How the Western Australian govt and mining companies sabotaged Aboriginal land rights
By December 1984, the government’s commitment to national land rights
was in disarray as the mining industry dug in and Mr Burke introduced
legislation that did not permit any veto over mining or exploration,
restricted Aboriginal applications to land with little economic
potential, retained the state’s power to resume land and imposed a
four-year time limit on claims.
Miners and Brian Burke sank land rights hope
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/cabinet-papers/miners-and-brian-burke-sank-land-rights-hope/story-fngr9pxq-1226545827125
BY: STUART RINTOUL The Australian January 01, 2013 A CONCERTED
campaign by the mining industry, backed by the Burke Labor government
in Western Australia, left the commonwealth’s commitment to national
land rights in disarray by the end of 1984. Continue reading
Green movement is in partnership with Aboriginal people to preserve our land
Marcia Langton’s promotion of the resource industry as the primary way to empower indigenous communities is a dangerous and fraught path. The historical experience of the interface between the resource sector and our first peoples is one of profound and adverse impact.
White occupation of Australia was based on the legal fiction of Terra nullius, coupled with a utilitarian economic thinking that saw this ”empty land” as fair game for any activity that could generate ”ownership” and income. Then, as now, mining could do that. Times, people and expectations have changed, but there is still a massive structural imbalance weighted in favour of mining giants.
Green movement is here to help, not hinder, Aborigines, The Age, December 21, 2012 Leah Talbot and Dave Sweeney A CONSISTENT theme running through Professor Marcia Langton’s recent Boyer Lectures is the idea that the environment movement is standing in the way of indigenous empowerment and that conservationists are ”new colonisers under a green flag”.
The accusation is way off the mark.
Long ago, the Australian Conservation Foundation recognised that the best way to protect the environment in this country was in partnership with those who have done this for thousands of years, the Aboriginal traditional owners.
We have a positive vision for northern Australia that aims to respect culture, protect the environment and put forward appropriate solutions to issues affecting indigenous communities. The policy of free, prior and informed consent from traditional owners underpins our work. Continue reading
Native Title rejected by Githabul because it will further coal seam gas mining
Ms Gloria Williams spokeswoman of Githabul said that the Native Title agreement is being wrongly used to allow coal seam gas interests into the region.
Aboriginal people reject Native Title over coal seam gas http://www.coalguru.com/australia/aboriginal_people_reject_native_title_over_coal_seam_gas/6062 17 Dec 12, ABC News cited members of the Githabul people as saying that the coal seam gas issue is forcing them to reject their Native Title claim.
An application by the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council for gas prospecting in the Tweed and Byron Shires, includes areas covered by the Githabul Native Title claim of 2007. The claim is more than 6000 square kilometer in size. Continue reading
Contrary to industry propaganda – mining is NOT an ideal job for Aboriginal people
Aboriginal people would prefer to have jobs that “heal the land”, not dig it up.
To say that he [Andrew Forrest] will get more jobs in mining is the answer, is really only the answer for the mining sector – not Aboriginal people.”
Indigenous mining jobs push misguided, spokesman says, Australian Mining, 4 December, 2012 Cole Latimer The mining industry’s drive to increase the number of Indigenous Australian in resources work is ‘misguided’ according to Indigenous spokesperson David Collard.
His comments came yesterday at an Indigenous Business, Enterprise and Corporations Conference at UWA, where Collard singled out Fortescue’s Andrew Forrest’s Aboriginal employment drive, according to The West.
It comes only days after the chair of Australian Indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne, Marcia Langton, stated that the mining industry is helping to pull many Indigenous people out of poverty…… Continue reading
New Podcast website – Welcome to the Dreaming
Welcome to the Dreaming, By cameron September 26, 2012 http://thedreamingpodcast.com.au/ the Deaming Podcast Whether you are black or white, knowledgeable or ignorant, one thing we can probably all agree on is that Australia’s handling of our indigenous population – historical and contemporary – is a mess.
The Dreaming is a new weekly podcast series hosted by a white fella (Cameron Reilly) and a black fella (David Cole) that will discuss the mess.
As David says, this isn’t about guilt, shame or blame – it is about making sure we make things better on our watch.
This show is going to attempt to provide an ongoing conversation about indigenous Australians. Over the course of the show, we will have conversations with historians, anthropologists, journalists, politicians, academics, authors, and every day Aussies of all colours.
Australia in desperate need of a culture of belonging to nature
Nature and Culture in Australia, Bonzer, by Paul Newbury, Dec 12, In the colonisation of Australia by the British, the connection between Indigenous people and their land was severed and the land bears the scars of their dispossession. In the Indigenous worldview, land has spiritual meaning; nature and culture are inseparable; and the health of the natural environment and that of its people are intimately connected—our wellbeing is influenced by the degree in
which we are actively involved in caring for the earth.
This is a conceptual framework that can promote holistic responses to climate change and other environmental challenges. British settler invaders brought the western concept of ‘taming nature’ with them and it is now embedded in Australian culture. The following are imperatives that arise from differences in perception between western culture and Australia’s Indigenous peoples.
1 Relationship with the environment: We need to develop a set of values – an ethical basis for relating to the natural world that inspires the nation to develop a sustainable economy and way of life.
Over eons the Indigenous peoples of this land attained a heightened eco-consciousness through developing relationships with plant and animal species in totemic systems.
2 Human habitat: the survival of our species depends on an acknowledgement that an organism cannot be known separate to its natural environment. Continue reading
Aboriginal run anti uranium organisation, from the bush to Toro Energy’s board room
A delegate from the West Australia Nuclear Free Alliance* will attend the Toro Annual General Meeting today in Adelaide to raise local concerns about their proposed Wiluna uranium mine in WA.
Vicki McCabe from Leonora and the WANFA committee said “We have fought against uranium mining in WA for a long time. We don’t want uranium mining on our country and want no part in the nuclear industry, not now not ever.”
“This country is far away from Perth or Adelaide, but it is our home. The Government say uranium is too dangerous to go through Fremantle, or Geraldton – Toro want to truck uranium right past my house in Leonora. If uranium is not good enough for Fremantle then it’s not good enough for the Goldfields.
Kado Muir, WANFA chairperson and Ngalia man from south of Wiluna said “When we’ve asked for assurance from Toro Energy that there won’t be any damage to the country they can’t provide it. Toro say to the Traditional Owners that if things go wrong they can sue them. That is no assurance that is a slap in the face.”
“Communities are stuck between a rock and a hard place – Native Title doesn’t allow you to stop an unwanted development on your country but it forces people into consultation. Companies like Toro are interested in ticking boxes and looking good but what they’re really doing is dividing and rail roading” concluded Mr Muir.
*WANFA is an Aboriginal run organisation representing communities across WA who are concerned about uranium mining. www.wanfa.org.au
Kakadu yellowcake legacy no blueprint for Queensland
Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation November 23rd 2012 Traditional owners directly affected by uranium mining in the Northern Territory, the Mirarr people of Kakadu, have rejected suggestions that the Ranger uranium mine provides a model for Queensland to follow and called on others to heed their experience.
Supporters of the LNP’s decision to open Queensland to uranium mining, including the Australian Uranium Association head Michael Angwin, have made public claims about the ‘excellent’ track record of Ranger uranium mine.
“The suggestion that Ranger provides a blueprint for Queensland must be contested,” said Justin O’Brien, executive officer of Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, the organisation established and operated by the Mirarr to represent their rights and interests.
The Mirarr, traditional owners of lands in the Kakadu region, including the Ranger and Jabiluka uranium deposits, have the longest lived experience of uranium mining in Australia. The Ranger mine was imposed on Mirarr against their strong opposition and has been operating for 30 years.
“Despite three decades of mining royalties, the socioeconomic standing of local Indigenous people remains below that of the NT average and well below the national standard. It is only in very recent years that income from Ranger has been adequately invested in social and cultural development programs,” Mr O’Brien said.
“The suggestion that Ranger’s track record confirms the high environmental standard of Australia’s uranium mining industry is in stark contrast to the Mirarr experience of mining on their land. Water and tailings management at the mine continue to cause serious concerns and what environmental gains we have secured have been hard fought for over decades.
“In addition, the Mirarr hold grave concerns about the legacy of uranium mining as well as the impact of its products. The fact that Australian uranium was in the failed reactors at Fukushima that have caused so much damage and human misery remains a source of great sadness for the Mirarr.
“To cite Ranger as a rationale for expanding the uranium industry in Australia is disingenuous,” Mr O’Brien concluded.
Aboriginal traditional wisdom shared in Canadian land management programme
It’s a vastly different way of looking at environmental stewardship
It means from an indigenous perspective that we are not separate from nature. We belong to nature and there is no disconnect between humans and nature. That’s something we find in most indigenous cosmologies, that we are not here to dominant or exploit nature. We’re here to protect it and take care of it,”
Today’s aboriginal elders — with their links to the past — are forging an environmental future, Winnipeg Free Press By: Alexandra Paul 11/17/2012 “…..It used to be that you’d ask an elder if you had a question about anything aboriginal or wanted to understand traditions such as Ohcinewin.
But now, those in younger generations, such as Cook, 33, bring that ancient wisdom to bear on new applications, such as university programs in Western Canada that focus on aboriginal governance, environmental practices and literature. With the environment, the most practical application of traditional knowledge is tied to land management. Continue reading
Is the Australian government manipulating Aboriginal Northern Land Council on nuclear waste dump plans?
Government got it wrong on Muckaty, commission needed to reach radioactive waste solution 07 Nov 2012 | Scott Ludlam The Greens have called on the Federal Government to come clean on whether it is behind moves by the Northern Land Council to nominate a new site on Muckaty station for a Radioactive Waste Dump.
“The Government is clearly terrified it may lose a Federal Court action launched by Traditional Owners of the area. Remarkably, just when the Commonwealth’s desperate proposal finally comes apart at the seams, NT Chief Minister Terry Mills has surrendered and now claims to support the dump. Chief Minister Mills has met with Minister Martin Ferguson – cutting a deal in Canberra to the exclusion of the local community.
“In March 2012 the Greens moved amendments for an independent commission on radioactive waste but hit a wall of opposition from the Labor Party and the Coalition.
“This Commission would apply world’s best practice to responsibly deal with Australia’s radioactive waste inventory, which may have to involve a more sophisticated management regime than dumping the waste containers in a shed on a cattle station.
“This latest move for an alternate site replicates the same tactics that sparked the Muckaty debacle in the first place. It is time to change the strategy. We need an approach that is democratic, fair, and scientifically sound.”
Vague, veiled discussion on new nuclear dump site, as legal case continues on Muckaty proposal
NLC pledges more talks with waste dump opponents
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-08/muckaty-station-waste-dump-talks-follow/4360760?§ion=news By Michael Coggan. 8 Nov 12 The Northern Land Council says people involved in a legal dispute over a site earmarked for the case construction of a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory will be consulted about plans to nominate a second site.
The NLC says about 60 people attended a formal meeting yesterday to discuss the nomination of a second site at Muckaty Station, north of Tennant Creek.
Lawyer Elizabeth O’Shea, who is representing the people challenging the first site, says her clients were shut out of the meeting.
An NLC spokeswoman says Ms O’Shea’s clients will be consulted in a separate meeting that was arranged prior to yesterday’s meeting at Muckaty Station.
Ms O’Shea says traditional owners who did attend that meeting said they were not shown a map of where the proposed second site might be.
She says the NLC must say what it plans to do to overcome the clear division that exists over the first site, which will persist in any additional nomination. “If families don’t agree about what should happen on the land, what’s the NLC going to do?” she asked.
The nomination of the first proposed site on Muckaty Station is being challenged in the Federal Court.
Aboriginal traditional owners kept in the dark about a plan to change proposed nuclear waste dump site
NLC in talks about alternate nuclear waste site, ABC News By Michael Coggan, 6 Nov 12 :
The Northern Land Council has confirmed it is about to start formal talks about a new site for a proposed nuclear waste facility in the Northern Territory. The Federal Government is planning to build a national nuclear waste dump in the Territory.
The only site nominated is on Aboriginal land at Muckaty Station, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek.
That nomination is being challenged in the Federal Court by local land owners opposed to the dump.
NLC chairman Wali Wunungmurra has confirmed that formal consultations will begin this week about a proposed second site on a different section of land on Muckaty Station. The consultation process is expected to continue into next year.
Chief Minister Terry Mills says he will talk with the Northern Land Council about the move.
He says there needs to be an alternative site for a national waste dump if the legal challenge is successful……
Opponents of any nuclear waste facility being built in the Territory say Aboriginal traditional owners have not been told about a meeting to discuss a new site.
Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Alliance says more people should’ve been told about the consultations.
“It is disappointing that, once again, the Northern Land Council does not seem to be very broadly notifying people about this meeting,” she said. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-06/nlc-nuclear-wastle-dump-talks-muckaty-station/4355986?section=nt
AUDIO: Aboriginal rights will be eroded as Queensland develops uranium mining
Uranium mining in Australia has removed Aboriginal rights in uranium States and territories. Queensland’s Aboriginals are next in line for this, as Newman government sets up a committee, with Aboriginal uranium lobbyist invited to join it.
‘Nuclear racism’ concern over Qld uranium mining http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/Podcasts/radionews/episode/239743/-Nuclear-racism-concern-over-Qld-uranium-mining 31 Oct 2012 By Stefan Armbruster Queensland Aboriginal groups are being warned their legal rights could be eroded as the state moves to resume uranium mining. Queensland Aboriginal groups are being warned their legal rights could be eroded as the state moves to resume uranium mining.
Last week the state’s Liberal National Party government said it would end the uranium mining ban introduced by Labor in 1989. The Queensland government has asked indigenous employment advocate and Australian Uranium Association director Warren Mundine to join a committee overseeing renewed mining.
In other states and territories, uranium mining has partial or total exemptions from Aboriginal land rights and heritage laws. Friends of the Earth’s national nuclear campaigner, Jim Green, told Queensland correspondent Stefan Armbruster it is a bad sign, given Australia’s past of so-called “nuclear racism”.
Nuclear lobby’s Aboriginal poster boy Warren Mundine to oversee Queensland uranium mining?
Warren Mundine asked to oversee Qld uranium mining BY: ROSANNE BARRETT The Australian October 30, 2012 FORMER Labor party president Warren Mundine has been approached to oversee the resurrection of Queensland’s uranium mining industry.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman told parliament today that Mr Mundine’s appointment to the uranium implementation committee was “subject to confirmation”. – subscription only
Call to Aboriginal land councils to avoid uranium
Aboriginal land councils urged to avoid uranium http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-23/aboriginal-land-councils-urged-to-avoid-uranium/4328580/?site=indigenous&topic=latest Eugene Boisvert 23, 2012 An environmental activist says Aboriginal land councils may apply for permits to explore for uranium because they now don’t have to give permission for exploration on their land.
Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative is organising a protest next month, when expressions of interest for the permits close.
The far west is believed to be rich in uranium. Ms Wasley says exploration will inevitably lead to mining, and that the Broken Hill Aboriginal Land Council should have to give permission for mining activity to happen on their land.
“Unfortunately when the exploration laws changed they actually altered the Aboriginal Land Rights Act to say that local councils don’t have to give consent for exploration to go ahead,” she said. “This is a very retrograde move and something that should be very strongly opposed.” Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative says it is unclear
who has applied for the licences, but she believes Aboriginal Land Councils will apply.
“I believe there’s been an expression of interest put in but we’re not sure who’s actually made applications until the application period closes on the 13th of November,” she said.
“There’ll be a rally outside Parliament House on that day where lots of different organisations are sending representatives to say that we don’t want any exploration licences to be granted. The ABC has attempted to contact the Broken Hill Aboriginal Land Council for comment.
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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