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Johnson, Jane; Lemezina, Zrinka --- "Months in Review - September / October" [2009] IndigLawB 41; (2009) 7(14) Indigenous Law Bulletin 30


Months in Review – September/October

Compiled by Jane Johnson and Zrinka Lemezina

01.09

World Vision today launched the Mapoon Private Home Ownership Scheme in Cape York. The three-year scheme - developed in coordination with Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council, Indigenous Business Australia and government agencies - will help more than 60 families buy their own homes by helping them with the legal and financial challenges. Chief Executive, Tim Costello says the Queensland Government needs to do more to encourage home ownership in remote Indigenous communities.

03.09

The Queensland Government today announced a review of laws covering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander councils. Minister for Local Government and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Desley Boyle, says the legislation under review includes hunting and gathering rights and councils' power to employ community police to enforce laws. Ms Boyle says it will ensure the same laws apply to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island councils and other local governments throughout the state.

07.09

More than 150 submissions were received in response to the proposed management plan for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which cites cultural, environmental and safety concerns as a reason to ban climbers from the sacred rock. Submissions are now closed.

09.09

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation released a study showing that the diversity of food in Indigenous communities around the world is threatened by the spread of Western eating habits and globalisation. About three-quarters of the genetic diversity once found in agricultural crops has been lost over the last century.

10.09

The NT communities of Maningrida, Gunbalanya and Wadeye today signed 40-year leases with Government, allowing for the construction of new houses under the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program.

11.09

Federal Arts Minister, Peter Garrett today opened Culture Warriors at the Katzen Arts Centre, at the American University in Washington. Originally assembled by the National Gallery in commemoration of the 1967 referendum, it is the largest contemporary Indigenous art exhibition to be taken offshore. Featuring works from 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, the exhibition is part of the Australia Presents program and runs from September to December.

14.09

The Native Title Amendment Bill 2009 was today passed in Federal Parliament, providing for greater use of mediation and giving the Federal Court control over the management of native title claims. Commonwealth Attorney-General, Robert McClelland says the new laws will improve the efficiency and timeliness of claims and that the new measures will ‘improve the operation of the native title system and the outcomes that can be achieved under it.’

17.09

Barbara Shaw, an Alice Springs town camp community leader, says the Federal Government needs to increase its economic development efforts in Indigenous communities. Ms Shaw says the need is more urgent since the Federal Government started moving people away from Community Development Employment Projects (‘CDEP’) onto Work for the Dole in July. Whereas the first was seen to provide ‘real jobs’, Ms Shaw says that the second is regarded as ‘sit-down money’.

18.09

The Auditor-General is investigating the NT Government's decision to allocate $500,000 to two Aboriginal organisations in respect of undefined community consultations. The grants were made in favour of a Yunupingu family-run group in Arnhem Land and an organisation called Thamarrur Incorporated at Wadeye. NT Opposition spokesman for Indigenous policy, Adam Giles, says ‘no one in the Territory seems to know why the money was provided and what it was provided for.’

24.09

Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett today announced a 1.4 million hectare conservation area running from Kakadu to the Arafura Sea. The two new Indigenous Protected Areas will be managed and protected by traditional owners, who have entered into agreements to promote biodiversity and to conserve cultural resources in accordance with international standards.

In developing WA’s first uranium mine at Yeerlirrie, BHP Billiton has agreed to be advised by the Ngalia people and to incorporate their ecological knowledge of the land. BHP says that this knowledge will be included at the planning, design and monitoring stages of the project.

30.09

The national swine flu vaccination program started today in all states and territories. Specialised vaccination clinics will be set up in QLD and NT, with mobile nursing teams being sent out to hospitals in remote Indigenous communities.

Queensland Parliament today tabled the fourth quarterly report on the Cape York Family Responsibilities Commission. The report shows a dramatic improvement in school attendance in Aurukun and Mossman Gorge but a slight drop in Coen and Hopevale. Indigenous educator Dr Chris Sarra has criticised the $48 million program, arguing that the Stronger, Smarter approach is cheaper and more effective with its focus on developing school cultures, embracing Aboriginal identity, working collaboratively and respectfully with communities, and on creating high expectations in classrooms.

02.10

Thousands of Indigenous workers seeking millions of dollars in unpaid wages have secured a two-week extension to lodge a claim with the NSW Government for the full amount. After 16 October, claims will be capped at $11,000.

05.10

Save the Children today released a report finding that Indigenous children are three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than non-Indigenous children. The rates are comparable to some of the world’s most underdeveloped countries, including East Timor and the Solomon Islands. The report attributes the high rates to poverty, lack of health care services and poor nutrition. The group is urging the Federal Government to double spending on children’s health.

07.10

Professor Ross Garnaut, who drafted the Federal Government’s Climate Change Review, delivered the Eddie Koiki Mabo Lecture at James Cook University in Townsville today. Professor Garnaut’s lecture, Climate Change from the Perspective of the Torres Strait, places community climate challenges in the context of global policies.

08.10

The National Human Rights Consultation Committee today released its report on the desirability of a National Human Rights Act. President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Cathy Branson QC said that ‘the report emphatically demonstrates that human rights matter to Australians, wherever they live, and they want our Government to make sure that rights are better protected and better understood.’

The Federal Court’s determination of native title over land in Cape York in favour of the Wik and Wik Way people has taken effect. The determination, made during a special sitting in Aurukun in July, was conditional on the registration of a land use agreement between traditional owners and Cook Shire Council.

13.10

SA Attorney-General, Michael Atkinson described a group of Aboriginal gang members as ‘pure evil’ with no hope of rehabilitation. Neil Gillespie of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement says the comments were ‘very disappointing’ and that, as a caring and mature society, we should rise above the ‘rack ‘em, pack ‘em and stack ‘em in jails’ approach.

15.10

The High Court today refused to grant special leave to traditional owners wishing to appeal a Federal Court determination that Fortescue Metals Group had not failed to negotiate in good faith regarding mining tenements in the Pilbara region. The Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, representing the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, said that the decision has significant ramifications for native title claimants. Chief Executive, Simon Hawkins said that it means that ‘mining companies are no longer required to have substantial negotiations with Indigenous people regarding the use of their land. This will further economically disenfranchise Indigenous people and render them powerless against big business.’

Jessica Mauboy, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, Seaman Dan, Michael O’Loughlin, Jamal Idris, Johnathan Thurston, Luke Carrol, Leah Purcell, Samson and Delilah and ABC TV’s Message Stick program were among those recognised at the annual Deadly Awards hosted at the Opera House tonight.

21.10

Commonwealth Attorney-General, Robert McClelland today introduced the Native Title Amendment Bill (No 2) 2009 (Cth) into Parliament. The legislation is aimed at speeding up delivery of public housing and infrastructure in Indigenous communities.

22.10

The Federal Court today made a consent determination recognising the Kowanyama people’s native title rights over 2731sqkm of land and waters in southwestern Cape York. The determination also granted non-exclusive rights to another 213sqkm sea area. The decision does not cover the claim over the Kowanyama township or the17,000sqkm of pastoral leases.

Former ATSIC Chair, Lowitja O’Donoghue has criticsed as ‘ridiculous’ the money being spent on establishing a new national Indigenous representative body. Ms O’Donoghue considers that it would have been better to reform rather than dismantle ATSIC than pursue this current process, which is expensive and exhausting. A spokeswoman for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma (Chair of the steering committee charged with developing the new model), declined to say how much had been spent, adding that the matter was now with Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin.

29.10

Vice-chairman of the Adnyamathana Traditional Lands Association says the SA Government’s environmental management plan over the Flinders Rangers is ‘very disappointing’. The plan identifies where mining will be restricted and where it may still be carried out. Traditional owners have been negotiating land use agreements with Government over the area and the unilateral plan appears to override those arrangements.

30.10

The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey. The ABS found gains in education, health and employment over the six years to 2008 but, because of gains for all Australians, significant gaps remain between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.


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