of the Rome Statute:
‘Genocide
For the purpose of this Statute, “genocide” means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Article 7
Crimes against humanity
1. For the purpose of this Statute, “crime against humanity” means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
(a) Murder;
(b) Extermination;
(c) Enslavement;
(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
(f) Torture;
(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(i) Enforced disappearance of persons;
(j) The crime of apartheid;
(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.’
You can download the Rome statute from the UN website. Here is a link to the Jurisdiction of the court:
http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/romefra.htm
March 5, 2016
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Traditional owners in the Flinders Ranges say nuclear waste dump threatens cultural heritage ABC NORTH AND WEST MICHAEL DULANEY Traditional owners in the Flinders Ranges say a Federal Government nuclear waste dump could destroy significant cultural heritage and countless sacred sites around a permanent spring. The lush vegetation and birdlife along Hookina Creek, 30 kilometres north of Hawker in South Australia, stands out even among the imposing space and scale of the central Flinders Ranges. Its permanent waters are fed by aquifers that bubble up to feed ‘an oasis’ of reeds and large eucalypts bursting from the dry heat and dust of the pastoral landscape.
It is an area integral to the lives of the Adnyamathanha people for generations and whose presence has left a rich cultural and archaeological record along the creek.
These waters are also just a few kilometres from Wallerberdina, a cattle station near Barndioota partly-owned by former Liberal senator Grant Chapman.
It is also one of six sites nominated to host Australia’s first nuclear waste dump.The Adnyamathanha people, who manage the Yappala Indigenous Protected Area which shares a boundary with Barndioota, said they were “shocked” by the prospect of storing Australia’s low and intermediate level nuclear waste so close to a significant cultural site.
Traditional owner Regina McKenzie said the facility would jeopardise their links to a place important for the present — a place where her children have learnt to swim and the family comes to camp — as well as the past, as seen in the tools, paintings and storylines that mark the area.
“The emotional stress we’re feeling is off the charts,” Ms McKenzie said. “We’re still the custodians here; we’ve always looked at it that way.”
The Adnyamathanha people are also worried about the risk from large floods known to hit the area, and elder Enice Marsh pointed out damage around the creek caused by the last flood a decade ago.
Ms Marsh said she feared the loss of her people’s heritage in the region if rising flood waters mixed with radioactive waste. “If we’re going to have that poison stuff here, even if it’s a low-level situation, it’s just absolute madness to put something like this near somewhere that’s so special,” she said.
“It’s everything; it’s a type of importance that you would never be able to describe. “The connection to this land for Adnyamathanha people is their culture, their customs; it’s their identity.”…….
With a final decision from the Government due by the end of the year, Ms McKenzie said the Adnyamathanha people would continue to oppose the expansion of the nuclear industry into their traditional lands.
“We’re feeling as though we’re being forced to do something we don’t want to do,” she said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-24/traditional-owners-flinders-ranges-fears-on-nuclear-waste-dump/7195030
February 24, 2016
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Flinders Ranges communities divided over whether to host Australia’s planned nuclear waste dump , ABC News, By Nicola Gage 23 Feb 16 Communities in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges remain deeply divided over whether the nation’s nuclear waste should be stored locally.
Wallerberdina Station, north-west of Hawker, is one of six locations being considered by the Federal Government to house low-level waste…… Meetings have been held in the region recently and Flinders Ranges Council Mayor Peter Slattery said there were mixed feelings in the community…….
Traditional owners vow to fight against waste dump For the Adnyamathanya people of the Flinders Ranges, their land is filled with songlines and sacred sites.
Traditional owner Regina McKenzie said she wanted to send a strong message to the Federal Government that her people did not want a dump built locally. “We’re just hoping that it’s not going to be here,” she said. “The amount of archaeology and the amount of heritage that’s in this area is way, way too high. “It’s actually the site of our first storyline that runs 70 kilometres from Hawker right down to Lake Torrens, so it’s a very significant place for us.”
Adnyamathanya man Tony Clark helped successfully fight against a nuclear dump being built at Woomera a decade ago.
He said he would fight with the same vigour against any proposal to store nuclear waste in the Flinders Ranges.
“This is a pristine area and represents a dreaming story that we want to preserve,” Mr Clark said.“The white man preserves ancient things in museums, this part of our land is our museum.“So our great-grandchildren can come along with their great-grandchildren and show people.”
The Federal Government is expected to make a final decision on a site by the end of the year. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-24/flinders-ranges-communities-divided-over-nuclear-waste-dump/7194592
February 24, 2016
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WA government to proceed with controversial changes to Aboriginal heritage legislation, ABC News 19 Feb 16 By Jacob Kagi The West Australian Government intends to proceed with controversial changes to Aboriginal heritage legislation, despite progress on the bill stalling for so long that it dropped off the list Parliament was due to consider.
The Government first introduced legislation to Parliament to amend the Aboriginal Heritage Act in 2014, but there has been no substantial progress on the bill since then.
Because it had been so long since the bill had been debated, it dropped off the Legislative Assembly’s “notice paper”, which is the list of legislation and motions which Parliament is due to consider.
However, that was rectified on Thursday, with the Government passing a motion to restore the bill to the notice paper.
The proposed changes have proven controversial, with concerns that much of the decision-making power would rest of the head of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and fears the legislation did not give enough of a role to Indigenous people…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-19/wa-government-to-proceed-with-controversial-changes-to-aborigin/7182280
February 20, 2016
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Aboriginal elders on Tuesday accused authorities of paying lip service to traditional owners’ fears that waste could be dumped in the outback.
Australian Nuclear Free Alliance co-chair and Kokatha-Mula woman Sue Coleman-Haseldine says the proposal threatens her people’s spiritual health.
“We can’t survive in this world without our culture and the land is the main part of that. We’ve got sacred sites, we’ve got Dreamtime stories out there,” she told AAP on Tuesday.
“We don’t seem to be able to get this through the government’s heads, the people’s heads. All they see is the dollar signs.” 9 News Feb 16
February 17, 2016
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Karina Lester’s father was affected by the Maralinga atomic tests in the 1950s in outback SA and vowed she would fight to keep any dump out of Aboriginal communities.
“I want to urge all my Anangu representatives and also the wider Aboriginal community to be very actively involved in this and to speak up to tell their stories, because we all have a story to talk about how this nuclear [testing] has impacted on us,” she said.
“We’ve got cultural responsibilities and we’ve also got responsibilities to our next generation.
“It is very immoral and it’s catastrophic to be talking about waste. The waste is not going to end up in Adelaide — it will be remote South Australia.” – ABC News 15 Feb 16
February 15, 2016
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Ahead of Monday’s release of the draft report of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, SA Traditional Owners are once again voicing strong opposition to proposals for expanded uranium mining and proposals for nuclear waste dumps and other nuclear projects.
Sue Coleman-Haseldine, co-chair of the Aboriginal-led Australian Nuclear Free Alliance, is a Kokatha-Mula woman from Ceduna and winner of the 2007 Premier’s Award for excellence for indigenous leadership in natural resource management. Ms Coleman-Haseldine said: “I was born on Koonibba Aboriginal Mission in 1951. Atomic bomb tests began in the desert areas north of my birthplace in 1953 when I was two years old. First at Emu Fields and then Maralinga. I grew up under the Maralinga nuclear cloud. Do I want to see my state known worldwide as a nuclear waste dump? No. Do I have the right to subject our future generations to a life of nuclear fear? No. Accidents happen, be it at a uranium mine or on a nuclear freeway or at a nuclear reactor or a dump site.”
Kevin Buzzacott, Arabunna elder and President of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance said: “We will fight this industry across the country, whether it be the expansion of uranium mining or a nuclear waste dump. It is our cultural obligation and responsibility to care for our land. It’s time the government and nuclear industry acknowledge and listen to us. There are and have been so many sick people as a result of this industry. Why has there not been a Royal Commission into the intergenerational health impacts of this industry? How will this Royal Commission measure the risks and impacts on culture and country? You cannot put a number on these things.”
Copied below is a statement from SA Traditional Owners.
South Australian Traditional Owners say NO!
Statement from a community meeting held in Port Augusta on Saturday 16 May, 2015 to discuss the Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle.
We oppose plans for uranium mining, nuclear reactors and nuclear waste dumps on our land.
We call on the SA Royal Commission to recommend against any uranium mining and nuclear projects on our lands.
We call on the Australian population to support us in our campaign to prevent dirty and dangerous nuclear projects being imposed on our lands and our lives and future generations.
Endorsed by members from the following groups, Kokatha, Kokatha-Mirning, Arabunna, Adnyamathanha, Yankunytjatjara-Pitjanjatjara, Antikirinya-Yunkunytjatjara, Kuyani, Aranda, Western Aranda, Dieri, Larrakia, Wiradjuri
February 12, 2016
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Wind company seeking Aboriginal stakeholders for possible solar farm development http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-13/wind-company-seeking-aboriginal-stakeholders-for-possible-solar/7086478 By Kerrin Thomas The company behind the White Rock Wind Farm, to be located in northern New South Wales, is considering developing a solar farm nearby and is seeking Aboriginal stakeholders to assist in preparing a heritage assessment.
Construction of Stage 1 of the White Rock Wind Farm is expected to start soon, at the site 24kms west of Glen Innes.
70 wind turbines will be constructed initially, expected to produce enough energy to power 75,000 homes a year.
The proponent, Goldwind Australia, has now engaged a company to conduct an assessment of the Aboriginal heritage impacts of a potential solar farm adjacent to the wind farm site.
The company is proposing a 20 to 25 MW facility that would occupy an area of about 50 hectares, with power to be exported through the wind farm’s substation.
NGH Environmental has been engaged to seek information from Aboriginal Stakeholders with cultural knowledge of the Maybole/Spring Mountain area. The purpose of the consultation with Aboriginal people is to assist the proponent in the preparation of the Aboriginal heritage assessment.
Those involved in the process will be required to assist in the determination of the cultural significance of any Aboriginal objects or places within the subject area.
Registrations close later this month.
January 14, 2016
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Did the Australian Labor Party get rid of Martin Ferguson as Minister For The Nuclear Lobby, only to replace 
him with Gary Gray -a new Minister For The Nuclear Lobby?
Opposition resources minister Gary Gray has said that a closure of Ranger would have “massive implications” for the economy of Arnhem Land and would be unfortunate for the uranium industry in Australia.
Energy Resources of Australia nears decision on future of Ranger uranium mine, SMH, January 12, 2016 Angela Macdonald-Smith Energy Reporter The future of the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory hangs in the balance as owner Energy Resources of Australia nears a decision on a strategic review.
Rio Tinto-controlled ERA said on Tuesday it would update the market this quarter on the strategic review, which it kicked off in October after being advised by traditional owners that they oppose an extension of production at the mine near Kakadu.
The Mirarr traditional owners refused to back the miner’s bid to extend its processing permits beyond the current expiry date of January 2021.
ERA, 68 per cent-owned by Rio, warned then that it may have to write down its assets as a result. Some analysts calculate the impairment could reach several hundred million dollars. ERA, for whom Ranger is its only producing asset, is due to report its 2015 earnings on January 28…………. Continue reading →
January 13, 2016
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aboriginal issues, business, Northern Territory, uranium |
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The products are being launched at Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural centre in Adelaide on Wednesday 2 September. Ms Oberon said Adelaide was chosen for the launch because of the council’s Sustainable City Incentive Scheme, which provides up to $5000 towards the cost in installing solar PV storage across the residential, business, education and community sectors. Funding for the program also has financial support from the South Australian government.
“We felt it was important to acknowledge the South Australian government and the City of Adelaide for such a forward-looking and innovative scheme,” Ms Oberon said.
The company is also hoping other state governments and councils will be encouraged to take up the idea of supporting the uptake of renewable energy storage.
The company’s core mission is based on the fundamental Aboriginal approach of stewardship of the earth and its resources. This means needing to shift out of high-emissions fossil-fuel derived energy.
Aboriginal-owned energy company one-upping Tesla By Willow Aliento, The Fifth Estate Friday 8 January 2016 The renewable energy storage game is about to be disrupted, with Australian Aboriginal-owned company AllGrid Energy announcing the launch of WattGrid, a new 10kWh solar energy storage system it says is around 30 per cent cheaper than the Tesla Powerwall.
Customers also don’t have to wait until 2016. Spokeswoman for AllGrid, Deborah Oberon, said the company expected to be making its first deliveries in the next two to three months.
The $11,999 WattGrid unit comprises an aluminium cabinet containing tubular lead acid gel batteries, and a hybrid 5kW solar inverter with battery management system that has load share capability with the grid and uninterrupted power supply capability.
The unit is also accompanied by a software app, WattsHappening, that allows users to view real-time information and interface with the system.
Beta testing has shown the unit can help solar owners maintain an energy supply profile that can be matched to the demand profile, potentially rendering drawing grid power unnecessary.
The Queensland-based company is also releasing another product it has developed, the PortaGrid. This is an independent unit comprising solar panels, storage, UPS, inverter and outlets that is suitable for remote and off-grid locations, as well as emergency situations.
The units can be supplied with an inbuilt weather station that will automatically close up the panels in the event of a severe weather hazard such as a cyclone. Continue reading →
January 11, 2016
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aboriginal issues, Queensland, solar, South Australia |
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Dennis Matthews 24 Dec 15 In response to Dave Sweeney’s “good nuclear news” – on the leadership of indigenous Australians in opposing the nuclear industry and nuclear waste dumping in South Australia
It’s correct, in December Karina and Rose Lester shared the Conservation Council of SA (Conservation SA) 2015, $1000, Jill Hudson Award for environmental protection for their opposition to the nuclear industry, but, apart from a small column in The Advertiser which didn’t mention the nuclear industry I’ve seen no mention of this important event.
I looked for a media release on the Conservation SA website but couldn’t find anything.
Perhaps someone could put the media release on this website?
PS. The first winners of the Jill Hudson award were Adnyamathanha activist Dr Jillian Marsh and ABC journalist Rose Crane. I understand that Jillian is involved in fighting attempts to put the proposed national nuclear waste dump on Adnyamathanha land.
December 23, 2015
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Antinuclear 