tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/aboriginal-land-rights-11922/articlesAboriginal Land Rights – The Conversation2023-02-19T19:09:36Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1980642023-02-19T19:09:36Z2023-02-19T19:09:36ZLong before the Voice vote, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association called for parliamentary representation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508005/original/file-20230203-19611-85lvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=113%2C11%2C3778%2C1982&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Maynard</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and/or images of deceased people.</em></p>
<p>The most startling point on the referendum for a Voice to parliament is the fact the majority of people in this country have no idea of history. And I mean both Black and white people. </p>
<p>Australian history, as written for nearly two thirds of the 20th century, glorified discoverers, explorers, settlers, and Gallipoli. We as Aboriginal people had been conveniently erased from the historical landscape and memory. Most Australians gave Aboriginal people little or no consideration.
The majority of Aboriginal people were trapped in a historical vacuum through the fact that great numbers of our people had been confined to heavily congested and controlled missions and reserves.</p>
<p>As part of this confinement, we were encouraged to forget our past. Everyday decisions were removed from people; they were told what to eat, what to wear, who you could marry, and their movement was severely restricted. There was a process of historical erasure and memory. </p>
<p>We were to be severed from any sense of past or inspiration. We could not participate in ceremonies, speak our language, tell our stories, practice songs and dances or conduct our everyday hunting and living experiences. Over time our people could only remember the controlled life on the reserve. It became the pattern of misery.</p>
<p>In his 1968 Boyer lecture, <a href="https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C695416">After the Dreaming</a>, anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner exposed Australia’s failure to regard, record or acknowledge Aboriginal people in the country’s history. Australian history, he said, had been constructed with:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a view from a window which had been carefully placed to exclude a whole quadrant of the landscape.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is critically important in history understanding is that the call for a Voice to parliament is not a new initiative. Aboriginal activists nearly 100 years ago first called for a voice to parliament as part of their political platform and demands during the 1920s.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-1881-maloga-petition-a-call-for-self-determination-and-a-key-moment-on-the-path-to-the-voice-197796">The 1881 Maloga petition: a call for self-determination and a key moment on the path to the Voice</a>
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<h2>The Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association</h2>
<p>The first Aboriginal political organisation, the <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/formation-of-the-aapa">Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association</a> (AAPA), was formed in Sydney in 1924 and led by my grandfather Fred Maynard. </p>
<p>It advocated several key demands in protecting the rights of Aboriginal people, centring on:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a national land rights agenda</p></li>
<li><p>protecting Aboriginal children from being taken from their families</p></li>
<li><p>a call for genuine Aboriginal self-determination</p></li>
<li><p>citizenship in our own country</p></li>
<li><p>defending a distinct Aboriginal cultural identity</p></li>
<li><p>and the insistence Aboriginal people be placed in charge of Aboriginal affairs. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The call for Aboriginal rights to land was explicit. Leader Fred Maynard <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24046334">declared</a>:</p>
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<p>The request made by this association for sufficient land for each eligible family is justly based. The Australian people are the original owners of the land and have a prior right over all other people in this respect.</p>
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<p>The association’s conference in Sydney was front page news in the Sydney Daily Guardian. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C263%2C1914%2C931&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C263%2C1914%2C931&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=682&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507778/original/file-20230202-5920-1iaiaf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=858&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The AAPA’s first conference front page news in Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image supplied by John Maynard.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Over 200 Aboriginal people attended this conference held at St David’s Church and Hall in Riley Street, Surry Hills.</p>
<p>In the space of six short months the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association had expanded to 13 branches, four sub-branches and a membership in excess of 600.</p>
<p>Its established offices in Crown Street, Sydney and a state-wide network of information regarding Aboriginal people.</p>
<h2>Calls for direct representation in parliament</h2>
<p>Late in October 1925, the association held a second conference in Kempsey, New South Wales. It ran over three days with over 700 Aboriginal people in attendance. </p>
<p>It was noted in press coverage of the conference that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>pleas were entered for direct representation in parliament.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Two years later in 1927, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association produced a manifesto. It was delivered to all sections of government – both state and federal – and published widely across NSW, South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland.</p>
<p>One of the significant points was for an Aboriginal board to be established under the Commonwealth government, and for state control over Aboriginal lives be abolished. It envisioned:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The control of Aboriginal affairs, apart from common law rights shall be vested in a board of management comprised of capable educated Aboriginals under a chairman to be appointed by the government.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This board would not be comprised of government-selected or handpicked individuals but would be Aboriginal elected officers. </p>
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<p>This push for an Aboriginal board or place in parliament continued in 1929, when Fred Maynard spoke to the Chatswood Willoughby Labour League in NSW on Aboriginal issues. A report in the The Labor Daily newspaper in February that year mentioned his call for:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Aboriginal representative in the federal parliament, or failing it, to have an [A]boriginal ambassador appointed to live in Canberra to watch over his people’s interests and advise the federal authorities.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Surveillance, threats, intimidation, abuse</h2>
<p>The Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association disappeared from public view in late 1929. </p>
<p>There is strong <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24046334">evidence</a> the organisation was effectively broken up through the combined efforts of the NSW Aborigines Protection Board, missionaries, and the police. </p>
<p>The state government and the Protection Board had been embarrassed by the exposure of their unjust policies in the media and wanted the organisation broken up.</p>
<p>Fred Maynard, in a newspaper interview in late 1927 in The Newcastle Sun revealed the level of surveillance, threat, intimidation, and abuse he and the other Aboriginal activists were subjected to. The report noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He said that he had been warned on many occasions that the doors of Long Bay were opening for him. He would cheerfully go to jail for the remainder of his life, he declared if, by so doing he could make the people of Australia realise the truly frightful administration of the Aborigines Act. He knew cases where children had been torn from their mothers and sent into absolute slavery.</p>
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<p>When one ponders upon the legacy of the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association the sad reality is that if the demands of these early activists had been met nearly a century ago, we would not be suffering the severe disadvantage that hovers over Aboriginal lives still today.</p>
<p>Imagine if enough land for each and every Aboriginal family to build their own economic independence had been granted.</p>
<p>Or that we would not have suffered another five decades of Aboriginal child removal and the shocking impact of that policy on generations of Aboriginal lives. </p>
<p>If the demand to protect a distinct Aboriginal cultural identity had been taken up, we would not today be working to piece together the shattered cultural pieces of language, stories, songs, and dances. </p>
<p>And finally, if Aboriginal people had been placed in a position to oversee Aboriginal policy and needs, the history of our people would have been vastly different. </p>
<p>The reality today is we continue to fight for the demands that the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association established nearly 100 years ago.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/capturing-the-lived-history-of-the-aborigines-protection-board-while-we-still-can-46259">Capturing the lived history of the Aborigines Protection Board while we still can</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198064/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Maynard received funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) grants program examining Aboriginal political protest back in 2003-2010.</span></em></p>The sad reality is that if the demands of these early activists had been met nearly a century ago, we would not be suffering the severe disadvantage that hovers over Aboriginal lives still today.John Maynard, Director/Chair of Aboriginal History - The Wollotuka Institute, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1861212022-07-14T04:48:48Z2022-07-14T04:48:48ZIn NSW there have been significant wins for First Nations land rights. But unprocessed claims still outnumber the successes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/474031/original/file-20220714-16-vcph23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sydney-nsw-australia-january-26-2021-1906412911">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For First Nations people, land is the most important aspect of life and well-being. Successful land rights claims for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the result of years of protest and advocacy. </p>
<p>This success led to the creation of land rights Acts across Australia. However, the recent figures of <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">unprocessed land claims</a> in New South Wales point to failures in the processes of land rights for Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>Successful <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/land-rights/land-claims/">land rights claims</a> lead not only to rights to land, but also to the ability to provide <a href="https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-018-3764-8">health</a> and <a href="https://alc.org.au/social-housing/">housing services</a> for Aboriginal communities. When land rights claims are denied or prolonged, First Nations Peoples’ health and well-being can suffer, from not being allowed ownership of their own Country.</p>
<p>In approving land rights for First Nations People, there is potential for economic independence for communities through the establishment of more community-led land councils, with revenue <a href="https://alc.org.au/nswalc-enterprises/">providing</a> for community benefit programs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/was-new-aboriginal-heritage-act-keeps-mining-interests-ahead-of-the-culture-and-wishes-of-traditional-owners-173239">WA's new Aboriginal Heritage Act keeps mining interests ahead of the culture and wishes of Traditional Owners</a>
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<h2>So what’s happening in NSW?</h2>
<p>In NSW, the creation of land councils across the state led to the successful granting <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fifty-years-on-from-the-tent-embassy-the-unfinished-business-of-land-rights-in-nsw-20220126-p59r94.html">more than 3,000</a> land rights claims. However, this is just a fraction of the number of unprocessed claims, of which there were reportedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/10/a-national-disgrace-37000-aboriginal-land-claims-left-languishing-by-nsw#:%7E:text=There%20are%2037%2C000%20unresolved%20Aboriginal,a%20form%20of%20institutional%20racism">37,000</a> as of 2020 – many of them having been lodged more than a decade earlier. </p>
<p>The number in 2022 has climbed higher still, and is now <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">38,200</a>. </p>
<p>Based on the current rate of approvals, it would not <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">be until 2044</a> that these claims would be processed. These claims impact more than <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">1.12 million</a> hectares of land. </p>
<p>The auditor-general’s 2022 <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">report</a> suggests neither the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet nor the NSW Department of Planning and Environment has the resources needed to process all these land rights claims in a timely manner. </p>
<p>The NSW Department of Planning and Environment may not been meeting its statutory requirement to process claims resulting in ongoing delays. This has resulted in Aboriginal land councils and communities being denied rights to land because their claims remain unprocessed for <a href="https://www.nit.com.au/nsw-government-sees-spike-in-unprocessed-aboriginal-land-claims/">many years</a>. </p>
<p>Without land rights claims being processed, communities may lack access to basic services and economic development as well as being denied their rights to land.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-destruction-why-the-wa-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill-will-not-prevent-another-juukan-gorge-like-disaster-173232">A history of destruction: why the WA Aboriginal cultural heritage bill will not prevent another Juukan Gorge-like disaster</a>
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<h2>A history of fighting for our land</h2>
<p>The issue of land rights for First Nations peoples claims stretches back many decades. However, there have been responses from affected communities that have provided positive outcomes.</p>
<p>One example is the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/land-rights">Wave Hill strikes</a> in 1966 began as a call for wages and grew into advocacy which demanded the return of land. This land was given back by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1972. After the failure of the <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/land-rights">Gove land rights</a> case, the Whitlam government launched the Woodward Commission to examine how land could be given back to Aboriginal communities. The result was the first <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00111">land rights Act</a> passed by the Fraser government in 1976. This allowed for the purchase of land by the government or granting of Crown lands for claims to be held for Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>Similar Acts were then passed in the following years, including the <a href="http://www7.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdb/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/alra1983201/">Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW)</a>. Through this Act, land councils were created which could make claims to land as compensation for communities and to promote economic growth. The Act in NSW, however, only allows the claiming of Crown land – that is, unoccupied land held by the state. </p>
<h2>Legislative challenges</h2>
<p>The land claims must refer to land that is not impacted by native title, so it is essential to know the difference between land rights and native title. </p>
<p>Land rights are classified as claims to land made by Aboriginal land councils, whereas native title are claims by Traditional Owners. The establishment of native title was a result of the <a href="https://jade.io/article/67683?at.hl=mabo">Mabo (No. 2)</a> decision and led to the creation of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00054">Native Title Act 1993</a>. Land rights legislation predates this and can often lead to overlap between land rights and native title claims which can impact various cultural groups’ claims to Country. </p>
<p>Aboriginal land councils are <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/land-rights/nswalc-and-the-lalc-network-to-aboriginal-land-councils-in-nsw/">organisations</a> created by the Act and run by community leaders, whereas Traditional Owners have a traditional claim to land based on ongoing occupation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nsw-government-needs-to-stop-prosecuting-aboriginal-fishers-if-it-really-wants-to-close-the-gap-168749">The NSW government needs to stop prosecuting Aboriginal fishers if it really wants to Close the Gap</a>
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<h2>Improvements to the land claims process</h2>
<p>However the 2022 report lists <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">possible improvements</a> to allow for the processing of land rights claims. These suggestions include improved governance, a ten-year plan, staff education programs and procedural updates to the registrar system.</p>
<p>The NSW Department of Planning and Environment should also have better communication and cooperation with land councils. This would be the greatest improvement to the process ensuring First Nations land councils are able to be heard.</p>
<p>Local Aboriginal Land Councils have described the ongoing failing as a <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">lack of transparency</a>. However, there are some positives emerging. </p>
<p>In mid-2020 the NSW Department of Planning and Environment created an Aboriginal Land Strategy Directorate, increased staffing and set targets. This resulted, in the second half of 2021, the granting of <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">207 claims</a>, many more than previous years. </p>
<p>In addition, consultation with Aboriginal land councils has resulted in the prioritising of claims. Despite this, many more claims need to be processed. It leads to hope that the latest 2022 auditor-general <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">report</a> will lead to more substantial policy reform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186121/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lydia McGrady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In NSW and wider Australia, there is a history of First Nations people fighting for land rights. However, while there have been successes, there are a significant number of unprocessed claims in NSW.Lydia McGrady, PhD Candidate, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1721422021-12-16T02:27:47Z2021-12-16T02:27:47ZBook Review: Country is an urgent call to learn from Indigenous knowledges to care for the land<p>“We know we can do better than this, don’t we?” </p>
<p>This line sits towards the concluding paragraphs of <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/country-bruce-pascoe/book/9781760761554.html">Country: Future Fire, Future Farming</a>, by Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian activist and author Bruce Pascoe and non-Indigenous historian Bill Gammage.</p>
<p>The book is part of the wider six-part “First Knowledges” series published by Thames and Hudson in collaboration with the National Library of Australia. It focuses on a collection of topics, including astronomy, design, law and, in the case of this book, Country.</p>
<p>As stated by editor Margo Neale in the introduction, the overarching series is designed to “stimulate and provoke you to enlarge your mind and expand your worldview to encompass limitless other possibilities, including ways in which you can learn from the Aboriginal archive of knowledge embodied in Country.” </p>
<p>For many, the book will be a timely invitation to be a part of constructive dialogue and a call to take action, especially in light of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-why-the-cop26-summit-ended-in-failure-and-disappointment-despite-a-few-bright-spots-171723">lacklustre resolutions from COP26</a> and following <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-staggering-1-8-million-hectares-burned-in-high-severity-fires-during-australias-black-summer-157883">the Black Summer bushfires</a>. </p>
<p>For myself, a non-Indigenous scholar researching waters throughout Eora Country, I humbly come to this review with deep awareness of my position, and firmly take up the invitation to be part of this dialogue and follow through with action.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-dark-emu-debate-limits-representation-of-aboriginal-people-in-australia-163006">How the Dark Emu debate limits representation of Aboriginal people in Australia</a>
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<h2>A conversation between experts</h2>
<p>Country: Future Fire, Future Farming is crafted to present the two authors’ own personal perspectives, while drawing on rich evidence to support their claims. </p>
<p>After their co-written opening chapter, Pascoe starts off the book’s first three solo-written chapters. Then, Gammage takes over with the next four, before they round off their thoughts in two distinctly separate but ideologically similar concluding chapters. </p>
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<img alt="A black book cover with the words " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=909&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437449/original/file-20211214-15-1yipmk0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1143&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://thamesandhudson.com.au/product/country-future-fire-future-farming/">Thames & Hudson Australia</a></span>
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<p>At the core of their book, Pascoe and Gammage affirm in varying ways that Aboriginal people were - and are - farmers and agriculturalists. Pascoe expands on this in his chapters by describing the ways Aboriginal peoples have made use of the plants and animals across Australia. </p>
<p>According to Pascoe, using and understanding these knowledges can make farming in Australia better. </p>
<p>Gammage’s chapters focuses almost entirely on fire – its use by Aboriginal people as a tool to farm the land, and the detrimental misunderstandings of Aboriginal fire practices appropriated by non-Indigenous people. </p>
<p>Consistently throughout the book, there is a subtle dialogue that emerges between the two authors. The dialogue could at times be more pressing, especially when contrasting perspectives arise, such as their differences in dating Aboriginal people’s presence on the continent or their interpretations of particular terms. </p>
<p>On their own, the wonderfully detailed chapters provide ample room to reflect on key ideas (farming and fire) which both authors have become known for. That said, at times, I craved a more emphatic conversation between the two.</p>
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<img alt="Two Aborginal Aunties digging for honey ants." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/437946/original/file-20211216-21-1ul0q16.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/yuendumu-nt-australie-february-15-2020-1706306179">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Payment where payment is due</h2>
<p>In both subject and in tone, Country: Future Fire, Future Farming feels like a polite conversation, with any arguments quite restrained. </p>
<p>Pascoe writes with urgency and an enthusiasm as vibrant as the landscapes he describes. He opens the book’s first chapter with an unequivocal call to arms – what is happening across Australia with land care (as well as the many other issues relating to Indigenous affairs) is not good enough anymore. </p>
<p>Quite consistently throughout, Pascoe reaffirms the idea that Aboriginal land care is done with the aim to better the “common wealth”, in contrast to the damaging practices of non-Indigenous settlers. </p>
<p>He asserts Aboriginal people should be the primary beneficiaries of wealth generated by land care practices that are environmentally <em>and</em> economically productive. </p>
<p>Similarly, Gammage directs non-Indigenous peoples not to “commandeer traditional expertise” – a hard-pressed claim to refute.</p>
<p>This tension of wanting to celebrate Indigenous knowledges while also ensuring it is not appropriated by non-Indigenous people for economic gain has been articulated as “bio-piracy.” The scholars Dr Daniel Robinson and Dr Miri Raven <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-plants-and-animals-have-long-been-used-without-indigenous-consent-now-queensland-has-taken-a-stand-144813">focus on this issue extensively in their work.</a></p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-agriculture-sector-sorely-needs-more-insights-from-first-nations-people-heres-how-we-get-there-173154">Australia's agriculture sector sorely needs more insights from First Nations people. Here's how we get there</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>We know we can do better than this</h2>
<p>The bulk of the book outlines the many intricate knowledges that Indigenous people across Australia have maintained. </p>
<p>Pascoe works tirelessly to address <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/05/17/bruce-pascoe-storytelling-history-and-cultural-pride">the misconception surrounding “hunter-gatherering”</a> - the idea that Indigenous peoples were only ever nomadic hunter-gatherers – which is also at the core of Pascoe’s acclaimed work, <a href="https://www.magabala.com/products/dark-emu">Dark Emu</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, Pascoe’s witty, sharp, and conversational chapters on plants and animals are what many have come to expect of him. </p>
<p>Gammage presents a pragmatic recount of the importance of fire to people in Australia – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, now and in the past. It is detailed and logical. In places, the practicality of Gammage’s writing overwhelms the reflexive narrative I was craving, especially when read against the works of <a href="https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/fire-country-by-victor-steffensen/9781741177268">Victor Steffensen</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-this-grandmother-tree-connects-me-to-country-i-cried-when-i-saw-her-burned-129782">Vanessa Cavanagh</a>. </p>
<p>That said, both the breadth of materials the two authors engage with, and the depth with which they are analysed, is impeccable. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/book-review-farmers-or-hunter-gatherers-the-dark-emu-debate-rigorously-critiques-bruce-pascoes-argument-161877">Recent critiques</a> of Pascoe’s engagement with evidence in relation to Dark Emu have brightened the discussions in this space. Quite pleasantly, Pascoe makes some effort to respond to these critiques, stating,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Hunting and gathering is a sustainable and healthy lifestyle but it is not the only thing that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people did. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The book’s interpretation of historical material, such as Pascoe’s commentary on the Melbourne Museum’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWVn8Lgxaeo">recent Indigenous Bread research</a>, or Gammage’s interrogation of historical archives, is invigorating, contemplative and lush.</p>
<p>Reading the book excites me to want to act to care for land, and respectfully celebrate Indigenous knowledges. If you have a desire to be part of the action, then this book is for you. </p>
<p>Country: Future Fire, Future Farming opens space for dialogue, but readers need to want to be part of this conversation to begin with.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172142/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor Coyne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Country by Bruce Pascoe and Bill Gammage is a dialogue between experts on First Nations ways of farming and agriculture. It is also a call to Australia to look after Country better.Taylor Coyne, Doctoral Candidate, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732392021-12-13T01:10:51Z2021-12-13T01:10:51ZWA’s new Aboriginal Heritage Act keeps mining interests ahead of the culture and wishes of Traditional Owners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/436500/original/file-20211208-27-1vui7za.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/window-one-western-most-iconic-natural-1641871246">shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Only a year after the 46,000 year-old sacred Aboriginal site Juukan Gorge was destroyed by Rio Tinto, the West Australian Legislative Council in Perth will pass an Aboriginal Heritage Bill that puts the interests of mining companies above the wishes of Traditional Owners.</p>
<p>The Senate inquiry report into the destruction of Juukan Gorge “<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Report">A way forward</a>” called for a new national framework of Aboriginal heritage protection co-designed with Aboriginal people. It recommended the responsibility for Aboriginal heritage to be reverted to the minister for Aboriginal affairs. </p>
<p>The report also called for a review of the Native Title Act 1993 to address inequalities in the negotiating position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples under the future act regime. The report’s authors were clear future work should recognise the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>This new law ensures mining companies can still apply to damage or destroy Aboriginal sacred sites, the minister for Aboriginal affairs still has the final decision making role to approve the damage or destruction of heritage sites, and non-Aboriginal “proponents” (mining companies and developers), can appeal if the result is not in their favour. Aboriginal groups have no such right of appeal if the ruling is not in their favour. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-history-of-destruction-why-the-wa-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill-will-not-prevent-another-juukan-gorge-like-disaster-173232">A history of destruction: why the WA Aboriginal cultural heritage bill will not prevent another Juukan Gorge-like disaster</a>
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<h2>Aboriginal land councils ignored</h2>
<p>The ALP majority government led by Premier Mark McGowan disregarded state Aboriginal land councils who expressed the bill was “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-30/wa-growing-calls-to-withdraw-aboriginal-heritage-bill/100661832">unacceptable</a>”.</p>
<p>An emergency request to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Race Discrimination outlining how the law entrenches systemic racial discrimination against Aboriginal Traditional Owners, was also ignored. </p>
<p>Aboriginal land council leaders called for a co-designed process to allow for Traditional Owners to increase protection of heritage sites. This was reflected in an <a href="https://nit.com.au/exclusive-eminent-australians-pen-open-letter-to-the-wa-premier-on-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill/">Open Letter of Concern</a> signed by 150 Aboriginal cultural leaders and renowned Australians. This letter pointed out the bill was weighted in favour of mining and economic interests over Aboriginal heritage, and breached United Nations treaty law. </p>
<p>However, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson argued the bill would give <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/11/New-Bill-to-deliver-better-protection-for-Aboriginal-cultural-heritage.aspx">better protection</a> for Aboriginal heritage and was the right thing for his government to do.</p>
<p>The main concern with the bill is the ongoing role of the minister to grant approval to mining companies and developers to damage and destroy heritage sites. The new act has replaced the old section 18 process which allowed the approval of more than 1,000 permissions by the state to approve the damage or destruction of Aboriginal heritage sites. </p>
<p>Rarely had the minister refused a section 18 application and protected a site. </p>
<p>Since the Aboriginal Heritage Act commenced in 1972, mining companies and developers have always relied on the Aboriginal Heritage Act - and the minister’s final decision making power - to lawfully damage or destroy heritage sites, as Rio Tinto did with Juukan Gorge.</p>
<p>This new act adopts (and misuses) the language of international human rights law. It does this by referencing Indigenous people must be given the opportunity to provide “free, prior and informed consent” to the damage of sites.</p>
<p>However the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/ipeoples/emrip/pages/emripindex.aspx">United Nations</a> says the test of free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous peoples includes the ability to exercise self determination, including over things which affect their lands. Given Indigenous peoples are not free to say “no” to harm, damage or destruction of their sites, this principle is not met by this bill.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-climate-change-activists-can-learn-from-first-nations-campaigns-against-the-fossil-fuel-industry-165869">What climate change activists can learn from First Nations campaigns against the fossil fuel industry</a>
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<h2>The state’s relationship with Aboriginal people</h2>
<p>Western Australia has made few meaningful attempts to respect First Nations people in its constitutional arrangements or systems of governance.</p>
<p>In 2015 the WA parliament, following extensive consultations, amended the state’s constitution to acknowledge Aboriginal people were the traditional custodians.</p>
<p>When he was opposition leader, McGowan said this was a “long overdue […] act of genuine reconciliation designed to reflect the historical reality of Western Australia.” </p>
<p>This act of genuine reconciliation appears to have been forgotten by the McGowan government during the passage of the Aboriginal Heritage Act.</p>
<p>In 2021 soaring iron ore prices led to a huge <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-09/wa-budget-5-point-6-billion-surplus-but-no-border-reopening-date/100438990">$5.6 billion budget surplus</a> – with WA outperforming all other states. A further $2.8 billion was projected for the next financial year and ongoing budget surplus forecast through 2024 -25. </p>
<p>This staggering amount of income from mining underlines the state’s conflict with Aboriginal people who wish to protect significant cultural sites, and might explain why the views of Aboriginal people are not being heard and respected. </p>
<p>Unlike most of Australia, Aboriginal people have never had any land rights legislation in Western Australia. The mining industry’s impact on the state was and continues to be very influential.</p>
<hr>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-native-title-fails-first-nations-people-are-turning-to-human-rights-law-to-keep-access-to-cultural-sites-169634">When native title fails: First Nations people are turning to human rights law to keep access to cultural sites</a>
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<h2>We have a right to protect and preserve our lands</h2>
<p>In September a group of West Australian First Nations people formally <a href="https://www.edo.org.au/2021/09/10/un-scrutiny-for-wa-cultural-heritage-bill-after-first-nations-referral/">contacted the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination</a> about the urgent action needed to address WA’s new heritage act.</p>
<p>The United Nations Committee on Friday, UN Human Rights Day <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1893/INT_CERD_ALE_AUS_9504_E.pdf?1639108443"> formally contacted the Australian government</a> highlight the concerns, seek a formal response and request they work with an expert body called the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to remedy the act.</p>
<p>What has happened in our state, to heritage lands and sacred sites, highlights our continued dispossession as peoples without recognised sovereignty and Treaty rights. Our peoples’ human rights are at the whim of a state acting with multinational mining interests in mind. Recent history shows the weakness and hypocrisy of the state’s reconciliation promise and symbolic constitutional recognition.</p>
<p>This reminds Aboriginal people we must continue to demand meaningful structural change and reform, as articulated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart’s claim for “Voice, Treaty and Truth”. </p>
<p>Substantive reforms, not hollow promises, are critical to Australia’s realisation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This includes the urgent need to honour our right to protect and preserve our respective lands, and our ancient heritage and culture.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this piece originally stated the West Australian First Nations people formally contacted the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this month instead of September.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173239/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah McGlade is a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues. </span></em></p>Senate Inquiry report “A way forward” recommended Aboriginal heritage protection be co-designed with Aboriginal people. However WA’s new Aboriginal Heritage Act seems to prioritise mining interests.Hannah McGlade, Associate professor, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732322021-12-07T03:46:15Z2021-12-07T03:46:15ZA history of destruction: why the WA Aboriginal cultural heritage bill will not prevent another Juukan Gorge-like disaster<p>Western Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 is <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/bills.nsf/BillProgressPopup?openForm&ParentUNID=F761A1DBBD9832A04825878F001FCB97">set to become law</a>, replacing the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. The Bill will be read tonight for the third and final time in Western Australia’s state parliament upper house. </p>
<p>It has been <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2021/11/New-Bill-to-deliver-better-protection-for-Aboriginal-cultural-heritage.aspx">spruiked</a> by the McGowan government as a step forward for the management of heritage in WA in the wake of the 2020 Juukan Gorge disaster. </p>
<p>However <a href="https://nit.com.au/letters-aboriginal-heritage-action-alliance-to-the-united-nations-on-the-aboriginal-cultural-heritage-bill/">many First Nations peoples in WA instead fear</a> it will continue a long tradition of Labor and Liberal WA Aboriginal Affairs ministers signing off on heritage destruction.</p>
<p>The key objection to the new legislation is that a single elected official will have the final say on whether a heritage site can be destroyed for development.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-a-heritage-conservation-problem-can-farming-and-aboriginal-heritage-protection-co-exist-170956">Australia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A history of failure to protect Aboriginal heritage</h2>
<p>In the 49 years since the existing Act was created, successive ministers on both sides of politics have proven weak on heritage protection in Western Australia. Almost every minister for Aboriginal affairs, on either side of the political spectrum, has failed to protect Aboriginal heritage. </p>
<p>*<em>Look at the history. *</em></p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-623" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/623/c0f5387e8208292c7b1c338e04029892fd91c254/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-nsw-government-needs-to-stop-prosecuting-aboriginal-fishers-if-it-really-wants-to-close-the-gap-168749">The NSW government needs to stop prosecuting Aboriginal fishers if it really wants to Close the Gap</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How this proposed bill is more of the same</h2>
<p>No matter how important the site, the minister for Aboriginal affairs has rarely rejected a development application. Of 463 mining-related applications to impact sites under section 18 of the Act since 2010, <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/B1A907F91514EE75482585D0000E36B3/$file/C40%20S1%2020200617%20All.pdf">none were rejected</a>. This bill gives little reason to expect change.</p>
<p>Much like the old Aboriginal Heritage Act, the proposed bill allows that when a developer wishes to impact a site despite objections by Aboriginal Traditional Owners or custodians, a government-appointed council overseen by the minister will be the one to make decisions. </p>
<p>However the developer can appeal to the state administrative tribunal over ministerial decisions they don’t like. The Aboriginal custodians for that area will not have an equivalent right of appeal.</p>
<p>There is a convoluted process requiring engagement between Aboriginal people and developers. However, developers will be able to decide when they must talk to Aboriginal parties about possible impact on a cultural heritage site. Aboriginal people will not have the right to prevent such an impact, only the right to be told about it.</p>
<p>Aboriginal parties will have no on-going resourcing to fulfil new responsibilities to manage heritage listings and protect sites. This is a concern for smaller and less resourced groups and sets up obvious conflicts if the developer is to fund all costs for managing heritage on a project, as currently proposed. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-australian-government-must-listen-to-torres-strait-leaders-on-climate-change-171384">Why the Australian government must listen to Torres Strait leaders on climate change</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>We need a better way forward</h2>
<p>All this flies in the face of the findings of the recommendations of the report released in October of the federal inquiry into the Juukan Cave disaster, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Report">A Way Forward</a>. This report called for, among other things, the right for Indigenous people to withhold consent to destruction of an important place.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">fundamental human right</a> is not a veto against development. Impacting Juukan Gorge <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">was not critical</a> to the success of the Brockman 4 mine proposal. A robust business case does not depend on access to a single site.</p>
<p>Where the Bill fails heritage, it <a href="https://acsi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ACSI-submission-WA-Aboriginal-Cultural-Heritage-Bill-2020-161020.pdf">creates risk</a> for business certainty and undermines “social license” - the support that large businesses need in the community. Last month, ACSI and HESTA, representing major funds commanding hundreds of billions of dollars, <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/investors-call-for-pause-on-wa-aboriginal-heritage-laws-20211119-p59abr#:%7E:text=Investors%20managing%20%24461%20billion%20have,not%20adequately%20protect%20significant%20sites.;%20https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-22/wa-sacred-sites-bill-prevent-juukan-gorge-incidents-investors/100638520">publicised their concerns </a>about investing in WA projects that would be approved under the proposed system. </p>
<p>Aboriginal community support is thin. In October, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson <a href="https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Hansard/hansard.nsf/0/1551af9a706cd9b64825876f0021be77/$FILE/C41+S1+20211012+p4160b-4160b.pdf">was unable</a> to identify any Aboriginal organisation that supports the bill. Since then, one Aboriginal organisation <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/aboriginal-heritage-laws-to-prevent-another-juukan-gorge/100626030">voiced support</a>. Their view must be respected, but this does not represent consensus across affected communities.</p>
<p>A Way Forward sets out better models. For example, in the Northern Territory there is an <a href="https://www.aapant.org.au/about-us/northern-territory-aboriginal-sacred-sites-act">authority board </a>of Aboriginal law men and women who administer the functions of their Act, with practical independence from the NT Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. </p>
<p>To Premier McGowan and Minister Dawson, we say:
If you want to change a history of heritage destruction to a future of heritage protection, Aboriginal people should have an independent right of review for ministerial decisions, and have genuine power to make decisions about heritage sites.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173232/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe Dortch is a Director of Dortch Cuthbert (a heritage consultancy), and Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia. He is the President of the Australian Archaeological Association and a Full Member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated. Both organisations have made submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia on the destruction of sites at Juukan Gorge and to the Western Australian Government on the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill. In 2019-2020 he was a Heritage Advisor at Rio Tinto but was not involved with any of the events mentioned in the article, which are documented in public sources. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Poelina is affiliated with the following:
Dr Anne Poelina
Managing Director
Madjulla Inc
Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow
Nulungu Institute Research
University of Notre Dame
Chair
Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council
Director
Kimberley Land Council
Member
Aboriginal Water and Environmental Advisory Group
Department of Water and Environmental Regulations
Western Australian Government
Deputy Chair & Member
Committee on Aboriginal Water Interests
Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Commonwealth Government
Advisory Committee Member
Institute for Water Futures
Fenner School of Environment & Society
ANU College of Science
The Australian National University
Murray Darling Basin Authority Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Science
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Thomson is the owner of Thomson Cultural Heritage Management (a heritage consultancy), and PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia. She is a Full Member of and the Chairperson of the Western Australian chapter of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI); is a full international member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS); and is a member of the Australia ICOMOS Indigenous heritage reference group. Both organizations have made submissions to the WA government on the proposed WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill and also to the Joint Standing Committee on Nothern Australia on the destruction of sites at Juukan Gorge. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kado Muir is chair of the National Native Title Council and affiliated with Aboriginal Heritage Action Alliance. Kado once served a term as Specialist Anthropologist with the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee.</span></em></p>Western Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 is set to become law. But the new legislation states one elected official will decide whether heritage sites are destroyed for development.Joe Dortch, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaAnne Poelina, Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow, University of Notre Dame AustraliaJo Thomson, PhD student, The University of Western AustraliaKado Muir, Chair of National Native Title Council and Ngalia Cultural Leader, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1709562021-12-01T22:05:07Z2021-12-01T22:05:07ZAustralia has a heritage conservation problem. Can farming and Aboriginal heritage protection co-exist?<p>Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000 year old Juukan Gorge rock shelters has led to recommendations by the Parliamentary Inquiry on <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">how Australia can better conserve Aboriginal heritage sites</a>. </p>
<p>Around the time the recommendations were made, Queensland’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act faced an important test when a pastoralist who cleared 500 hectares of bushland at Kingvale Station in Cape York <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/qld-country-hour/scott-harris-cleared-of-breaching-cultural-heritage-act/13592850">was charged</a> with failing to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage. </p>
<p>The charges were eventually <a href="https://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/7474626/cultural-heritage-charges-against-scott-harris-dismissed/">dismissed</a> but the prosecution, the first of its kind in Queensland, highlights weaknesses in the law.</p>
<p>Like related legislation in other Australian states and territories, Queensland’s law requires landholders to conserve Aboriginal heritage sites or risk prosecution.</p>
<p>But the law has been criticised by many Aboriginal people and heritage specialists for allowing destructive development by removing any ability for government to independently assess how proposed clearing would affect Aboriginal heritage.</p>
<p>Under the “duty of care” provisions in the Act, Aboriginal heritage must be protected even if it is not known to landholders. However, as the Kingvale clearing case heard, if Aboriginal heritage is not known, how can it be shown to have been lost? </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-coastal-waters-are-rich-in-indigenous-cultural-heritage-but-it-remains-hidden-and-under-threat-166564">Australia's coastal waters are rich in Indigenous cultural heritage, but it remains hidden and under threat</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What we learned from the Kingvale clearing case</h2>
<p>In 2013, the former Newman government in Queensland removed protection for the environment by introducing the Vegetation Management Act which enabled clearing of what they deemed as “high value agricultural projects” in Cape York. </p>
<p>The World Wildlife Foundation argued this would see large areas of forest and bushland destroyed. Advocates for the new Act <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-05-22/veg-law-pass/4705890">argued</a> primary producers are “acutely aware of their responsibility to care for the environment”.</p>
<p>In opening up new areas of Cape York to clearing, this legislation posed new threats to heritage sites. In this context the landholder of Kingvale decided he did not need to assess cultural heritage when clearing 500 hectares.</p>
<p>At the conclusion of the hearing into this case, Judge Julie Dick of the Cairns District Court instructed the jury to return <a href="https://www.cairnspost.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CPWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cairnspost.com.au%2Fnews%2Fcairns%2Fcape-york-grazier-cleared-of-criminal-land-clearing-charges%2Fnews-story%2F1d124158e58936a302f1ee5d159ad841&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">a not-guilty verdict</a>, exonerating the landholder, as the offence could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. </p>
<p>The landholder’s legal team noted in the media if their defendant had been found guilty, every landholder (including freeholders) who had cleared land, built a fence or firebreak, ploughed a paddock, or built a road or airstrip since 2003 would potentially be guilty of a criminal offence.</p>
<p>The defendant argued the ramifications of the legal case were significant </p>
<blockquote>
<p>for the rest of Queensland […] anyone who mowed a lawn or cut down a tree since 2003 would be automatically liable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In our view, this is hyperbole. <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/2016-09-27/act-2003-079">Section 21 of the Act</a> makes explicit a person’s right to enjoy the normal and allowed use of their land to the extent they don’t harm Aboriginal heritage. </p>
<p>Further, a person doesn’t commit an offence if they take into account the nature of the activity and the likelihood of it causing harm. Mowing the lawn is quite different to clearing 500 hectares of native vegetation. </p>
<p>The setting of this activity is also important. Kingvale Station is located 100 kilometres west of the national heritage listed Quinkan Country. Heritage studies in similar landscapes across Cape York have identified scarred trees, artefact scatters, stone arrangements and cultural burial places. </p>
<p>Based on our heritage experience across Queensland, it would be surprising not to find Aboriginal heritage sites at Kingvale. </p>
<p>To reduce heritage risks, we assess the potential impacts of an activity, and talk with relevant Aboriginal groups about their sites and heritage values. Archaeologists and anthropologists also develop models to predict where unknown sites are likely to be found. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/431020/original/file-20211109-23-aylfq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recorded archaeological sites across Cape York. The distribution pattern reflects several key heritage surveys. It is expected that cultural sites would be found across the cape, including within the 500 hectares cleared at Kingvale. Image by Kelsey M. Lowe.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can farming and the conservation of Aboriginal heritage co-exist?</h2>
<p>The best way to conserve heritage is for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to work together to identify, document, and protect places. An important example is the discovery of human remains from a mortuary tree west of St George, southern Queensland. </p>
<p>The site was discovered during fence clearing by the landholder, who contacted the police. We worked with the landholder who has supported the Kooma nations people to conserve the mortuary tree and enable it to remain on country. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qKJs23hwLXA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Courtesy of Tony Miscamble, NGH Consulting.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A further example from Mithaka Country saw a spectacular stone arrangement discovered by a pastoral station manager, who notified the native title holders. </p>
<p>All are now engaging with researchers to <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fstones-point-way-to-indigenous-silk-road%2Fnews-story%2F8318b531d82263beab4afd089fd8d559&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium">investigate the site’s history</a>.</p>
<p>Dozens of other examples around the state illustrate collaborative approaches to heritage conservation. But more effective legislation is urgently needed in response to Kingvale’s failed prosecution.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430631/original/file-20211107-10010-f752su.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A spectacular stone arrangement from Mithaka country. Image courtesy of Lyndon Mechielsen</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How can we improve cultural heritage protection?</h2>
<p>The Juukan Gorge case highlighted how Australia has a problem protecting its Aboriginal cultural heritage. The final report of the parliamentary inquiry into the disaster made several <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">recommendations</a> that could help pave a way forward. </p>
<p>Instances like Kingvale emphasise more work needs to be done. The Queensland government needs to act now to address the glaring problem with its heritage legislation. </p>
<p>Heritage management investment will also help. Victoria provides an example of how to improve Aboriginal heritage management. A standout action is the roll-out of a Certificate IV in Aboriginal cultural heritage management, with over 500 Aboriginal graduates to date. </p>
<p>This program is decentralising heritage management and empowering Aboriginal people across Victoria, building a level of professionalism rarely seen in other states. </p>
<p>Establishing treaties and agreements similar to those in Canada and New Zealand could go a long way to enable First Nations people in Australia to authoritatively protect their respective cultural heritage sites. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-wet-tropics-wildlife-is-celebrated-worldwide-its-cultural-heritage-not-so-much-157147">The Wet Tropics' wildlife is celebrated worldwide. Its cultural heritage? Not so much</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Heritage conservation will remain challenging, particularly in resource-rich states like Queensland. But we can do better. </p>
<p>Judge Dick’s ruling, while frustrating for the effort to conserve heritage, is crucial as it highlights weaknesses in the law. </p>
<p>This trial, along with the Juukan Gorge incident, may represent a critical tipping point in the struggle to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage in Queensland and across Australia. </p>
<p><em>The authors wish to thank Jamin Moon for his consultation in the writing of this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170956/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Westaway receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Gorringe is Mithaka Traditional owner and General Manager of Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC. Mithaka has received funding from NIAA and QLD Caring for Country Grants. He is affiliated with Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsey M. Lowe receives funding from University of Queensland Strategic Research Investment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Martin receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Richard also receives funding from a range of Aboriginal groups across Queensland relating to native title claims and cultural heritage protection.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Mitchell Kooma Chairperson currently receives funding from NIAA for IPA Ranger Program Murra Murra and Bendee Downs Station owned by Kooma Traditional Owner association Inc </span></em></p>How can we improve the management of Queensland’s heritage sites? Can farming and the conservation of Aboriginal heritage co-exist?Michael Westaway, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Archaeology, School of Social Science, The University of QueenslandJoshua Gorringe, General Manager Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, Indigenous KnowledgeKelsey M. Lowe, Senior Research Fellow, The University of QueenslandRichard Martin, Senior lecturer, The University of QueenslandRoss Mitchell, Common Law holder and director of Kooma Aboriginal Corporation Native Title PBC, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1696342021-10-22T00:04:41Z2021-10-22T00:04:41ZWhen native title fails: First Nations people are turning to human rights law to keep access to cultural sites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426833/original/file-20211018-23-10mzbn9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For over six weeks, Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners have been performing continuous cultural ceremony at the edge of Adani’s Carmichael mine in central Queensland.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leah Light Photography</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a shift from their usual conduct, Queensland police have recognised the cultural rights of Wangan and Jagalingou cultural custodians to conduct ceremony under provisions of the 2019 Queensland Human Rights Act. </p>
<p>Because of this act, the police were able to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/03/queensland-police-refuse-to-remove-traditional-owners-occupying-adanis-coalmine-site">refuse</a> to action a complaint from Adani to remove Wangan and Jagalingou cultural custodians camping on their ancestral lands adjacent to the Adani coal pit.</p>
<p>The police also issued a “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2021/07/09/queensland-police-regret-interrupting-traditional-owners-ceremony">statement of regret</a>” for removing the group several months earlier. </p>
<p>The ceremonial grounds are on highly contested land that has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-people-no-longer-have-the-legal-right-to-say-no-to-the-adani-mine-heres-what-it-means-for-equality-122788">granted to Adani’s Carmichael coal mine</a> by the state government. </p>
<p><a href="https://nit.com.au/wangan-and-jagalingou-native-title-extinguished-to-make-way-for-adani/">In August 2019</a>, Adani was granted freehold title over critical infrastructure areas of the Carmichael mine site by the Queensland government, without first notifying the Wangan and Jagalingou peoples.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-people-no-longer-have-the-legal-right-to-say-no-to-the-adani-mine-heres-what-it-means-for-equality-122788">extinguished their native title</a> over the site, affecting a number of peoples including the Juru, Jaang and Birrah, as well as the Wangan and Jagalingou.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners maintaining presence at the Carmichael mine in central Queensland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426829/original/file-20211018-19-1w5r3pd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Police officers told the group of Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners they recognise their cultural rights to conduct ceremony under provisions of the 2019 Queensland Human Rights Act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leah Light Photography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why was practising cultural ceremony so controversial?</h2>
<p>Over the past six weeks, Jagalingou cultural custodians have been conducting the Waddananggu ceremony, translated to English as “The Talking”. Describing the ceremony, Cultural Custodian Coedie McAvoy has <a href="https://standing-our-ground.org/2021/09/01/waddananggu-the-talking/">said</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>We have set up a stone Bora ring and ceremonial ground opposite Adani’s mine and are asserting our human rights as Wangan and Jagalingou people to practice culture.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since the leases were granted to Adani, police have repeatedly removed the Wangan and Jagalingou people from their traditional lands when conducting ceremonies. They have also been accused by journalists of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/25/french-journalists-bail-conditions-after-adani-arrest-labelled-abuse-of-police-power">acting as a “shield” </a>to Adani’s corporate interests. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2016/10/26/adanis-carmichael-coal-mine-story-so-far">Adani’s proposed Carmichael open-cut and underground coal mine</a> in the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland covers 200 square kilometres of land. </p>
<p>If built, it will be Australia’s largest and the world’s second largest coal mine. The project includes the construction of a 189-kilometre rail connection between the proposed mine and the Adani-operated Abbot Point Terminal adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.</p>
<p>The proposed mining and railway developments encompass much of the Wangan and Jagalingou ancestral lands.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/protest-art-rallying-cry-or-elegy-for-the-black-throated-finch-120593">Protest art: rallying cry or elegy for the black-throated finch?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What led to the change in police attitudes?</h2>
<p>Cultural Leader Adrian Burragubba brought a complaint to the <a href="https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-rights/for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people">Queensland Human Rights Commission</a> after police broke up a Wangan and Jagalingou ceremonial campsite in August 2020. The complaint resulted in mediation between the police and Burragubba on behalf of his family and community over March to July of this year.</p>
<p>One outcome of the mediation was the Queensland police’s “statement of regret”, in which Assistant Commissioner Kev Guteridge said police recognise that Burragubba represents a group of traditional owners “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/13/queensland-police-regret-making-indigenous-leader-leave-adani-mine-site-during-protest">aggrieved by Adani’s occupation of the land</a>”, adding:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We acknowledge that the incident on 28 August, 2020, was traumatic for Mr Burragubba and his extended family, and caused embarrassment, hurt and humiliation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/13/queensland-police-regret-making-indigenous-leader-leave-adani-mine-site-during-protest">The Guardian</a>, Burragubba is thought to be the first Indigenous person to extract a public apology from a state agency since the enactment of the Queensland Human Rights Act.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/your-rights/human-rights-law/cultural-rights-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples#:%7E:text=Section%2028%20of%20the%20Human,peoples%20hold%20distinct%20cultural%20rights.&text=to%20conserve%20and%20protect%20the,coastal%20seas%20and%20other%20resources.">Section 28</a> of the Act recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold distinct cultural rights as Australia’s First Peoples:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They must not be denied the right, with other members of their community, to live life as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who is free to practice their culture. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An Aboriginal person painted up, stands under a flag." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426841/original/file-20211018-20-1ogl79o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leah Light Photography</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is modelled on <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx#:%7E:text=Article%2027,to%20use%20their%20own%20language.">article 27</a> of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Articles 8, 25, 29 and 31 of the 2007 <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/246496">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a>. </p>
<p>The inclusion of this section is significant given <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Reconciliation-Australia-United-Nations-Declaration-on-the-Rights-of-Indigenous-Peoples-UNDRIP.pdf">Australia endorsed</a> the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2009. Australia is yet to implement the declaration into law, policy or practice at a federal level.</p>
<p>The Greens senator Lidia Thorpe <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-18/juukan-gorge-report-tabled-in-parliament-canberra/100542640">said</a> the inquiry’s recommendation of “free, prior and informed consent” did not go far enough to protect traditional owners.</p>
<p>Burragubba’s complaint under the Queensland Act was likely strengthened by the Wangan and Jagalingou peoples’ ongoing legal assertion of native title. <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/s44b.html#:%7E:text=Rights%20of%20access%20for%20traditional%20activities,-Conferral%20of%20rights&text=To%20avoid%20doubt%2C%20the%20existence,native%20title%20rights%20or%20interests.">44b of the Native Title Act</a> confers rights of access for traditional activities to a native title claim group. </p>
<p>This legal principle of “right of access” was bolstered by the findings in the case of <a href="https://www.mondaq.com/australia/indigenous-peoples/302358/an-odd-couple-mining-leases-and-native-title-can-coexist--western-australia-v-brown-2014-hca-8">Western Australia v Brown, 2014</a>, which confirmed title was not wholly extinguished by the lease of land as long as native title is “not inconsistent with the lease”. </p>
<h2>The significance of this police action could be far reaching</h2>
<p>The new respect shown by Queensland police for the cultural rights of the Wangan and Jagalingou will not reinstate Wangan and Jagalingou native title. Nor will it stop the Adani mine. </p>
<p>But it means the Wangan and Jagalingou can continue to practice culture on Country, as they have for thousands of years, instead of being treated “<a href="https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-240/feature-when-i-speak-i-speak-for-the-land/">like trespassers on their own land</a>”. Their living connection to Country is not broken by the lease of land to Adani. </p>
<p>For Adani, it means the Wangan and Jagalingou people are an ongoing presence: a public reminder of cultural claim over the land where the mine is situated. </p>
<p>For the police, the significance goes beyond the struggle over the Adani mine. This change in police conduct could mark the end of police complicity in removing First Nations people from their ancestral land in the state of Queensland. Other state agencies will now also be forced to take the cultural rights of First Nations custodians seriously.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-listened-to-the-science-on-coronavirus-imagine-if-we-did-the-same-for-coal-mining-138212">Australia listened to the science on coronavirus. Imagine if we did the same for coal mining</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It is an important step on a national journey towards recognition of First Nations’ cultural rights. Like the Queensland Human Rights Act, <a href="https://www.humanrights.vic.gov.au/resources/aboriginal-cultural-rights/#:%7E:text=The%20Charter%20protects%20Aboriginal%20Cultural,their%20traditional%20lands%20and%20waters.">Victoria</a> and the <a href="https://hrc.act.gov.au/humanrights/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-cultural-rights-under-the-act-human-rights-act/#:%7E:text=Dr%20Watchirs%20Biography-,Aboriginal%20%26%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20cultural%20rights%20under%20the%20ACT%20Human,people%20who%20work%20for%20them.">ACT </a>also enshrine human rights in state law, providing legal avenues validating cultural practice on Country against public authorities. If the federal government adopts the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-18/juukan-gorge-report-tabled-in-parliament-canberra/100542640">findings of the parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters</a>, handed down earlier this week, First Nations’ cultural rights will be further protected. </p>
<p>The Inquiry committee <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzGlkXsfQKDmgPHBVcBBmzbvMKTj">recommended</a> new Commonwealth legislation for stricter protection of sacred sites, and improvements to the Native Title Act. The committee has said new legislation should be underpinned by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.</p>
<p>The practice of Waddananggu is significant for the whole country. It is an opportunity for all of us to respectfully witness, talk and learn towards meaningful reconciliation. </p>
<p>McAvoy issued a broad invitation to <a href="https://standing-our-ground.org/2021/09/01/waddananggu-the-talking/">the</a> Waddananggu: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Stand with us to protect our human rights to practice ceremony and culture, and protect our homelands. ngali yinda banna, yumbaba-gi. We need you, to be heard.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: this article originally stated the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was endorsed in 2019, this has been amended.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shelley Marshall owns shares in mining and resources through her superannuation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suzi Hutchings has met Adrian Burragubba at an RMIT conference on Activism at which he gave a keynote presentation. Suzi owns shares in mining and resources through her superannuation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carla Chan Unger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recently Queensland police recognised the cultural rights of Wangan and Jagalingou people to conduct ceremony under provisions of a Human Rights Act. What does this mean for other Traditional Owners?Shelley Marshall, Associate Professor and Director of the RMIT Business and Human Rights Centre, RMIT UniversityCarla Chan Unger, Research Associate, RMIT UniversitySuzi Hutchings, Associate Professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1702122021-10-21T03:09:14Z2021-10-21T03:09:14ZFixing Australia’s shocking record of Indigenous heritage destruction: Juukan inquiry offers a way forward<p>On May 24 last year, mining giant Rio Tinto <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/may/30/juukan-gorge-rio-tinto-blasting-of-aboriginal-site-prompts-calls-to-change-antiquated-laws">legally destroyed</a> ancient and sacred Aboriginal rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia to expand an iron ore mine. </p>
<p>Public backlash prompted a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge">parliamentary inquiry</a>. After almost 18 months of submissions and hearings, the joint standing committee released its final report titled <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024757/toc_pdf/AWayForward.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">A Way Forward</a> this week.</p>
<p>In tabling the report, committee chair and Liberal MP <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=7K6">Warren Entsch</a> said while the destruction was a disaster for traditional owners – the <a href="https://pkkp.org.au/">Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura</a> peoples – it was “<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/A_Way_Forward">not unique</a>”.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto’s actions form part of a broader <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-juukan-gorge-the-relentless-threat-mining-poses-to-the-pilbara-cultural-landscape-155941">discriminatory pattern</a> of development in Australia. Traditional owners are denied the right to object and as a result, Aboriginal heritage is routinely destroyed.</p>
<p>The committee’s final report grapples with the complex issues of cultural heritage protection in Australia. It recommends major legislative reforms, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a new national Aboriginal cultural heritage act co-designed with Indigenous peoples</p></li>
<li><p>a new national council on heritage protection</p></li>
<li><p>a review of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00178">Native Title Act 1993</a> to address power imbalances in negotiations on the basis of free prior and informed consent.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The report is strong on the need for change, although achieving this will be far from straightforward.</p>
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<h2>Hard-to-resolve issues</h2>
<p>The committee’s <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2020-12/apo-nid310049.pdf">interim report</a>, was released in December last year. From it, we learned how Rio Tinto <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/juukan-gorge-blast-inquiry-told-of-rio-tinto-gag-clauses-warning/12754100">silenced</a> traditional owners and <a href="https://theconversation.com/corporate-dysfunction-on-indigenous-affairs-why-heads-rolled-at-rio-tinto-146001">prevented</a> their cultural heritage specialists from raising concerns. Rio Tinto prioritised production over heritage protection.</p>
<p>A Way Forward places the tragedy of Juukan Gorge in a broader context. It shines a light on how the regulatory <a href="https://nit.com.au/time-for-law-reform-in-light-of-rio-tintos-choice-to-destroy-juukan-gorge/">system</a> empowered Rio Tinto to destroy the caves and prevented the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples from doing anything about it. </p>
<p>It also demonstrates how the system has run roughshod over Indigenous interests for decades. Governments have been able to make determinations about cultural heritage without proper consultation and consent. </p>
<p>The report focuses on getting the regulatory framework right. It succeeds in bringing a wide and complex set of controversial issues together in the one place. But many of these issues are highly contested, which has hindered previous attempts to solve them.</p>
<p>Already, two committee members, Senator <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=241710">Dean Smith</a> and MP <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=230485">George Christensen</a>, disagree with the rest of the committee on the need for the Commonwealth to set standards for states’ cultural heritage protection laws. They say this would constrain the mining industry and give anti-mining activists <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/19/failures-at-every-level-changes-needed-to-stop-destruction-of-aboriginal-heritage-after-juukan-gorge">too much power</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast, Greens Senator and Gunnai Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman <a href="https://greens.org.au/vic/person/lidia-thorpe/">Lidia Thorpe</a> supports traditional owners having a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/19/failures-at-every-level-changes-needed-to-stop-destruction-of-aboriginal-heritage-after-juukan-gorge">right to veto</a>” the destruction of their cultural heritage.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/juukan-gorge-inquiry-a-critical-turning-point-in-first-nations-authority-over-land-management-167039">Juukan Gorge inquiry: a critical turning point in First Nations authority over land management</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Western Australian Premier <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/people/mark-mcgowan">Mark McGowan</a> and some industry organisations have dismissed the inquiry’s calls for a stronger federal government role in protecting cultural heritage across Australia. Western Australia is yet to pass its draft heritage law, which the premier says will address the issues raised in the final report. </p>
<p>Aboriginal groups disagree that ultimate control over the destruction of cultural heritage should rest with the minister. These groups have tabled their issues at the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/aboriginal-elder-takes-fight-against-wa-heritage-laws-to-united-nations-20210719-p58ayg.html">United Nations</a>. </p>
<p>One of the most contentious matters addressed in the final report is the need to obtain <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/publications/2016/10/free-prior-and-informed-consent-an-indigenous-peoples-right-and-a-good-practice-for-local-communities-fao/">free prior and informed consent</a> of traditional owners under Australia’s federal and state laws, affording them the right to manage their own heritage sites.</p>
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<h2>Change is needed despite Australia’s economic recovery pressures</h2>
<p>It is not an ideal time to be driving this type of major change. Australia is heading towards a federal election. The federal government is focused on COVID-19 vaccinations, opening borders and the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic.</p>
<p>The mining sector sits at the centre of Australia’s economic recovery, with climate change driving demand for <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18661-9">energy transition minerals</a>. <a href="https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/93220">Australian states</a> and territories are focused on mining these minerals for green and renewable technologies.</p>
<p>Green technologies will require more extraction of copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, and other critical minerals, often located on Indigenous peoples’ lands and territories. This will put added pressure on the consent processes that A Way Forward recommends so strongly.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-rio-tinto-can-ensure-its-aboriginal-heritage-review-is-transparent-and-independent-141192">How Rio Tinto can ensure its Aboriginal heritage review is transparent and independent</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Will anything actually change?</h2>
<p>So far, none of the big mining companies have come out in support of the committee’s recommendations for regulatory reform. But there are some positive prospects for change.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An Aboriginal flag flown in protest against mining at the Adani Bravus Carmichael mine site in the Galilee Basin, Central Queensland." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427654/original/file-20211020-16-qnbqm1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1186&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An Aboriginal flag flown in protest against mining at the Adani Bravus Carmichael mine site in the Galilee Basin, Central Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/clermont-queensland-australia-11112020-australian-aboriginal-1852379479">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The inquiry has helped generate public awareness and a greater appreciation of Australia’s Indigenous heritage and the need to protect it. Australia’s commitments to the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> have come under national and international scrutiny. This has added weight to the inquiry’s recommendations to elevate the importance of free prior and informed consent.</p>
<p>Institutional investors such as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/the-business/2021-10-18/investor-reaction-to-juukan-gorge-final-report/13591734">HESTA</a> and <a href="https://acsi.org.au/media-releases/acsi-statement-on-parliamentary-inquiry-into-the-destruction-of-46000-year-old-caves-at-the-juukan-gorge/">Australian Council of Superannuation Investors</a> have publicly supported the inquiry’s recommendations. </p>
<p>In the absence of regulatory reform to address systemic issues, Indigenous groups such as the <a href="https://nntc.com.au/our-agenda/cultural-heritage/">National Native Title Council</a> <a href="https://nntc.com.au/media_releases/landmark-first-nations-business-and-investor-initiative-launches-to-improve-cultural-heritage-protection-in-australia/">continue working</a> with investor groups and peak industry bodies for change through developing voluntary guidelines and other formal commitments.</p>
<p>Indigenous Affairs Minister <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=M3A">Ken Wyatt</a>, along with the <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/">National Indigenous Australians Agency</a>, has demonstrated capacity for co-design through their work on the <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/closing-gap">Closing the Gap refresh</a>. </p>
<p>Returning responsibility for cultural heritage to the Indigenous affairs minister’s portfolio, as recommended in the final report, could be a positive step.</p>
<p>Nothing short of the recommended reforms in the report will address the lessons learned from Juukan Gorge. The public must be vigilant in holding business, investors, and politicians to account by insisting on meaningful change.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-lithium-for-clean-energy-but-rio-tintos-planned-serbian-mine-reminds-us-it-shouldnt-come-at-any-cost-167902">We need lithium for clean energy, but Rio Tinto's planned Serbian mine reminds us it shouldn't come at any cost</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deanna is chief investigator of an ARC Linkage grant on public-private inquiries in mining; member of the International Council of Mining and Metals independent expert review panel; and trustee and member of the international advisory council for the Institute for Human Rights and Business. She is Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) at UQ. CSRM conducts applied research with communities, governments, and major mining companies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>I was previously the BMA Chair in Indigenous Engagement at the CQUniversity, Australia (2013-2018). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kado Muir is the chairperson of the National Native Title Council, which operates with funding from the federal government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rodger is a Research Manager at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) at UQ, which conducts applied research with communities, governments, and mining companies, including Rio Tinto.</span></em></p>The A Way Forward report addresses the issues of cultural heritage protection in Australia after Rio Tinto destroyed Juukan Gorge. However, achieving change will be far from straightforward.Deanna Kemp, Professor and Director, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of QueenslandBronwyn Fredericks, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement), The University of QueenslandKado Muir, Chair of National Native Title Council and Ngalia Cultural Leader, Indigenous KnowledgeRodger Barnes, Research Manager, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1687492021-10-11T02:50:03Z2021-10-11T02:50:03ZThe NSW government needs to stop prosecuting Aboriginal fishers if it really wants to Close the Gap<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/425610/original/file-20211010-19-v415z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/CbeApl8sxxw">Fredrik Öhlander/ Unsplash </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a contradiction between the <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/closingthegap/nsw-implementation-plan/2021-22-implementation-plan/">New South Wales government’s plan for Closing the Gap</a> and its <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/search/a%20load%20of%20abalone">persecution of Aboriginal people</a> on the New South Wales south coast who want to maintain their saltwater culture. </p>
<p>The government needs to rethink what it is doing if it is to achieve the Closing the Gap outcomes it wants to see there. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p72891/pdf/article126.pdf">the early years of colonisation</a>, Aboriginal people played crucial roles in the establishment of fishing industries on the NSW south coast, but are now almost entirely excluded from them.</p>
<p>Following colonisation, Aboriginal people continued to fish as a source of food, with some bartering and small-scale trading, called “<a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/livelihood-values-indigenous-customary-fishing.pdf">cultural-commercial fishing</a>”. South coast Aboriginal people are proud of their saltwater culture, but tired of being stigmatised as “poachers” who plunder the ocean.</p>
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<h2>Closing the Gap targets</h2>
<p>The New South Wales government signed the 2020 <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/national-agreement/national-agreement-closing-the-gap">National Agreement on Closing the Gap</a> which includes targets for “strong, supported and flourishing” cultures and languages, and for Aboriginal adults and young people to no longer be overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Other targets focus on health and increasing employment and economic participation.</p>
<p>However Indigenous people are <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/search/a%20load%20of%20abalone">overrepresented</a> among those jailed or convicted in New South Wales for offences related to abalone fishing. Rather than supporting a flourishing culture, the continued <a href="https://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Pain-Pick.pdf">prosecution</a> of south coast Aboriginal people won’t reduce Aboriginal incarceration, contribute to their employment or improve their health. </p>
<p>Many people have been <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/feature/catch-cultures">charged</a> with abalone diving here, including Aboriginal grandfather, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-12/fishing-rights-abalone-could-have-put-great-grandfather-in-jail/9958280">Kevin Mason</a>. </p>
<p>Once Aboriginal people have a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-0335.00199">criminal conviction</a>, their chances of gaining employment plummet. And while fishing provides people with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4776937/pdf/GJHS-4-72.pdf">healthy food</a> and exercise, prosecuting them for this act instead causes <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022146510383499">stress</a>. This is not conducive to a long healthy life.</p>
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<h2>Exclusion and poverty</h2>
<p>There are high rates of poverty and unemployment among Aboriginal people on the south coast; both <a href="https://www.esc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/161916/Aboriginal-Action-Plan-2020-2024-web-version.pdf">Eurobodalla</a> and <a href="https://begavalley.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?p=DOC-GBM-41-35-06">Bega</a> shires reflect this. Poorer education outcomes and <a href="https://begavalley.nsw.gov.au/cp_themes/default/page.asp?p=DOC-GBM-41-35-06">longstanding racism</a> have been <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4029845?refreqid=excelsior%3A475d03383a14135c89e0ff18381d4409">factors</a> in this.</p>
<p>Harvested seafood has been part of south coast Indigenous peoples’ diets since before colonisation. The sea has always been their supermarket, as an <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-09/livelihood-values-indigenous-customary-fishing.pdf">Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) study</a> recognised:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As saltwater people, all of the knowledge and practices related to marine foods are central to their culture, and part of what makes it unique. This means that fishing and gathering other seafood is one of the main ways people practice their culture. It’s also about getting out on country, and feeling connected to country and ancestors by fishing and gathering the way they did.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The ability of older people to take young people out fishing and diving is essential to being able to pass on their knowledge of the marine environment.
The AIATSIS study also found:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…]taking children fishing is necessary for their cultural education. Through fishing they learn cultural knowledge of local fauna and flora, different fishing techniques and practices, knowledge of their country and the right places to get different species – as well as the stories of those places. They also learn the cultural laws that govern fishing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Furthermore, no review of Aboriginal cultural fishing or any fishery in NSW has identified this practice as having a negative impact on marine resources. As such, it is not clear why this persecution persists. </p>
<p>It can’t be to protect the fish stocks, as most <a href="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/commercial/total-allowable-fishing">total allowable catch assessments (TACs)</a> for the New South Wales coast, designed to manage stocks at sustainable levels, don’t even collect data on Aboriginal peoples’ catches. </p>
<p>While some illegal fishing of abalone is acknowledged in the <a href="https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/1240732/Information-Paper-for-Industry-Abalone-TAC-Determination-2020-21.pdf">Abalone TAC</a>, overall, fishing for abalone in the state remains sustainable. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/research/current-projects/livelihood-values-indigenous-customary-fishing">AIATSIS</a> found:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Many participants felt that cultural fishers were needlessly overregulated. To them it seemed hypocritical for Fisheries [NSW] to focus on the compliance of the small number of cultural fishers, and for them to be characterised as threats to the marine environment, when their total take pales in comparison to that of the commercial fisheries.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-enable-healing-theres-a-more-effective-way-to-close-the-gap-in-employment-in-remote-australia-165662">To enable healing, there's a more effective way to Close the Gap in employment in remote Australia</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Caught in a bind</h2>
<p>The NSW government says <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/closingthegap/nsw-implementation-plan/2021-22-implementation-plan/NSW-Implementation-Plan-2021-22.pdf">its vision</a> is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to determine their own futures. A clear message coming from <a href="https://alc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CTG_NSW-Community-Engagement-Report-1.pdf">NSW Aboriginal people</a> is that maintenance of their culture is central to their vision of the future.</p>
<p>Ironically, south coast Aboriginal people are being asked to prove they continue to practise this fishing culture in the assessment of their current <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/searchRegApps/NativeTitleClaims/Pages/details.aspx?NTDA_Fileno=NC2017/003">native title claim</a>. </p>
<p>While the Commonwealth government’s <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00178">Native Title Act</a> requires them to demonstrate continuance of their cultural practices to gain their native title rights, the state government pursues and criminalises them if they do so. It’s a no-win situation.</p>
<p>The NSW government needs to stop the harassment and prosecutions of Indigenous people for maintaining their cultural practices if the state really wants to Close the Gap on incarceration, health and employment for Aboriginal communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168749/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Hunt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a contradiction between the New South Wales government’s plan for Closing the Gap and its persecution of Aboriginal people who want to maintain their saltwater culture.Janet Hunt, Honorary Associate Professor, CAEPR, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1670392021-09-30T02:09:30Z2021-09-30T02:09:30ZJuukan Gorge inquiry: a critical turning point in First Nations authority over land management<p>In May 2020, Rio Tinto blasted two rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara as part of its operations to feed an insatiable global appetite for iron ore.</p>
<p>Some 46,000 years of Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people’s spiritual and cultural connections to Juukan Gorge were shaken with a detonation. The shockwaves also resounded <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/3/rio-tinto-chairman-resigns-over-aboriginal-site-destruction">globally</a>. People took to social media and the streets to voice their anger at the actions of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/juukan-gorge-aboriginal-heritage-site-just-one-of-many-destroyed/12337562">Rio Tinto</a>.</p>
<p>While the final report of the Juukan Gorge inquiry is yet to be released, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Interim_Report">interim findings</a> suggest the inquiry has the potential set a new precedent for legal codes to align with ethical standards for Aboriginal land management. </p>
<p>These outcomes are reflective of a shift in the balance of authority in Australia — and this shift is tilting towards Aboriginal people.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/juukan-gorge-inquiry-puts-rio-tinto-on-notice-but-without-drastic-reforms-it-could-happen-again-151377">Juukan Gorge inquiry puts Rio Tinto on notice, but without drastic reforms, it could happen again</a>
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<h2>The Juukan Gorge tragedy: ‘never again’</h2>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-07/rio-tinto-investor-revolt-over-juukan-caves-destruction/100122824">shareholders and stakeholders</a> deeming the blast unconscionable, these destructive actions by Rio Tinto were legal under Section 18 of the Western Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466">Aboriginal Heritage Act</a> of 1972. </p>
<p>While the act was designed to protect sites of cultural significance to Aboriginal people, it hasn’t prevented their destruction. </p>
<p>The Juukan Gorge is “of the highest archaeological significance in <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2020/08/05/rio-tinto-tells-senate-inquiry-it-could-have-avoided-juukan-gorge-destruction">Australia</a>.” Over 7,000 artefacts have been discovered in the rock shelters, including a 4,000-year-old belt made from the human hair of the direct ancestors of the current <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024579/toc_pdf/NeverAgain.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">Traditional Owners</a>. </p>
<p>Rio Tinto was aware of the living cultural value of the rock shelters to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, “<a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024579/toc_pdf/NeverAgain.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">but blew it up anyway</a>”.</p>
<p>Three senior executives responsible for this decision resigned from their jobs in the aftermath of the blast, including the chief executive.</p>
<p>The “Never Again” national inquiry was subsequently <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024579/toc_pdf/NeverAgain.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">held</a> and Rio Tinto was ordered to provide compensation to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people.</p>
<h2>A critical turning point in First Nations authority over land</h2>
<p>We are witnessing a turning point in the control and management of Aboriginal lands and the flow of benefits from these lands. For Indigenous people, land is central to <a href="https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/download/18630/15554/">self-determination</a>.</p>
<p>Indigenous people are part of their traditional lands and draw nourishment from them. Control of their lands is also key to the economic flourishing of Indigenous people.</p>
<p>This turning point is being driven by regulatory changes — such as the recommendations from the Juukan Gorge inquiry — as well as shifts in environmental and social governance, growing economic independence, and increased Indigenous representation in parliaments.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/although-we-didnt-produce-these-problems-we-suffer-them-3-ways-you-can-help-in-naidocs-call-to-heal-country-163362">'Although we didn’t produce these problems, we suffer them': 3 ways you can help in NAIDOC's call to Heal Country</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Regulatory changes in environmental and social governance</h2>
<p>Australia is moving towards 80–90% of its land mass being under <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/Maps/Schedule_and_Determinations_map.jpg">Native Title</a> and <a href="https://www.austrade.gov.au/land-tenure/land-tenure/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-land">Land Rights</a> claims and agreements. </p>
<p>The recommendations of the “Never Again” report for stronger protections and informed consent hold significant implications for the governance of these lands. Shifting custodianship of land and water back into the hands of Indigenous Traditional Owners allows them to receive equal share of the benefits from the resources extracted from their lands.</p>
<p>The rise of environmental and social governance globally is further supporting the shift in authority back to Indigenous custodians of the land.</p>
<p>In addition, the global march towards zero-carbon emissions is creating a flow of capital towards markets that meet carbon emissions <em>and</em> sustainable growth targets. This includes renewable energy and circular food production. This de-carbonisation of economies has been termed “<a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/topics/carbonomics.html">carbonomics</a>”.</p>
<p>These sustainable practices are integral to Aboriginal land management. This is why Indigenous-owned and -managed operations are informing carbonomic solutions and attracting carbonomic capital investment.</p>
<h2>Economic independence providing hope for the future</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/economic-development/indigenous-procurement-policy-ipp">Australian Indigenous procurement policy</a> has begun mandating minimum procurement targets for contracts to be awarded to Indigenous-owned businesses. This has the potential to increase Indigenous participation in local and global economies.</p>
<p>The growth of carbonomics also illustrates the shift towards environmental and sustainable forms of commerce that are bringing Indigenous land and water management to the forefront of business operations and leadership. </p>
<p>The potent combination of investment in Indigenous land management systems, the recommendations in the Indigenous procurement policy, and increasing consumer demand for Indigenous-owned goods and services, is creating the conditions for an Indigenous-business boom. </p>
<p>These conditions provide opportunities for <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/indigenous-consulting/assets/realising-the-potential-ipp-nov19.pdf">economic independence</a> and <a href="https://www.pwc.com.au/indigenous-consulting/assets/the-contribution-of-the-indigenous-business-sector-apr18.pdf">self-determination</a> in Indigenous commerce. Indigenous entrepreneurship and businesses are being supported through initiatives such as the <a href="https://www.dilinduwa.com/">Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/juukan-gorge-how-could-they-not-have-known-and-how-can-we-be-sure-they-will-in-future-151580">Juukan Gorge: how could they not have known? (And how can we be sure they will in future?)</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>However, further Indigenous representation at the highest levels of <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-first-nations-people-in-parliament-matters-heres-why-115633">government</a>, as well as corporate, education and community sectors, is needed for Indigenous voices to be heard on a national scale. </p>
<p>As has been seen with the backlash from Rio Tinto shareholders, investors and the media are holding corporations and their executives accountable for their treatment of Indigenous people and their lands.</p>
<p>There is more work to be done to ensure all Indigenous people are central to the land and water decisions of their respective Countries.</p>
<p>Yet, these changes are combining to give power back to Indigenous people. First Nations people need to be rightful authorities in the control, management and beneficiaries of the land. This will pivot the narrative from pain to <a href="https://qalqalah.org/media/pages/activites/workshop-qalqalah-rethinking-history/1621856626-1586352038/refusing.pdf">power</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Affiliated with National Native Title Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michal Carrington is affiliated with the Dilin Duwa Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership, University of Melbourne. </span></em></p>In the wake of the Juukan Gorge blast, more land authority is shifting back to First Nations people.Kado Muir, Chair of National Native Title Council and Ngalia Cultural Leader, Indigenous KnowledgeMichal Carrington, Senior Lecturer, Department of Management and Marketing, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638842021-07-05T05:53:15Z2021-07-05T05:53:15ZPolitics with Michelle Grattan: Jacinta Price’s parliamentary agenda<p>Following her pre-selection victory, Alice Springs deputy mayor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will now be the Country Liberal party’s Senate candidate at the election.</p>
<p>This essentially assures her of victory. The Northern Territory returns one Senate seat to each side of politics.</p>
<p>Price has made a name for herself already as a conservative Indigenous voice, critical of what she labels a paternalistic approach to Aboriginal autonomy. She is also well known for her advocacy work - bringing attention to high rates of domestic violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.</p>
<p>Her stances on a range of issues have made her a controversial figure within the broad Indigenous community.</p>
<p>In discussing her political agenda, Price highlights affording traditional owners the ability to create business opportunities and own homes on their own land.</p>
<p>“A lot of traditional owners, and in my own experience as a traditional owner, have not had the opportunity to be able to access their own country for economic development opportunities and, and/or have the opportunity to own their own homes.”</p>
<p>Price doesn’t consider constitutional recognition for Indigenous peoples a policy priority, favouring instead “practical measures that are going to generate outcomes.”</p>
<p>“I certainly don’t mind the idea of being recognised in our nation’s constitution[…][but] I’m more focused on the more immediate, practical issues, trying to provide outcomes for the betterment of Indigenous Australians, as opposed to, you know, symbolic gestures.” </p>
<p>Nor does she call herself “a fan of” the voice to parliament, a proposal which would give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a say in law and policy affecting them. </p>
<p>“I think we do have Indigenous voices in parliament - I guess it’s upon them who have been there already to actually be doing a better job[…]if we need a voice to parliament, then clearly that’s saying something about the representatives who have been there already.”</p>
<p>“If we’re reaching for equality, true equality, then that means that Indigenous Australians be on the same footing as all other Australians”</p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/politics-with-michelle-grattan/id703425900?mt=2"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233721/original/file-20180827-75984-1gfuvlr.png" alt="Listen on Apple Podcasts" width="268" height="68"></a> <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjb252ZXJzYXRpb24uY29tL2F1L3BvZGNhc3RzL3BvbGl0aWNzLXdpdGgtbWljaGVsbGUtZ3JhdHRhbi5yc3M"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233720/original/file-20180827-75978-3mdxcf.png" alt="" width="268" height="68"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-conversation-4/politics-with-michelle-grattan"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233716/original/file-20180827-75981-pdp50i.png" alt="Stitcher" width="300" height="88"></a> <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Politics-with-Michelle-Grattan-p227852/"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233723/original/file-20180827-75984-f0y2gb.png" alt="Listen on TuneIn" width="318" height="125"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://radiopublic.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-WRElBZ"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-152" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233717/original/file-20180827-75990-86y5tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=268&fit=clip" alt="Listen on RadioPublic" width="268" height="87"></a> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5NkaSQoUERalaLBQAqUOcC"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237984/original/file-20180925-149976-1ks72uy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=268&fit=clip" width="268" height="82"></a> </p>
<h2>Additional audio</h2>
<p><a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score/Lee_Rosevere_-_The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score_-_10_A_List_of_Ways_to_Die">A List of Ways to Die</a>, Lee Rosevere, from Free Music Archive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163884/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jacinta Price discusses her pre-selection victory and political agenda with Michelle GrattanMichelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1303892020-04-28T19:56:10Z2020-04-28T19:56:10ZAn honest reckoning with Captain Cook’s legacy won’t heal things overnight. But it’s a start<p><em>Captain James Cook arrived in the Pacific 250 years ago, triggering British colonisation of the region. We’re asking researchers to reflect on what happened and how it shapes us today. You can see other stories in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cook250-78244">here</a> and an interactive <a href="https://cook250.netlify.app/">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This is an edited transcript of an interview with John Maynard for our podcast <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/trust-me-im-an-expert-43810">Trust Me, I’m An Expert</a>. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names of deceased people.</em></p>
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<p>There are a multitude of Aboriginal oral memories about Captain James Cook, right across the continent.</p>
<p>As the <a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/events/cooks-treasures/papers/Deborah-Rose-Captain-Cook.pdf">research</a> from Deborah Bird Rose shows, many Aboriginal people in remote locations are certainly under the impression that Cook came there as well, shooting people in a kind of Cook-led invasion of Australia. Many of these communities, of course, never met James Cook; the man never even went there. </p>
<p>But the deep impact of James Cook that spread across the country and he came to represent the bogeyman for Aboriginal Australia. </p>
<p>Even back in the Protection and Welfare Board days, a government car would turn up and Aboriginal people would be running around <a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/audio/professor-john-maynard">screaming</a>, “Lookie, lookie, here comes Cookie!” </p>
<p>I <a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/digital-classroom/senior/Cook/Indigenous-Response/Maynard">wrote</a> about Uncle Ray Rose, sadly recently departed, who’d had a stroke. Someone said, “How do you feel?” And he said, “No good. I’m Captain Cooked.” </p>
<p>Cook, wherever he went up the coast, was giving names where names already existed. <a href="https://www.redbilby.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/East_Coast_Encounter_Sample.pdf">Yuin oral memory</a> in the south coast of NSW gives the example of what they called <a href="https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/batemans-bay-and-eurobodalla/tilba/attractions/mount-gulaga-mount-dromedary-walk">Gulaga</a> and Cook called “Mount Dromedary”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] that name can be seen as the first of the changes that come for our people […] Cook’s maps were very good, but they did not show our names for places. He didn’t ask us. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Cook has been <a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/digital-classroom/senior/Cook/Indigenous-Response/Maynard">incorporated</a> into songs, jokes, stories and Aboriginal oral histories right across the country. </p>
<p>Why? I think it’s an Aboriginal response to the way we’ve been taught about our history. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/captain-cook-wanted-to-introduce-british-justice-to-indigenous-people-instead-he-became-increasingly-cruel-and-violent-127025">Captain Cook wanted to introduce British justice to Indigenous people. Instead, he became increasingly cruel and violent</a>
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<h2>Myth-making persists but a shift is underway</h2>
<p>I came through a school system of the 50s and 60s, and we weren’t weren’t even mentioned in the history books except as a people belonging to the Stone Age or as a dying race. </p>
<p>It was all about discoverers, explorers, settlers and Phar Lap or Don Bradman. But us Aboriginal people? Not there. </p>
<p>We had this high exposure of the public celebration of Cook, the statues of Cook, the reenactments of Cook – it was really in your face. For Aboriginal people, how do we make sense of all of this, faced with the reality of our experience and the catastrophic impact?</p>
<p>We’ve got to make sense of it the best way we can, and I think that’s why Cook turns up in so many oral histories. </p>
<p>I think wider Australia is moving towards a more balanced understanding of our history. Lots of people now recognise the richest cultural treasure the country possesses is 65,000 years of Aboriginal cultural connection to this continent. </p>
<p>That’s unlike anywhere else in the world. I mean no disrespect, but 250 years is a drop in a lake compared to 65,000 years. From our perspective, in fact, we’ve always been here. Our people came out of the Dreamtime of the creative ancestors and lived and kept the Earth as it was in the very first day. </p>
<p>With global warming, rising sea levels, rising temperatures and catastrophic storms, Aboriginal people did keep the Earth as it was in the very first day to ensure that it was passed to each surviving generation. </p>
<p>There was going to be a (now-<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/captain-cook-250th-anniversary-voyage-suspended-due-to-coronavirus">cancelled</a>) <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-22/endeavour-replica-to-sail-around-australia/10734998">circumnavigation</a> of Australia in the official proceedings this year, which the prime minister supported. But James Cook didn’t circumnavigate Australia. He only sailed up the east coast. So that’s creating more myths again, which is a senseless way to go.</p>
<h2>‘With the consent of the Natives to take possession’</h2>
<p>Personally, I have high regard for James Cook as a navigator, as a cartographer, and certainly as an inspiring captain of his crew. He encouraged incredible loyalty among those that sailed with him on those three voyages. And that has to be recognised. </p>
<p>But against that, of course, is the reality that he was given <a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/content/secret">secret instructions</a> by the Navy to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>With the consent of the Natives to take possession of the convenient situations in the country in the name of the king of Great Britain.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Well, consent was never given. When they went ashore at Botany Bay, two Aboriginal men <a href="https://www.bl.uk/the-voyages-of-captain-james-cook/articles/an-indigenous-australian-perspective-on-cooks-arrival">brandished spears</a> and made it quite clear they didn’t want him there. Those men were wounded and Cook was one of those firing a musket.</p>
<p>There was no gaining any consent when he sailed on to Possession Island and planted that flag down. Totally the opposite, in fact.</p>
<p>And the most insightful viewpoint is from Cook himself, who <a href="http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/cook/17700430.html">wrote</a> that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>all they seem’d to want was for us to be gone.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Cook’s background gave him insight</h2>
<p>James Cook wasn’t your normal British naval officer of that time period. To get into such a position, you normally had to be born into the right family, to come from money and privilege. </p>
<p>James Cook was none of those things. He came from a poor family. His father was a labourer. Cook got to where he was by skill, endeavour, and, unquestionably, because he was a very smart man and brilliant at sea. But it’s also from that background that he’s able to offer insight. </p>
<p>There’s an incredible quotation of Cook’s where he <a href="http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/cook_remarks/092.html">says</a> of Aboriginal people:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They live in a Tranquillity which is not disturb’d by the Inequality of Condition… they live in a warm and fine Climate and enjoy a very wholsome Air.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Now, Cook is comparing what he is seeing in Australia with life back Britain, where there is an incredible amount of inequality. London, at the time, was filthy. Sewerage pouring through the streets. Disease was rife. Underprivilege is everywhere. </p>
<p>In Australia, though, Cook sees what to him looks like this incredible egalitarian society and it makes an impact on him because of where he comes from. </p>
<p>But deeper misunderstandings persisted. In what’s now called Cooktown there are, at first, amicable relationships with the Guugu Yimithirr people, but when they <a href="http://setis.library.usyd.edu.au/ozlit/banks/banksvo2.pdf">come aboard the Endeavour</a> they see this incredible profusion of turtles that the crew has captured. </p>
<p>They’re probably thinking, “these are our turtles.” They would quite happily share some of those turtles but the Bristish response is: you get <em>none</em>. </p>
<p>So the Guugu Yimithirr people go off the ship and set the grass on fire. Eventually, there’s a kind of peace settlement but the incident reveals a complete blindness on the part of the British to the idea of reciprocity in Aboriginal society.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/they-are-all-dead-for-indigenous-people-cooks-voyage-of-discovery-was-a-ghostly-visitation-126430">'They are all dead': for Indigenous people, Cook's voyage of 'discovery' was a ghostly visitation</a>
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<h2>A collision of catastrophic proportions</h2>
<p>The impact of 1770 has never eased for Aboriginal people. It was a collision of catastrophic proportions. The whole impact of 1788 – of invasion, dispossession, cultural destruction, occupation onto assimilation, segregation – all of these things that came after 1770.</p>
<p>Anything you want to measure – Aboriginal health, education, employment, housing, youth suicide, incarceration – we have the worst stats. That has been a continuation, a reality of the failure of government to recognise what has happened in the past and actually do something about it in the present to fix it for the future. </p>
<p>We’ve had decades and decades of governments saying to us, “We know what’s best for you.” But the fact is that when it comes to Aboriginal well being, the only people to listen to are Aboriginal people and we’ve never been put in the position.</p>
<p>We’ve been raising our voices for a long time now, but some people see that as a threat and are not prepared to listen.</p>
<p>An honest reckoning of the reality of Cook and what came after won’t heal things overnight. But it’s a starting point, from which we can join hands and walk together toward a shared future. </p>
<p>A balanced understanding of the past will help us build a future – it is of critical importance.</p>
<h2>New to podcasts?</h2>
<p>Everything you need to know about how to listen to a podcast is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-listen-to-podcasts-130882">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/trust-me-im-an-expert/id1290047736?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D8"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233721/original/file-20180827-75984-1gfuvlr.png" alt="Listen on Apple Podcasts" width="268" height="68"></a> <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjb252ZXJzYXRpb24uY29tL2F1L3BvZGNhc3RzL3RydXN0LW1lLXBvZGNhc3QucnNz"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233720/original/file-20180827-75978-3mdxcf.png" alt="" width="268" height="68"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-conversation/trust-me-im-an-expert"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233716/original/file-20180827-75981-pdp50i.png" alt="Stitcher" width="300" height="88"></a> <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Trust-Me-Im-An-Expert-p1035757/"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233723/original/file-20180827-75984-f0y2gb.png" alt="Listen on TuneIn" width="318" height="125"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://radiopublic.com/trust-me-im-an-expert-Wa3E5A"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-152" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233717/original/file-20180827-75990-86y5tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=268&fit=clip" alt="Listen on RadioPublic" width="268" height="87"></a> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7myc7drbLJVaRitAMXLB7V"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237984/original/file-20180925-149976-1ks72uy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=268&fit=clip" width="268" height="82"></a> </p>
<p><strong>Additional audio credits</strong></p>
<p><em>Kindergarten by Unkle Ho, from <a href="https://www.elefanttraks.com/">Elefant Traks.</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Daniel_Birch/Music_For_Audio_Drama_Podcasts_Vol1/Marimba_On_The_Loose">Marimba On the Loose</a> by Daniel Birch, from Free Music Archive.</em></p>
<p><em>Podcast episode recorded and edited by Sunanda Creagh.</em></p>
<h2>Lead image</h2>
<p><em>Uncle Fred Deeral as little old man in the film The Message, a film by Zakpage, to be shown at the National Museum of Australia in April. Nik Lachajczak of Zakpage.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The impact of 1770 has never eased for Aboriginal people. It was a collision of catastrophic proportions.Sunanda Creagh, Senior EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1154542019-04-17T03:31:06Z2019-04-17T03:31:06ZTraditional owners still stand in Adani’s way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269689/original/file-20190417-147480-13wi7w0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traditional owners are contesting the validity of Adani’s land use agreement. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, federal environment minister Melissa Price approved Adani’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/09/coalition-approves-adani-groundwater-plan-despite-questions-over-modelling">groundwater management plan</a> for its proposed Carmichael mine.</p>
<p>However, Adani’s proposed mine remains highly contested and uncertain. A number of environmental plans are still waiting state approval, and the Queensland government will not extinguish native title over land Adani needs while outstanding Traditional Owners’ court action is unresolved.</p>
<p>Members of the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Family Council (W&J Council) are contesting the validity of Adani’s Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA). The case is due to be heard by the <a href="https://www.gratafund.org.au/traditional_owners_appeal_adani_mine">full bench of the Federal Court</a> in May. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/morrison-government-approves-next-step-towards-adani-coal-mine-115133">Morrison government approves next step towards Adani coal mine</a>
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<h2>What was approved last week?</h2>
<p>Price’s approval decision last week refers to Adani’s plan to manage the impacts on ecosystems drawing on groundwater for the Carmichael mine. </p>
<p>The announcement follows <a href="https://www.afr.com/news/politics/national/we-won-t-rush-approvals-qld-20190409-p51cg6">apparent threats</a> from Price’s Queensland colleagues as pressure mounts to secure votes before the federal election. Queensland’s environment minister Leanne Enoch says the <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2019/04/13/csiro-steps-back-adani-approval/15550776007968">approval</a> “reeks of political interference” and has called into question the integrity of Price’s decision; federal Labor is building a case to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/11/adani-coalmine-labor-builds-case-to-review-approval-of-groundwater-plan">review the decision</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2019/04/13/csiro-steps-back-adani-approval/15550776007968">Serious concerns</a> have been raised by CSIRO and Geoscience Australia in a joint report. They warn that the modelling used by Adani underestimates the effect of the project on local bore water, and there’s real risk to the aquifer that feeds the environmentally significant and sacred site, the Doongmabulla Springs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-we-still-pursuing-the-adani-carmichael-mine-85100">Why are we still pursuing the Adani Carmichael mine?</a>
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<h2>The Doongmabulla Springs</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-21/adani-groundwater-plan-risks-permanent-damage-to-desert-springs/9569184">Doongmabulla Springs</a> are a nationally significant artesian spring complex of four square kilometres, located in close proximity to the proposed Carmichael mine, and part of a nationally threatened ecological community. This unique unspoiled arid oasis – fed by fresh groundwater – is under threat from the proposed Carmichael mine. </p>
<p>For W&J people, the Doongmabulla Springs are their most sacred site, from which the Rainbow Serpent, or Mundunjudra, travelled to shape the land. W&J Council cultural leader<a href="https://wanganjagalingou.com.au/federal-coalition-govt-corrupts-adani-water-approval-under-political-pressure-from-qld-lnp/">Adrian Burragubba</a> has said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The water is our life. It is our dreaming and our sovereignty. We cannot give that away. With this decision, the Commonwealth continues to violate our common law rights to our culture. Water is central to our laws, our religion and our identity. It is the Mundunjudra, the water spirit, the rainbow serpent.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Minister Price’s approval – silencing scientific uncertainty of ground water impacts – affronts the W&J cultural custodians’ responsibilities as water protectors.</p>
<h2>State approval remains</h2>
<p>Minister Price’s support removes the last remaining federal hurdle to Adani’s mine, but there are still nine environmental issues waiting state approval. Among those is the Black-Throated Finch Management Plan, which prior assessment has determined as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jan/22/adani-2000-hectares-black-throated-finch-habitat-removed-from-conservation-plans">inadequate</a> to protect the endangered Black Throated Finch population. </p>
<p>Adani must also obtain state approval for its Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan. Enoch, as state environment minister, has called out uncertainties in the science related to each of these plans. She has also stressed that these decisions will not be rushed.</p>
<p>Nor has Adani submitted its revised railway plans for assessment, or finalised royalty arrangements. Adani asserts these arrangements need not be concluded before “breaking ground” in central Queensland. This is a risky proposition, given that outstanding approvals could delay or substantially compromise the mine.</p>
<h2>Contested agreement with traditional owners</h2>
<p>Last year the Federal Court <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-17/adani-federal-court-traditional-owners-native-title/10131920">upheld</a> the registration of the Adani ILUA, which allows the Queensland government to extinguish W&J peoples native title to give Adani freehold title to 2,750 hectares of land required for “critical infrastructure” for its mine operations. </p>
<p>But the W&J Council has appealed that decision, alleging Adani manipulated the native title process, including by stacking and controlling a meeting to achieve an agreement in the face of numerous prior rejections of their land deal. They say the deal should never have been certified. </p>
<p>The appeal will be heard by the full bench of the Federal Court in May. The Queensland government has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/11/adanis-carmichael-coalmine-what-happens-next">indicated</a> it will not exercise its ability to extinguish native title rights while the matter is outstanding. Nor are they obliged to, even if the registration is upheld. But if the W&J leaders are successful in their appeal, Adani will suffer a major blow, with compulsory native title extinguishment being the only option open to the Queensland government to support the mine. </p>
<p>W&J Council’s resistance is particularly remarkable given the extent to which political and legal institutions and processes are stacked against them. They highlight the limits of the ILUA authorisation process, and the failure of the native title system for their people.</p>
<p>The native title regime denies Indigenous peoples’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/native-title-and-australias-resource-boom-a-lost-opportunity-2725">right to veto</a> proposed development on their lands, facilitates mining and other forms of development, and is backed up by the threat of compulsory state acquisition. We have <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2018/01/30/native-title-colonialism-racism-adani-and-the-manufacture-of-consent-for-mining/">previously argued</a> the <a href="https://www.academia.edu/38107547/Securing_territory_for_mining_when_Traditional_Owners_say_no_the_exceptional_case_of_Wangan_and_Jagalingou_in_Australia">federal government</a> has a long history of prioritising mining development over Indigenous rights through native title. </p>
<p>These dynamics have been described by United Nations Monitoring Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination as <a href="https://gci.uq.edu.au/filething/get/14800/B%20Coyne%20-%20Revised%20EPLA%20Keynote%20Speech%202017%20-%20Indigeneity%20and%20Human%20Rights%20-%208.11..2017-1.pdf">racially discriminatory</a>. Australia’s first Indigenous senior counsel, and Wangan and Jagalingou traditional owner Tony McAvoy, has similarly called the system out for “<a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-bias-in-the-native-title-system-an-interview-with-barrister-tony-mcavoy-sc/">embedding racism</a>”.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-indigenous-people-be-compensated-for-lost-native-title-rights-the-high-court-will-soon-decide-102252">How will Indigenous people be compensated for lost native title rights? The High Court will soon decide</a>
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<h2>Affirming Aboriginal authority</h2>
<p>By challenging dominant Australian political institutions and foregrounding their commitment to protecting ancestral homelands, W&J Council highlight that settler state authority is not the only form of law operating on the Australian continent. The W&J Council continues to assert its members’ right to oppose mining on their homelands as part of their defence of country and culture. </p>
<p>While their efforts are under-reported, as mainstream media focuses on outstanding state-based approvals for the Adani mine, their campaign represents a resurgence of Aboriginal rights in the face of settler state institutions. </p>
<p>Regardless of the outcome of the pending Federal Court appeal, the W&J Council is affirming Aboriginal authority and unsettling the settler state and its service to the mining industries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristen Lyons has received funding through the Global Change Institute's Flagship Program at the University of Queensland and is a member of the Australian Greens. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morgan Brigg has received funding from through the Global Change Institute’s Flagship Program at The University of Queensland.</span></em></p>An appeal to the full court of the Federal Court still stands in the way of Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine.Kristen Lyons, Professor Environment and Development Sociology, The University of QueenslandMorgan Brigg, Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1107692019-01-30T19:11:07Z2019-01-30T19:11:07ZAboriginal voices are missing from the Murray-Darling Basin crisis<p>The Murray-Darling crisis has led to drinking water shortages, drying rivers, and fish kills in the Darling, Macintyre and Murrumbidgee Rivers. This has been the catalyst for recommendations for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/17/greens-to-introduce-bill-for-royal-commission-into-murray-darling">Royal Commission</a> and creation of <em>two</em> independent scientific expert panels. </p>
<p>The federal Labor party has sought advice from an independent panel through the <a href="https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/news-and-media-releases/panel-experts-review-fish-kill-announced">Australian Academy of Science</a>, while the Coalition government has asked former Bureau of Meteorology chief Rob Vertessy to convene a <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/professor-to-investigate-nsw-fish-deaths/news-story/9063df5fdb2c0ccd53f81f910515d0b7">second panel</a>. Crucially, the first panel contains no Indigenous representatives, and there is little indication that the second panel will either.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-darling-river-is-simply-not-supposed-to-dry-out-even-in-drought-109880">The Darling River is simply not supposed to dry out, even in drought</a>
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<h2>Indigenous meaning</h2>
<p>Water for Aboriginal people is an important part of survival in the driest inhabited landscape on Earth. Protecting water is both a cultural obligation and a necessary practice in the sustainability of everyday life. </p>
<p>The Aboriginal peoples’ worldview sees water as inseparably connected to the land and sky, bound by traditional lore and customs in a system of sustainable management that ensures healthy water for future generations. </p>
<p>Without ongoing connection between these aspects, there is no culture or survival. For a people in a dry landscape, traditional knowledge of finding, re-finding and protecting water sites was integral to survival. Today this knowledge may well serve a broader vision of sustainability for all Australia. </p>
<p>While different Aboriginal Nations describe this in local ways and language, the underlying message is fundamentally the same: look after the water and the water will look after you. </p>
<h2>Native title</h2>
<p>In the current crisis in the Darling River and Menindee Lakes, the focus should be on the Barkandji people of western New South Wales. In 2015, the native title rights for 128,000 square kilometres of Barkandji land were recognised after an 18-year legal case. This legal recognition represented a significant outcome for the Barkandji People because water – and specifically the Darling River or Barka – is central to their existence. </p>
<p>Under the NSW <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/2000/92">Water Management Act</a>, Native Title rights are defined as Basic Landholder Rights. However, the <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2012/488">Barwon-Darling Water Sharing Plan</a> provides a zero allocation for Native Title. The Barkandji confront <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9276/7/1/16/pdf">ongoing struggles</a> to have their common law rights recognised and accommodated by Australian water governance regimes. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/01/16/director-barkandji-native-title-body-not-invited-discussion-about-darling-water">failure to involve</a> them directly in talks convened by the Murray Darling Basin Authority and Basin States, and their exclusion from the independent panels, are further examples of these struggles.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades, Aboriginal people have been lobbying for an environmental, social, economic and cultural share in the water market, but with little success. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-restore-public-trust-in-the-governing-of-the-murray-darling-basin-109797">It's time to restore public trust in the governing of the Murray Darling Basin</a>
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<p>The modern history of Aboriginal peoples’ water is a litany of “<a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/water-reform/draft/water-reform-draft.pdf">unfinished business</a>”, in the words of a 2017 Productivity Commission report.</p>
<p>In 2010 the First Peoples Water Engagement Council was established to advise the National Water Commission, but was abolished prior to the National Water Commission’s legislative sunset in 2014.</p>
<p>The NSW Aboriginal Water Initiative, tasked with re-engaging NSW Aboriginal people in water management and planning, ran from 2012 until the Department of Industry water disbanded the unit in early 2017. In a 2018 progress report the Murray-Darling Basin Authority described NSW as “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/16/damning-murray-darling-report-says-nsw-well-behind-on-water-sharing-plans">well behind</a>” on water sharing plans. </p>
<p>Even after a damning ABC 4Corners report shed light on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/pumped/8727826">alleged water theft and mismanagement</a>, the voices of the Aboriginal people of the Murray-Darling Basin were absent.</p>
<p>In May 2018 the federal Labor party agreed to a federal government policy package of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/07/murray-darling-basin-plan-labor-to-decide-whether-it-will-back-key-changes">amendments to the Basin Plan</a>, including a cut of 70 billion litres to the water recovery target in the northern basin, and further bipartisan agreement for better water outcomes for Indigenous people of the basin. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-causes-algal-blooms-and-how-we-can-stop-them-109646">Explainer: what causes algal blooms, and how we can stop them</a>
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<p>While the measures <a href="https://theconversation.com/deal-on-murray-darling-basin-plan-could-make-history-for-indigenous-water-rights-96264">also included</a> A$40 million for Aboriginal communities to invest in water entitlements, a A$20 million economic development fund to benefit Aboriginal groups most affected by the basin plan, and A$1.5 million to support Aboriginal waterway assessments, how worthwhile are they in a river with no water?</p>
<p>The recent crisis emphasises the perpetual sidelining of Aboriginal voices in water management in NSW and beyond. Indigenous voices need to be heard at all levels, with mechanisms that empower that involvement. Indigenous communities continue to fight for rights to water and for the protection of its spirit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110769/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bradley J. Moggridge receives funding from the Murray Darling Basin Authority. He was previously Program Manager of the Aboriginal Water Initiative in the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Water. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross M Thompson receives funding from the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and the Australian Research Council. He has contributed in an advisory capacity for the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the NSW, Victorian and ACT governments. </span></em></p>Neither of the two federal investigations into fish deaths in the Darling River include any Indigenous representation.Bradley J. Moggridge, Indigenous Water Research, University of CanberraRoss M Thompson, Chair of Water Science and Director, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1011892018-09-10T02:41:37Z2018-09-10T02:41:37ZA new way to recognise an Indigenous nation in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235144/original/file-20180906-190659-1hybc45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians has stalled. It's time to take a new approach. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alan Porritt/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After years of debate, the process for achieving constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians has reached a crossroads. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2018/05/26/4848714.htm">More than a year has gone by</a> since the Uluru Statement from the Heart, when Indigenous peoples rejected symbolic constitutional reform and asked for more practical changes.</p>
<p>Instead of looking at selected components of the Uluru Statement as a solution, there’s another way forward. </p>
<p>We should examine our existing political system and ask how it can be adapted to meet the aspirations of Indigenous peoples while remaining true to the principles that underpin our constitutional democracy. </p>
<p>In other words, we should look to federalism.</p>
<h2>What is a federal model?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.cefa.org.au/ccf/federalism-changing-australia">Federalism</a> aims to bring disparate entities or groups together through a system of shared-rule in a central or national government and self-rule in a state or region.</p>
<p>Federal systems are usually set up on a territorial basis with two tiers of governments, such as the Commonwealth government and state governments in Australia. Each government exercises self-rule with its own legislative and executive powers and has a direct relationship with the people through elections. </p>
<p>However, there are many different versions. <a href="http://www.forumfed.org/library/belgium-country-profile-2005/">Belgium</a>, for instance, has a type of cultural federalism that isn’t defined by just territorial divisions. Membership of a cultural community is defined according to who you are (in Belgium’s case, what language you speak), rather than where you live. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-will-indigenous-people-be-compensated-for-lost-native-title-rights-the-high-court-will-soon-decide-102252">How will Indigenous people be compensated for lost native title rights? The High Court will soon decide</a>
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<p>In this type of federal system, cultural communities have power over language, education and other cultural matters, while regional governments take responsibility for land-based issues, such as infrastructure and the environment.</p>
<p>This approach to cultural autonomy is used in other countries, too. In Estonia, for example, a <a href="https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/519112013004/consolide">national cultural autonomy law</a> has been enacted that allows any ethnic group of at least 3,000 people to establish a separate legal identity, levy taxes and take responsibility for education, cultural institutions and youth affairs.</p>
<p>In Scandinavia, separate <a href="http://archive.ipu.org/splz-e/Chiapas10/saami.pdf">parliaments</a> have also been established for the Indigenous Sámi population. <a href="https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/2016/NGO-Indigenous/Sami-Parliament-of-Norway-eng.pdf">Norway’s Sámi parliament</a> also doubles as an executive branch of government. It was originally a consultative body, but now has power over most measures to promote Sámi culture and oversees compliance with other relevant administrative orders.</p>
<p>The US and Canada, too, have applied this principle in their Indigenous land settlements and treaties. In this system, sometimes known as “<a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/applied-and-social-sciences-magazines/treaty-federalism">treaty federalism</a>”, rights and benefits are based on membership of a group, not just residence.</p>
<p>Importantly, these agreements recognise a mixture of territorial and non-territorial rights. For example, the <a href="http://www.nisgaanation.ca/understanding-treaty">Nisga'a Treaty</a> signed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisga%27a">Nisga'a Nation</a>, the British Columbia government and the Canadian government grants the Nisga'a people authority over education, taxation and environmental protection on their defined lands, as well as control over citizenship and social services for members living both on and off Nisga'a lands.</p>
<p>This is precisely what makes federalism for Indigenous Australians viable and worthy of exploration as an option for reform.</p>
<h2>What an Indigenous nation would look like</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/final-report-expert-panel-recognising-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples-constitution">government-appointed panel</a> on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians considered allocating seats in parliament to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but didn’t explore the idea of federalism itself. </p>
<p>Tasmanian Indigenous activist Michael Mansell <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14/australia-should-create-seventh-state-run-by-indigenous-people/8120232">has called for the establishment of a seventh state</a> comprising Aboriginal lands across Australia. This could be done through legislation, as the constitution permits the parliament to establish new states or territories.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-recognition-in-our-constitution-matters-and-will-need-greater-political-will-to-achieve-90296">Indigenous recognition in our Constitution matters – and will need greater political will to achieve</a>
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<p>An alternative approach is to follow the non-territorial, cultural model used in Belgium, while at the same time recognising Indigenous rights over traditional lands, such as in the US and Canada. </p>
<p>In this model, an Indigenous “nation” or “nations” would be:</p>
<ol>
<li> a constituent unit(s) of Australia, equal in status to the states and the Commonwealth </li>
<li> represented (have a voice) in the upper house of parliament</li>
<li> have constitutionally defined executive and legislative powers</li>
<li> have representation on the Council of Australian Governments</li>
</ol>
<p>Further, an Indigenous nation would be recognised as a sovereign entity within Australia because of its status as a federal unit with powers of self-government. </p>
<p>These powers may be best negotiated in a treaty and could include the responsibility for making laws, delivering services and ensuring compliance on matters like health and education, native title lands and taxation.</p>
<p>Federalism would therefore go quite some way to delivering on three of the four key elements of the Uluru Statement – providing Indigenous peoples with a voice, driving an agreement-making process (a treaty) and recognising sovereignty. </p>
<p>And if an Indigenous nation agreed to unite with Australia’s states “<a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/Constitution/preamble">in one dissoluble Federal Constitution</a>”, this could finally give our constitution legitimacy.</p>
<h2>Logical next step</h2>
<p>Such an approach may seem impractical, but all the elements already exist or are in the works in Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.vic.gov.au/your-rights/native-title/traditional-owner-settlement-act">Native title settlements</a>, for all their shortcomings, recognise distinct groups, define membership in those groups, establish rights over areas of land and allow for government-to-government relationships. </p>
<p>Numerous Indigenous nations, such as the <a href="https://www.ngarrindjeri.org.au/">Ngarrindjeri</a> in South Australia and the <a href="https://www.ngarrindjeri.org.au/">Gunditjmara</a> in Victoria already have in place the equivalent of legislatures and executive branches that are legally recognised. Federalism is the logical next step.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-to-the-heart-what-now-for-indigenous-recognition-after-the-uluru-summit-77853">Listening to the heart: what now for Indigenous recognition after the Uluru summit?</a>
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<p>Further, federalism does not mean that Indigenous peoples would have an extra vote. <a href="https://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/maori-representation/maori-electoral-option">Like the Máori in New Zealand</a>, Australian Indigenous peoples could choose to vote in an Indigenous electorate or a general electorate.</p>
<p>Self-determination has been the <a href="https://hpaied.org/publications/american-indian-self-determination-political-economy-successful-policy">one proven approach</a> to addressing Indigenous disadvantage in other parts of the world. It’s time we realise that federalism is the political structure best suited to delivering this in the Australian context.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101189/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Breen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A federal system could deliver on three of the four key elements of the Uluru Statement. Plus, all the elements already exist or are in the works in Australia.Michael Breen, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1022522018-09-04T03:33:57Z2018-09-04T03:33:57ZHow will Indigenous people be compensated for lost native title rights? The High Court will soon decide<p>Today, the High Court of Australia will <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/cases/case_d1-2018">begin hearing</a> the most significant case concerning Indigenous land rights since the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/high_ct/175clr1.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=%7Emabo">Mabo</a> and <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/1996/40.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=wik">Wik</a> native title cases in the 1990s. </p>
<p>For the first time, the High Court will consider how to approach the question of compensation for the loss of traditional land rights. The decision will have <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-20/timber-creek-native-title-case-watched-closely-by-governments/8287210">huge implications</a> for Indigenous peoples who have lost their land rights and for the state and territory governments responsible for that loss. </p>
<p>For Queensland and Western Australia in particular, the outcome will likely provide clarity on the significant amounts of compensation they may be liable for in the future. </p>
<p>Western Australia, for example, has <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/assistance/Geospatial/Pages/Maps.aspx">areas of determined native title</a> that are collectively larger than the entire state of South Australia. Within those boundaries, there are a number of potential native title claims that could be compensable in the future. </p>
<p>In 2011, the state’s attorney-general, Christian Porter, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-12/priest-native-title/5252298">reportedly</a> described potential compensation claims as a “one billion dollar plus issue”.</p>
<h2>Background on native title</h2>
<p>The Mabo decision first recognised, and the Wik decision later clarified, how Australia’s common law acknowledges and protects the traditional land rights of Indigenous peoples. Following some uncertainty and political clamour caused by both of those decisions, the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00178">Native Title Act 1993</a> provided a legislative structure for the future recognition, protection and compensation of native title. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-politics-explainer-the-mabo-decision-and-native-title-74147">Australian politics explainer: the Mabo decision and native title</a>
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<p>The act provides a <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nta1993147/s51.html">right of compensation</a> for the “impairment and extinguishment” of native title rights in a range of circumstances. However, it provides little guidance on what compensation means in practice. Parliament decided to leave the details to the courts. </p>
<p>Surprisingly, it was not until the end of 2016 that the first-ever compensation claim wound its way to the point of judicial determination – in the Timber Creek decision.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1036728964385976320"}"></div></p>
<h2>The Timber Creek decisions</h2>
<p>The case coming before the High Court today is an appeal following two earlier decisions by the Federal Court. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCA/2016/900.html">Griffiths v Northern Territory</a> (the first Timber Creek decision), Federal Court Justice John Mansfield <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-24/timber-creek-custodians-payout-for-native-titles-rights-loss/7779532">made the first-ever award</a> of compensation for loss of native title rights. </p>
<p>Mansfield awarded the Ngaliwurru and Nungali peoples AU$3.3m in August 2016 for various acts of the NT government going back to the 1980s. These acts included grants of land and public works affecting areas totalling 1.27 square kilometres near the remote township of Timber Creek.</p>
<p>Mansfield approached the compensation award in three steps: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Firstly, he worked out the value of the land rights in plain economic terms. He did this by looking to the freehold market value of the land, but discounting it by 20% to reflect the lower economic value of the native title. This is due to the fact its use is limited to rights under traditional law and custom, such hunting and conducting ceremonies, but does not include a right to lease the land, for example. </p></li>
<li><p>Secondly, he considered how to compensate for the loss of the non-economic aspects of native title, such as cultural and spiritual harm. This involved having to: </p></li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>…quantify the essentially spiritual relationship which Aboriginal people … have with country and to translate the spiritual or religious hurt into compensation. </p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Thirdly, he gave an award of interest to reflect the passage of time since the acts of the NT government occurred. </li>
</ul>
<p>The decision was quickly appealed to the <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCAFC/2017/106.html">Full Court of the Federal Court</a>, which corrected a few errors and <a href="https://www.ashurst.com/en/news-and-insights/legal-updates/native-title-alert-timber-creek-appeal-court-decreases-award-of-native-title-compensation/">reduced the award</a> to just over AU$2.8m. But in broad terms, it approved the three-step approach Mansfield used to calculate the award. </p>
<p>Whether the High Court will follow the same path remains to be seen. A number of new parties, including various state governments, have now become involved in the proceedings, each with their own barrow to push. </p>
<h2>The challenge of valuing native title</h2>
<p>The challenge is that conventional methods for valuing land may not be suitable to reflect the unique nature of native title rights and the significance of those rights to Indigenous peoples. New principles, or adapted versions of old ones, may be needed. </p>
<p>For example, in most cases where a piece of land is resumed by a government for an infrastructure project or some other purpose, the principal measure of compensation is the <a href="https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/1907/82.html">market value of the land</a>. </p>
<p>But in the case of native title rights, there is no market to value the land. Native title cannot be sold, mortgaged or leased. Further, native title is different in every case, with no uniform content. Native title rights can include everything from a right to exclusive possession of land to a very limited right to conduct traditional ceremonies on a piece of land.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-meaningfully-recognise-cities-as-indigenous-places-65561">How can we meaningfully recognise cities as Indigenous places?</a>
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<p>Whether the Federal Court has taken the right approach – or whether a new approach should be adopted – will be the subject of debate in the High Court. </p>
<p>The Ngaliwurru and Nungali people contend the correct approach would have seen them awarded roughly AU$4.6m. The NT government is arguing, however, that the amount should be no more than about AU$1.3m.</p>
<h2>The politics of Timber Creek</h2>
<p>Just as Mabo and Wik resulted in <a href="http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/media/1542209/the-politics-of-native-title">political furore</a>, so, too, may Timber Creek. </p>
<p>One sore point is between the federal government and the states and territories over who will pay any compensation. Under both the Keating and Howard governments, the Commonwealth <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=73467d20-fe20-4964-ab3e-fbe962310b9e">undertook to pay</a> 75% of the compensation a state or territory may be required to pay in future claims (with some exceptions). </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-untold-story-behind-the-1966-wave-hill-walk-off-62890">Friday essay: the untold story behind the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off</a>
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<p>But in 2011, Porter tabled in the WA parliament a letter from Prime Minister Julia Gillard renouncing any Commonwealth obligation <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjR0ZCYj93cAhUB7WEKHf7sAkMQFjAEegQIBRAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aph.gov.au%2FDocumentStore.ashx%3Fid%3D73467d20-fe20-4964-ab3e-fbe962310b9e&usg=AOvVaw2TG7JjGCdEGvN1_QZMM1og">“for the cost of native title compensation settlements”</a>. </p>
<p>Porter may now find himself on the opposite side of the table, having shifted from state supplicant to his new position as a <a href="https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Pages/Biography.aspx">Commonwealth purse holder</a>. </p>
<p>Just how much political friction there will be will depend on the High Court’s approach to determining compensation and the potential cost if hundreds of other native title groups pursue compensation claims in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The decision will have huge implications for Indigenous peoples who have lost their land rights and for state and territory governments that may be liable for compensation.William Isdale, Postgraduate Research Student, T.C. Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandJonathan Fulcher, Program Director, Energy & Resource TC Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/980062018-06-14T20:38:49Z2018-06-14T20:38:49ZIndigenous treaties are meaningless without addressing the issue of sovereignty<p>Ironically, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/oct/26/turnbulls-uluru-statement-rejection-mean-spirited-bastardry-legal-expert">rejection of the 2017 Statement from the Heart</a>, proposing more meaningful national engagement with Indigenous peoples, has accelerated demands for a treaty process across the country. <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/greens-demand-for-aboriginal-sovereignty-clouds-state-treaty-bill/news-story/996c9ad9509bdb860b3c844f70bec072">Victoria</a> and the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-08/indigenous-treaty-a-step-closer-after-nt-government-pledge/9848856">Northern Territory</a> have both moved ahead on this front in recent weeks.</p>
<p>But enthusiasm for treaties at the state and territory level is misplaced. The legal, political and economic power to effect real change lies only at federal level. Local treaty action may be a symbol of goodwill, but it is the very foundation of the Australian Constitution that must be changed. </p>
<p>Greens MP Lidia Thorpe, the <a href="https://thewest.com.au/politics/vics-first-indigenous-woman-mp-to-speak-ng-s-1803303">first Indigenous woman elected to state parliament</a>, maintains that <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/greens-demand-for-aboriginal-sovereignty-clouds-state-treaty-bill/news-story/996c9ad9509bdb860b3c844f70bec072">Indigenous sovereignty</a> must be asserted in the Victorian treaty process. However, this is not possible. States and territories cannot enter into treaties with sovereign nations - they can only sign agreements or domestic acts akin to land rights, vulnerable to political expediency. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-treaties-with-indigenous-australians-overtake-constitutional-recognition-70524">Will treaties with Indigenous Australians overtake constitutional recognition?</a>
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<p>Worse, it implies Indigenous peoples must recognise the legitimacy of the government system that dispossessed them, potentially compromising action at the national level.</p>
<p>Thorpe, a Gunnai-Gunditjmara woman, also announced, apparently without irony, there would be government funding for consultations in Victoria. This recognises the unequal position from which Indigenous peoples are forced to negotiate. Demeaned by their ongoing colonial status, in a country made wealthy through their dispossession, they are dependent for resources even to meet. </p>
<p>State and territory-level action might be commendable if economic power was restored to Indigenous peoples to allow them to come to the national treaty table on equal terms. This could be through the return of land, for example, or a tax revenue derived from land that hasn’t been returned. If the states and territories are serious about treaties, this is the path they will take. </p>
<p>The major debate is whether, at the national level, there should be a single treaty, or treaties with each Indigenous nation. A template that could be used across Australia by each Indigenous nation (or a cluster of them) in such negotiations, would provide for consistency, as well as flexibility. This would be the most useful focus for the state- and territory-level treaty discussion.</p>
<h2>Sovereignty stripped away</h2>
<p>The irony of a treaty process is that treaties also assume the participation of sovereign parties. Indigenous peoples have never ceded their sovereignty. So, how did Australia acquire it? </p>
<p>The founder of Melbourne, John Batman, was an unsavoury character with little time for Aboriginal peoples, but is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-truth-about-john-batman-melbournes-founder-and-murderer-of-the-blacks-1025">credited with being the first</a> to pursue an Indigenous “treaty”, such as it was. </p>
<p>In May 1835, he sought to purchase land directly from the Wurundjeru land owners in a ruse to get around colonial restrictions, entering into what he called a “deed”, or agreement. Infuriated, Governor Richard Bourke quickly sought a proclamation from the Colonial Office to prevent <a href="https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-42-aid-8-pid-73.html">this usurping of government control</a>. It defined anyone occupying land without government authority as illegal trespassers, proving devastating for Indigenous peoples. </p>
<p>The Crown knew Indigenous peoples had their own systems of land ownership and deliberately chose to ignore this. The doctrine of <em>terra nullius</em>, land without owners, was born. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-uluru-we-must-focus-on-a-treaty-ahead-of-constitutional-recognition-78474">After Uluru, we must focus on a treaty ahead of constitutional recognition</a>
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</em>
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<p>The Australian High Court, in the Mabo Decision of 1992, <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/mabo-case">did not overturn</a> <em>terra nullius</em>. The decision recognised prior Indigenous sovereignty, but nonsensically affirmed the sovereignty of the Australian parliament anyway. It acknowledged <em>terra nullius</em> was a lie, without following through the implications: Australia remains a nation without a moral and legal foundation. </p>
<p>There have been attempts in recent years to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/26/a-year-on-the-key-goal-of-uluru-statement-remains-elusive">pursue constitutional recognition</a> of Indigenous peoples, but this is also based on a false premise. Symbolically removing racist clauses from the Constitution and “recognising” Indigenous peoples is pointless: without treaties, the Constitution has no moral or legal legitimacy. </p>
<p>Constitutional recognition cannot restore a moral and legal foundation. We need a new starting point. </p>
<h2>A new approach</h2>
<p>Non-Indigenous Australians want to see Indigenous peoples “included” or “embraced” in the nation. But many don’t want to change their ways to accommodate Indigenous rights or difference. The flow is one way. We are taught that western civilisation is superior, and Indigenous difference is a deficit. </p>
<p>There is Indigenous leadership on these questions that is both visionary and practical. In 1987, Kevin Gilbert, a Wiradjuri man, produced a <a href="http://kevingilbert.org/pdf/Kevin-Gilbert-Aboriginal_Sovereignty-Book.pdf">comprehensive critique</a> of Australia’s claims to sovereignty, and the need to recognise the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. </p>
<p>Irene Watson, a Tanganekald and Meintangk Boandik legal scholar and professor, points out that crises such as climate change are a call for a new relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigneous Australians and our environment. She shows how <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Aboriginal-Peoples-Colonialism-and-International-Law-Raw-Law/Watson/p/book/9780415721752">Indigenous moral and relational values</a> provide a sound basis on which to build those new relationships.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/treaty-debate-will-only-strengthen-indigenous-recognition-process-61078">Treaty debate will only strengthen Indigenous recognition process</a>
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</em>
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<p>Victoria Grieves, a Warraimaay historian, <a href="https://griffithreview.com/articles/new-sovereign-republic-living-history-grieves/">foresees</a> a Republic of Australia based on the sovereignty of Aboriginal peoples. She says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Australia could achieve absolute decolonisation and shared sovereignty and live up to the reputation we like to have, as a nation deeply concerned with human rights and social justice. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is wrong-headed to think of “embracing” Indigenous peoples. Those with a western heritage must relinquish their arrogance, rewrite the distortions of their history, and place Indigenous interests at the forefront of social, economic and political concern. </p>
<p>We need to look beyond symbols to restitution: compensation, reparations and resource sharing. Indigenous peoples, through seeking a treaty, invite us to share in building an honourable future. Surely we can agree that Australia is worth it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaynor Macdonald does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Enthusiasm for Indigenous treaties at the state and territory level is misplaced. The power to bring about real change lies only at federal level.Gaynor Macdonald, Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/923512018-05-08T20:15:21Z2018-05-08T20:15:21ZIndigenous communities are reworking urban planning, but planners need to accept their history<p><em>This is the sixth article in our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cities-for-everyone-53005">Cities for Everyone</a>, which explores how members of different communities experience and shape our cities, and how we can create better public spaces for everyone.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Nearly 80% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0%7E2016%7EMain%20Features%7EAboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20Population%20Article%7E12">live in urban areas</a> but cities often exclude and marginalise them. </p>
<p>Urban planning and policy have been central to this, and the harms can be seen in key moments and processes that have shaped Australia’s urban environments. </p>
<p>Today, Indigenous people continue to be seen as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/apr/09/indigenous-people-are-being-displaced-again-by-gentrification-aboriginal-redfern-west-end-fitzroy">“out of place” in the city</a>. Their rights and interests remain largely invisible in urban history, policy and planning practice. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-meaningfully-recognise-cities-as-indigenous-places-65561">How can we meaningfully recognise cities as Indigenous places?</a>
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<p>To rectify the unequal place of Indigenous peoples in our cities and work towards urban land justice, we need to consider the planning processes that have contributed to the marginalisation of Indigenous people over the course of Australian history.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217393/original/file-20180503-153891-fs7mij.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The draining of the West Melbourne Swamp, a significant wetland for Aboriginal people, began in the 1870s under the supervision of the Public Works Department.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/93001">Henry L Cox (Henry Laird)/SLV</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Planning segregation and assimilation</h2>
<p>Planning has long imagined that social problems can be resolved through spatial organisation and design. It is an activity that occurred even before the profession of “planning” emerged in the 20th century.</p>
<p>The earliest activities of Australian settlement dismissed Indigenous systems of law and governance. Colonial agents such as surveyors, cartographers, Aboriginal protectors and governors sought to remove people from growing towns. They used maps, zones and boundaries to control Indigenous peoples’ movement and to symbolically erase their connections with landscapes.</p>
<p>Populations were segregated on the basis of race as small Aboriginal reserves were established, supposedly to “protect and civilise” Indigenous people. As expanding cities consumed more land and became denser, white anxiety about the threat of disease grew. </p>
<p>But these concerns did not consider the living conditions of the Indigenous nations. Aboriginal people were considered a “threat” to public health. In the minds of officials, this called for their containment and surveillance in reserves, which were pushed further away from urban areas, becoming smaller and more neglected.</p>
<p>Town boundaries were drawn and curfews set to regulate when and where Indigenous people used urban space. These were widely adopted practices. In places like Brisbane, Darwin, Perth and Broome, boundaries were used to control the movement, as well as economic and social opportunities, of Aboriginal people for decades. These practices extended well into the 20th century.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217673/original/file-20180504-153884-1rs4tvn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coranderrk was one of six reserves in Victoria made to contain, regulate, civilise, convert to Christianity and oversee Aboriginal people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://search.slv.vic.gov.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=MAIN&search_scope=default_scope&docId=SLV_VOYAGER1809813&fn=permalink">State Library of Victoria</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As Australian Indigenous policy shifted away from segregation towards assimilation, planning reflected and enacted this change. Reserves close to towns were closed and sold off. <a href="http://coranderrk.com/wordpress/">Coranderrk</a> Reserve near Melbourne was closed in 1924. In the 1950s, the Kahlin Compound in Darwin was closed and its population moved to the more distant Bagot Reserve. </p>
<p>Aboriginal people were compelled to move out of these now-isolated reserves and back into urban areas. Inner-city suburbs, such as Redfern in Sydney and <a href="http://aboriginalhistoryofyarra.com.au/SnapshotsofAboriginalFitzroy.pdf">Fitzroy</a> in Melbourne, became important places for sustaining social and political communities.</p>
<p>These inner-urban sites and communities were swept up in the wider urban renewal agenda that redeveloped cities through rezoning and the provision of new public housing. This was seen as way to resolve poverty. </p>
<p>Yet as the 1997 <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/publications/bringing-them-home-stolen">Bringing Them Home</a> report noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The provision of public housing for Indigenous families brought them into conflict with government authorities and thereby at increased risk of having their children taken. For example, strict limits on visitors staying in public housing and restrictions on the number of family members that could live together took no account of Indigenous family and community relationships.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217447/original/file-20180503-153878-7jck35.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aboriginal communities maintained a strong presence in Fitzroy and Collingwood until the 1950s, when the Housing Commission demolished large ‘slum’ areas and relocated their occupants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Housing_Commission_High_Rise_Collingwood.JPG">Nick Carson/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban policy and planning <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/nov/22/can-indigenous-culture-ever-coexist-with-urban-planning">continue to perpetuate</a> the perception that Indigenous people have no authentic place in urban areas.</p>
<p>However, none of these discriminatory policies and practices has ever gone <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/06/24/jenny-munro-brings-tent-embassy-back-redfern">unchallenged by Indigenous people</a>. While it remains very difficult for Aboriginal peoples whose traditional country is now urbanised to achieve land justice, innovative solutions are being found in the face of these challenges.</p>
<h2>Towards urban land justice</h2>
<p>Indigenous-led initiatives under way today show how communities are reworking planning to achieve their aspirations. The land use agreements negotiated by the Yawuru native title holders of the Broome area provide a framework for reclaiming and using planning to realise <a href="http://www.yawuru.com/our-organisation/nyamba-buru-yawuru-about/">local visions</a> for commercial and residential development. <a href="http://iadv.org.au">Indigenous Architecture Design Victoria</a> is leading new ways of planning and designing built environments.</p>
<p>Within the planning profession, this critical issue is starting to gain more attention. The Queensland government has <a href="https://landscapeaustralia.com/articles/indigenous-rights-in-land-use-planning-strengthened-in-queensland/">passed legislation</a> that acknowledges that planning should value, protect and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, values and traditions. </p>
<p>The Planning Institute of Australia adopted an <a href="https://www.planning.org.au/documents/item/48">education policy</a> in 2016 that calls for all accredited tertiary planning degrees to address the relationship between Indigenous peoples and planning. This requires teachers and students to engage more deeply with the histories, theories and ethics of the profession. These are welcome early steps. </p>
<p>In the long term, advancing a genuine and just relationship between planning and Indigenous peoples means sharing the right to shape the course of urban development and to define what the problems are and what values matter. Planning thinking, methods, approaches and practice must continue to shift to support that aspiration.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Libby Porter, Sue Jackson and Louise Johnson are authors of a recent book, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Planning-in-Indigenous-Australia-From-Imperial-Foundations-to-Postcolonial/Jackson-Porter-Johnson/p/book/9781138909984">Planning in Indigenous Australia: From imperial foundations to postcolonial futures</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>You can find the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cities-for-everyone-53005">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92351/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Libby Porter receives funding from Australia Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Clare Johnson and Sue Jackson do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While planning policies and practices have contributed to marginalising Indigenous people, planners can now work with them to ensure they have their rightful say in shaping Australian communities.Libby Porter, Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLouise Clare Johnson, Professor of Australian Studies and Geography, Deakin UniversitySue Jackson, Professor, ARC Future Fellow, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/844072017-09-22T03:04:19Z2017-09-22T03:04:19ZIs BHP really about to split from the Minerals Council’s hive mind?<p>Shareholder action has struck again (perhaps). The <a href="http://www.accr.org.au/">Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility</a>, on behalf of more than 120 shareholders of BHP, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/sep/19/bhp-agrees-to-rethink-its-links-to-minerals-council-of-australia">convinced the Big Fella to reconsider</a> its membership of the <a href="http://www.minerals.org.au/">Minerals Council of Australia</a>.</p>
<p>Business associations and umbrella groups exist to advance the interests of their members. The ones we know most about are those that are in the public eye, lobbying, producing position papers that put forward controversial and unpopular positions (while giving their members plausible deniability), running television adverts, and attacking their opponents as naive idealists at best, or luddites and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/11/watermelon-climate-debate">watermelons</a> (green on the outside, red on the inside) at worst. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-companies-are-getting-smart-about-climate-change-65221">Risky business: how companies are getting smart about climate change</a>
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</em>
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<p>This has been going on for a century, as readers of the late Alex Carey’s <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Taking-Risk-Out-Democracy-Communication/dp/0252066162">Taking the Risk out of Democracy: Corporate Propaganda versus Freedom and Liberty</a> will know. (Another Australian, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Beder">Sharon Beder</a> ably continued his work, and more recently yet another Australian, Kerryn Higgs, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/collision-course">wrote excellently on this</a>.)</p>
<p>Alongside the gaudy outfits sit lower-profile and occasionally very powerful coordinating groups, such as the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network (see Guy Pearse’s book <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/high-and-dry-9781742284057">High and Dry</a> for details).</p>
<p>Ultimately, however, membership of these groups can have costs to companies – beyond the financial ones. If an industry body strays too far from the public mood, individual companies can feel the heat. This happened in the United States in 2002, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Climate_Coalition">Global Climate Coalition</a>, a front group for automakers and the oil industry that succeeded in defeating the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol">Kyoto Protocol</a> but then outlived its usefulness. It happened again in 2009 when a group of companies (including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/sep/29/us-chamber-commerce-climate-change">Nike</a>, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/pete-altman/microsoft-chamber-doesnt-speak-us-climate">Microsoft</a> and Johnson & Johnson) decided their reputations were being damaged by continued membership of the US Chamber of Commerce, which was taking a particularly intransigent line on President Barack Obama’s climate efforts.</p>
<h2>Doings Down Under</h2>
<p>What’s interesting in this latest spat is that it involves two very powerful players. Let’s look at them in turn.</p>
<p>The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00076799800000222">began life in 1967, as the Australian Mining Industry Council</a>, when Australia’s export boom for coal, iron ore and other commodities was taking off.</p>
<p>From its earliest days it found itself embroiled in both Aboriginal land rights and environmental disputes, having established an environment subcommittee in 1972. Over time, the Council took a robust line on both topics, to put it mildly. </p>
<p>In 1990, at the height of green concerns, the then federal environment minister <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ros_Kelly">Ros Kelly</a> offered a scathing assessment of the council, saying that its idea of a sustainable industry was: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>…one in which miners can mine where they like, for however long they want. It is about, for them, sustaining profits and increasing access to all parts of Australia they feel could be minerally profitable, even if it is of environmental or cultural significance.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Meanwhile, the council’s <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=l7DpUVUpmq8C&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=amic+aboriginal+land+rights&source=bl&ots=-KfJyeYRH2&sig=TAHA0n1OLUNs4oJiE-WDTV_dyZQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiD0taUgLTWAhVDBBoKHRkwBeUQ6AEIPDAE#v=onepage&q=amic%20aboriginal%20land%20rights&f=false">intransigent position on Aboriginal land rights</a>, especially after the <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/NRW2014_3-June-Mabo_FactS.pdf">1992 Mabo decision</a>, caused it to lose both credibility and – crucially – <a href="http://resolution88.com.au/wp-content/uploads/articles/The%20sky%20did%20not%20fall%20in.pdf">access to land rights negotiations</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.acilallen.com.au/person/1/geoff-allen-am">Geoff Allen</a>, a business guru who had created the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Council_of_Australia">Business Council of Australia</a>, was called in to write a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pa.388/abstract">report</a>, which led the Minerals Council to adopt its present name, and a more emollient tone. </p>
<p>The MCA’s peak of influence (so far?) was its role in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hashtags-v-bashtags-a-brief-history-of-mining-advertisements-and-their-backlashes-47359">Keep Mining Strong</a> campaign of 2010, which sank Kevin Rudd’s planned super-profits tax. The following year, it combined with other business associations to form the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Australian_Trade_and_Industry_Alliance">Australian Trade and Industry Alliance</a>, launching an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yehT-m0TJMY">advertising broadside</a> against Julia Gillard’s carbon pricing scheme (which was not, as former Liberal staffer Peta Credlin has <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/02/12/carbon-tax-just-brutal-politics-credlin">now admitted</a>, a “carbon tax”). </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yehT-m0TJMY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Bashing the carbon tax.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The MCA has since kept up a steady drumbeat of attacks on renewable energy, and most infamously supplied the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/09/scott-morrison-brings-coal-to-question-time-what-fresh-idiocy-is-this">(lacquered) lump of coal brandished by Treasurer Scott Morrison in parliament</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hashtags-v-bashtags-a-brief-history-of-mining-advertisements-and-their-backlashes-47359">Hashtags v bashtags: a brief history of mining advertisements (and their backlashes)</a>
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<p>The most important thing, for present purposes, to understand about the MCA is that it may well have been the subject of a reverse takeover by the now defunct Australian Coal Association. In a <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2015/10/24/how-the-minerals-council-australia-has-govts-ear-coal/14456052002539">fascinating article in 2015</a>, Mike Seccombe pointed out that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Big as the coalmining industry is in Australia, it accounts for only a bit more than 20% of the value of our mineral exports. Yet now the Minerals Council has come to be dominated by just that one sector, coal… Representatives of the biggest polluters on the planet now run the show.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This brings us to BHP. As a global resources player, with fingers in many more pies than just coal (indeed, it has spun its coal interests off into a company called <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-bhp-billiton-divestiture/bhp-hopes-south32-spinoff-will-help-it-to-shine-in-low-price-markets-idUSKBN0MC2FW20150317">South32</a>), it has remained phlegmatic about carbon pricing, even as the MCA and others have got into a flap. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/say-what-you-like-about-bhp-it-didnt-squander-the-boom-55227">Say what you like about BHP, it didn't squander the boom</a>
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<p>To BHP, the advent of carbon pricing in Australia was if anything a welcome development. The move offered two main benefits: valuable experience of doing business under carbon pricing, and a chance to influence policy more easily than in bigger, more complex economies. </p>
<p>In 2000, the company’s <a href="https://hbr.org/2013/11/the-ceo-who-led-a-turnaround-without-wearing-a-helmet">American chief executive, Paul Anderson</a>, tried to get the Business Council of Australia to discuss ratification of the Kyoto Protocol (which would build pressure for local carbon pricing). He couldn’t get traction. <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/delayed-reaction/2007/03/23/1174597882759.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap3">Interviewed in 2007</a>, he recalled:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I held a party and nobody came… They sent some low-level people that almost read from things that had been given to them by their lawyers. Things like, ‘Our company does not acknowledge that carbon dioxide is an issue and, if it is, we’re not the cause of it and we wouldn’t admit to it anyway.’</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The schism</h2>
<p>As the physicist Niels Bohr <a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nielsbohr130288.html">said</a>, “prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”. I wouldn’t want to bet on whether BHP will actually go ahead and leave the MCA, or whether the Minerals Council will revise its hostile position on environmental sustainability.</p>
<p>BHP has promised to “make public, by 31 December 2017, a list of the material differences between the positions we hold on climate and energy policy, and the advocacy positions on climate and energy policy taken by industry associations to which we belong”.</p>
<p>In reaching for a metaphor to try and explain the situation, I find myself coming back to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Borg">an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation</a>. The heroic crew has captured an individual from the “Borg”, a collective hive-mind entity. They plan to implant an impossible image in its brain, knowing that upon release it will reconnect, shunt the image upwards for the hive mind to try to understand, and thus drive the entire Borg stark raving mad as it tries in vain to compute the information it is receiving. </p>
<p>This analogy is admittedly crude, I’ll grant you. It is, I submit, also a pretty accurate picture of what might happen when an MCA member grows a climate conscience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84407/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
What happens when the gap between a company and its umbrella group gets too wide? We’re about to find out.Marc Hudson, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/655612016-10-05T02:39:55Z2016-10-05T02:39:55ZHow can we meaningfully recognise cities as Indigenous places?<p><em>Australian cities are inherently diverse places, but that diversity can lead to conflict between different values about what cities should and can be. Our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/conflict-in-the-city-31714">Conflict in the City</a>, brings together urban researchers to examine some of these tensions and consider how cities are governed and for whom.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The return of land to Indigenous custodians in Australia over the past 20 years is a dramatic shift in Australian land tenure and management. Yet this revolution has, as yet, barely touched urban Australia.</p>
<p>Public and policy discussion about the future of urban Australia is framed as if Indigenous people were not present, and as if cities were not built on Aboriginal land. </p>
<p>What would it take to think about cities as spaces where Indigenous and non-Indigenous systems, knowledge and values co-exist? What would recognising such co-existence mean for how the future of cities is decided?</p>
<h2>Property and racial stereotypes</h2>
<p>As in other urbanised nations, Australian cities are one of the main engine rooms of the national economy. Wealth creation is possible because of the system of private property rights that makes cities what they are today. </p>
<p>Property shapes how cities function, how they look and how we live in them. And property fragments urban environments. It chops up the landscape with titles, fences, investment portfolios, development options and planning zones. </p>
<p>In places like Australia, that system of property is imposed on Indigenous lands. It entrenches non-Indigenous property rights and excludes the people from whom the land was stolen. </p>
<p>Most importantly, property works against the recognition that cities, too, are Indigenous places. It is a first important reason why the revolution in land titling and management has not penetrated Australian cities.</p>
<h2>Urban areas off limits to land rights</h2>
<p>While more than <a href="https://www.crikey.com.au/2013/07/04/mapping-indigenous-land-wealth-the-revolution-we-had-to-have/">30% of the continent</a> has been returned to Indigenous control, almost none of that land is in urban areas. </p>
<p>In contrast to Canada and New Zealand, it is exceptionally difficult for Indigenous people to gain access to land in urban Australia. There are few opportunities for land grants, and limited chance of success in native title, as <a href="https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:35214">recent research</a> shows.</p>
<p>A second reason is racial stereotypes. Indigenous values are able to be acknowledged in natural but not in built environments. </p>
<p>Places like <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/resource/joint-management-uluru-kata-tjuta-national-park">Kakadu, Uluru</a> and <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/budj-bim">Budj Bim</a> are where non-Indigenous Australia is willing to value traditional custodians’ contribution, knowledge and practice. Yet Aboriginal values in the built environment are virtually invisible. </p>
<p>These racial stereotypes have been held a long time. They cast Indigenous people in urban environments as “too modern” to make legitimate claims. And they cast urban environments as too modified for ongoing Indigenous cultural connection. </p>
<p>In jointly managed national parks, Indigenous majorities on boards of management are now a well-established approach. Yet the idea of having Indigenous people as majority decision-makers over urban development options or metropolitan-scale strategic planning is largely unthinkable. </p>
<p>This is not an Indigenous problem. It is a problem of non-Indigenous racial stereotypes and the power of property rights.</p>
<h2>Cities are political spaces of co-existence</h2>
<p>Cities are nonetheless places where tensions simmer about recognition, reconciliation and land justice. The Tent Embassy in Canberra is perhaps the most symbolic and is an important model for other Aboriginal actions that assert sovereignty such as in <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/06/24/jenny-munro-brings-tent-embassy-back-redfern">Redfern</a>, <a href="http://www.nyoongartentembassy.com/">Perth</a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-18/what-is-the-brisbane-sovereign-embassy3f/4016942">Brisbane</a> and during <a href="http://stolenwealthgames.com/">Melbourne’s “Stolenwealth Games”</a>.</p>
<p>The case is similar in other countries. In Vancouver, First Nations peoples issued the City of Vancouver with <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/oppenheimer-homeless-camp-first-nations-members-issue-eviction-notice-to-vancouver-1.2712736">an eviction notice</a> asserting unlawful occupation of their lands. The action came after the city council threatened to forcefully remove people, many of them Aboriginal, living in a homeless camp in a city park. </p>
<p>In Honolulu’s Kaka’ako district, there is a direct relationship between the number of native Hawaiians <a href="http://fluxhawaii.com/whose-kakaako/">sleeping rough under tarps</a> and the rapid gentrification of their lands by upscale housing developments. </p>
<p>Canada is also the place where we find some interesting examples of urban co-existence between Indigenous peoples and settler governments. The small city of Iqaluit was declared the capital of the Nunuvat territory in 1999, one of many dimensions of the <a href="http://nlca.tunngavik.com/?lang=en">Nunavut Land Claims Agreement</a>. Iqaluit is a multicultural town under an admittedly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jul/05/struggle-iqaluit-north-south-tensions-canada-arctic-capital-inuit">constrained form of Inuit self-governance</a>.</p>
<p>In 2014, Vancouver City Council declared the Year of Reconciliation. It passed a formal <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/1416321/city-of-vancouver-formally-declares-city-is-on-unceded-aborginal-territory/">declaration</a> acknowledging that the city was:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… founded on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations and that these territories were never ceded through treaty, war or surrender.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is more than ironic that this is the same council that sought to remove the homeless camp. </p>
<h2>On the horizon</h2>
<p>In Australia, too, some new opportunities signal possibilities for meaningful co-existence in cities. The settlement of the <a href="http://www.noongar.org.au/settlement-agreement/">Noongar claim</a> in southwest Western Australia heralds important opportunities for Noongar access to land and involvement in urban governance in the Perth metropolitan area and beyond.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, the Queensland parliament passed new planning legislation. It makes “valuing, protecting and promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, culture and tradition” a central purpose of planning.</p>
<p>In Victoria, a recent review of Aboriginal heritage legislation has strengthened the role and powers of traditional custodians in the protection and ownership of their cultural heritage. It makes their role in urban development increasingly important.</p>
<p>How any of these opportunities unfold will depend on the willingness of non-Indigenous systems of urban governance and management to shift over. Allowing genuine space for Indigenous knowledge, law and cultural perspectives on urban decision-making would surely be significant to achieving a meaningful co-existence in cities.</p>
<h2>Imagining different urban futures</h2>
<p>Let’s imagine how urban Australia might be different. </p>
<p>Imagine if caring for country principles were at the heart of the urban development system. Imagine if the planning and design of public space recognised these are some of the only places that Aboriginal people can access a land base in the city.</p>
<p>Imagine if we used density and zoning tools to provide reparation for land theft and to redistribute wealth. Imagine if mainstream urban planning processes recognised continuing co-existing Indigenous methods of land governance. Imagine if we did urban development in a way that honours Indigenous histories, knowledge and relationships with those places.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t that be a meaningful co-existence worth striving for in Australian cities?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Libby Porter will launch her book, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Planning-for-Coexistence-Recognizing-Indigenous-rights-through-land-use/Porter-Barry/p/book/9781409470779">Planning for Coexistence? Recognising Indigenous rights through land-use planning in Canada and Australia</a>, on October 14 with keynote speaker, poet, novelist and recipient of the Dr Bruce McGuinness Indigenous Research Fellowship Tony Birch. See <a href="http://cur.org.au/events/book-launch-planning-coexistence/">here</a> for details and to register.</em></p>
<p><em>You can read other Conflict in the City articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/conflict-in-the-city-31714">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65561/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Libby Porter receives funding from the Australia Research Council.</span></em></p>Imagine if we did urban development in a way that honours Indigenous histories, knowledge and relationships with those places.Libby Porter, Vice-Chancellor's Principal Research Fellow and Associate Professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/637002016-08-20T22:57:18Z2016-08-20T22:57:18ZAn historic handful of dirt: Whitlam and the legacy of the Wave Hill Walk-Off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134034/original/image-20160814-25485-sjyrhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vincent Lingiari looks on as Prime Minister Gough Whitlam swigs champagne after the symbolic handback of the Gurindji people's land.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Wesley-Smith</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.freedomday50.com.au/">Fifty years ago</a>, on the morning of August 23, 1966, <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lingiari-vincent-14178">Vincent Lingiari</a> led a walk-off of 200 Gurindji, Mudburra and Warlpiri workers and their families from a remote Northern Territory cattle station, escaping <a href="http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-untold-story-behind-the-1966-wave-hill-walk-off-62890">a century of servitude</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133426/original/image-20160808-11853-1dsk32d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1157&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new book traces what happened after the Wave Hill Walk-Off and this famous moment between Vincent Lingiari and Gough Whitlam in 1975.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.publishing.monash.edu.au/books/hs-9781925377163.html">Monash University Publishing, 2016</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The families rejected the pleas of their British multinational employer Vestey’s to return to the Wave Hill station, re-occupied an area of their own land at Wattie Creek, and fought until the nation’s leaders heeded their cause. Nine years later, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam symbolically returned the Gurindji’s country with a handful of red dirt – a story many Australians know from the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ndC07C2qw&ab_channel=JimmyJones">From Little Things, Big Things Grow</a>.</p>
<p>But how much did the <a href="http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/defining_moments/featured/wave_hill_walk-off">1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off</a>, or the historic 1975 meeting between Whitlam and Lingiari, really improve life for the Gurindji people? And how significant was the walk-off in the fight for Indigenous recognition and land rights in Australia?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.publishing.monash.edu.au/books/hs-9781925377163.html">A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-Off</a>, published today, tells that story. This edited extract reveals the drama and accidental comedy of the day the prime minister and his entourage descended on the remote community of Daguragu (formerly Wattie Creek) for the <a href="http://indigenousrights.net.au/land_rights/wave_hill_walk_off,_1966-75/the_hand_back">“hand back”</a> on August 16, 1975 – and its bittersweet aftermath.</p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p>Whitlam flew up in a BAC 1-11 [jet]. The airstrip… wasn’t quite long enough for it [laughs]. I remember that when he landed, there were all these dignitaries waiting out there for Gough, but he didn’t stop in time and went hurtling through the fence. It was a pretty spectacular start to the day’s events. – <strong>Geoff Eames, Central Land Council lawyer.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>It was just after midday when Whitlam and his wife Margaret stepped onto Gurindji soil for the first time. According to a very young onlooker, the prime minister “stood there like a great big giant and [shook] each old people hand”. In her blue slacksuit, Mrs Whitlam also began mixing with the crowd, embracing local infants.</p>
<p>A succession of former ministers — all of whom had promised the Gurindji varying amounts of land — milled about. Meanwhile, a “tethered goat [ate] rubbish with great solemnity”.</p>
<p>After introductions and greetings, the day’s program began under the shade of a bough shed. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Les Johnson optimistically reassured the audience that with the government’s forthcoming Land Rights Act, the Gurindji could convert their lease to proper land rights, making them legal owners “later in the year”. (In reality, that didn’t happen for more than a decade.)</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Wave Hill region in Australia’s Northern Territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.publishing.monash.edu.au/books/hs-9781925377163.html">A Handful of Sand, by Charlie Ward, Monash University Publishing, 2016</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The general manager of Vestey’s Angliss group Roger Golding announced that Lord Vestey would give the Gurindji a gift of 400 cattle. Golding wished the new Murramulla Gurindji Company every success – though he also made a jibe at the protesters who had stormed his company’s offices some years earlier. Lupngiari — a significant player in the Gurindji’s struggle — sat back, ignored by photographers, rolling a smoke.</p>
<p>On the prime ministerial jet that morning, public servant turned Aboriginal affairs adviser <a href="http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/coombs/">H.C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs</a> urged Whitlam to keep his speech short and invest the day with a sense of ceremony. </p>
<p>Coombs recounted a story told by anthropologist Bill Stanner: how Wurundjeri elders had formalised their people’s 1835 land treaty with encroaching settlers at Port Phillip by placing soil into the hand of explorer John Batman. Hearing Coombs’ suggestion that the PM might reverse the gesture with Lingiari, Whitlam revised his performance plan for Daguragu on the spot.</p>
<p>When it came to his turn to speak, Whitlam congratulated the Gurindji and their supporters on their victory after a nine-year “fight for justice”. Promising that the Australian government would “help you in your plans to use this land fruitfully”, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/site-archive/rural/content/2007/s1883613.htm">his speech</a> concluded with the words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people, and I put into your hands this piece of the earth itself as a sign that we restore them to you and your children forever.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdpVBHxpArI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Part of Gough Whitlam’s speech on August 16, 1975. Posted by Luke Pearson.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In finishing, Whitlam handed Lingiari the new deeds to the Gurindji’s land, now officially dubbed NT Pastoral Lease 805. Then, to the joy of assembled photographers, he stooped down, grabbed a handful of red earth, and poured it into Lingiari’s open palm.</p>
<p>Vestey pastoral inspector Cec Watts and his wife Dawn remember how Lingiari — knowing the symbolic importance of the soil he had been given — then quietly tried dispose of the red dirt without offending the assembled <em>kartiya</em> (white people). As the couple recalled:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Cec: I was standing quite close to Vincent, and Gough gave him this handful of dirt, symbolically, and the old bloke sort of let it drift out of his hand.</p>
<p>Dawn: He didn’t know what to do with it.</p>
<p>Cec: Poor old bugger… He put it behind his back.</p>
<p>Dawn: They could have given him a little box.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Lingiari — who according to one reporter was struck with a case of nerves — responded to Whitlam and the crowd in his own language:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The important white men are giving us this land ceremonially… It belonged to the whites, but today it is in the hands of us Aboriginals all around here. Let us live happily as mates, let us not make it hard for each other… They will give us cattle, they will give us horses, and we will be happy… These important white men have come here to our ceremonial ground and they are welcome…</p>
<p>You (Gurindji) must keep this land safe for yourselves, it does not belong to any different Welfare man. They took our country away from us, now they have bought it back ceremonially.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>After Whitlam gave the old man even more dirt for the benefit of the press, photographer <a href="http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/bishop-mervyn/">Mervyn Bishop’s</a> images of the “handover” became some of the most recognised in Australian political history. The power of the photos rested in the symbolism of Whitlam’s gesture, made on behalf of millions concerned by Aboriginal dispossession.</p>
<p>The handover implicitly acknowledged the moral rightfuness of the Gurindji’s stand, and the <a href="http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-untold-story-behind-the-1966-wave-hill-walk-off-62890">historical injustices</a> done to them by the Europeans on their country. It was by dint of the Gurindji’s hard slog at <a href="http://www.nfsa.gov.au/digitallearning/heritage/wattie_creek.html">Wattie Creek</a> that they had successfully brought all this to the nation’s attention. The handover day was the old Gurindji men’s finest hour, and their victory.</p>
<p>Lingiari made his speech, and a party followed. Chops, sausages and fruit were served before painted-up members of the track mob and others danced. Mindful of the whites’ need to mark every occasion by consuming liquor, Daguragu’s elders had waived their alcohol ban for the day, but precious little was on hand.</p>
<p>Guests quickly learned that the line “One for Mrs Whitlam, please” would guarantee them a cold beer. The prime minister “poured champagne down his copious gullet” from the bottle, according to agronomist Rob Wesley-Smith, before passing it to a startled Lingiari. The old man had sworn off drinking the year before, but he took a swig — and requested Whitlam’s help to prevent the ill-effects grog was having on his community.</p>
<p>Amongst such excitement, the Gurindji leader gave the new title deeds to his lawyer, Geoff Eames, for safekeeping. With enthusiastic residents wanting to examine the documents, Eames lost them in the crowd. At that point he was approached by Whitlam, announcing there had been requests for photographs of the black and white statesmen holding the parchment. When Eames replied meekly that he didn’t know where it was, Whitlam’s response was quintessential: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What? It took them 200 years to get their land back, and you’ve lost it in ten minutes?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Eventually the deed was located, “all stained with red dirt, it had been passed through so many hands”.</p>
<p>After the bonhomie subsided and the VIPs departed for the Wave Hill airstrip, Daguragu’s elders were apparently “disgusted” by the empty beer cans left behind.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134032/original/image-20160814-6482-duc168.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gurindji employees of the Muramulla Cattle Company, yarding cattle at Daguragu (formerly Wattie Creek) in about 1978.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Wesley-Smith</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In rural Queensland the day after the ceremony, Whitlam claimed on radio that “for the first time, Aboriginal people have been given rights to their own land”.</p>
<p>The PM was gilding the lily, for although he was clear that the government’s transferral of a pastoral lease to the Gurindji was just the first step towards returning their land in perpetuity, the “rights” he’d conferred were merely those enjoyed by Vestey’s and other NT pastoralists. Contrary to Whitlam’s spin, the reality was that other Aboriginal groups had pipped the Gurindji to the post on that count, too.</p>
<p>The 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off and the tireless years of campaigning that followed were nationally significant, not least because they helped inspire the Whitlam government’s 1973–74 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Land Rights. Its findings were used to draft the <a href="http://www.nlc.org.au/articles/info/aboriginal-land-rights-northern-territory-act-1976/">Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976</a> – the most far-reaching land rights laws in any part of Australia.</p>
<p>But as for their own land rights, it would take the Gurindji people <a href="http://www.clc.org.au/land-won-back/info/daguragu-station-land-claim/">another 11 years</a> before they could finally call their land their own.
<br></p>
<hr>
<p><em>* <a href="http://www.publishing.monash.edu.au/books/hs-9781925377163.html">A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-Off</a> is published by Monash University Publishing.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63700/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlie Ward is the author of "A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off", published in August 2016 by Monash University Publishing. He is also involved as an organiser of the Freedom Day celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wave Hill Walk-Off.</span></em></p>A new book reveals the drama and comedy of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam’s famous “hand back” of Gurindji land in 1975, following the Wave Hill Walk-Off 50 years ago – and the bittersweet aftermath.Charlie Ward, Writer, Historian and PhD Candidate, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/628902016-08-18T20:15:19Z2016-08-18T20:15:19ZFriday essay: the untold story behind the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133593/original/image-20160809-20932-1707vo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Gurindji ranger Ursula Chubb pays her respects to ancestors killed in the early 1900s at Blackfella Creek, where children were tied with wire and dragged by horses, and adults were shot as they fled. They were buried under rocks where they fell.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brenda L Croft, from Yijarni</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>* First Nations people, please be advised this article speaks of racially discriminating moments in history, including the distress and death of First Nations people. This article also contain images, voices and names of deceased people.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://www.freedomday50.com.au/">Fifty years ago</a>, the Gurindji people of the Northern Territory made their name across Australia with the 1966 <a href="http://indigenousrights.net.au/land_rights/wave_hill_walk_off,_1966-75">Wave Hill Walk-Off</a>. It was a landmark event that inspired national change: equal wages for Aboriginal workers, as well as a new <a href="http://www.clc.org.au/articles/cat/land-rights-act/">land rights act</a>. Although it took another two decades, the Gurindji also became one of the first Aboriginal groups to <a href="http://www.clc.org.au/land-won-back/info/daguragu-station-land-claim/">reclaim their traditional lands</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=684&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133433/original/image-20160809-9267-824gtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=860&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A new book shares untold stories about the history behind the 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Aboriginal Studies Press</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133424/original/image-20160808-5131-ikrplf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=812&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wave Hill’s location in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.publishing.monash.edu.au/books/hs-9781925377163.html">A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-Off, by Charlie Ward, published by Monash University Publishing 2016</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people know a small part of the walk-off story because of the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ndC07C2qw&ab_channel=JimmyJones">From Little Things, Big Things Grow</a>: how 200 stockmen, house servants and their families walked off Wave Hill Station on August 23, 1966, in protest at appalling pay and <a href="http://www.freedomday50.com.au/history-culture/">living conditions</a>. </p>
<p>What’s much less widely known is that the walk-off followed more than 80 years of massacres and killings, stolen children and other abuses by early colonists. For many Gurindji elders alive today, it happened within their lifetime, to them or to their loved ones.</p>
<p>Those elders are now sharing their untold stories through a new book, <a href="http://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/yijarni-true-stories-gurindji-country/paperback">Yijarni</a>, being launched today at Kalkaringi by Senator Pat Dodson, as part of the <a href="http://www.freedomday50.com.au/">50th-anniversary celebrations of the walk-off</a>. Yijarni – meaning “true” in Gurindji – is a collaboration between those elders, linguists, photographers, visual artists from <a href="http://www.darwinaboriginalartfair.com.au/centre/karungkarni-art/">Karungkarni Arts</a> and the <a href="http://www.clc.org.au/articles/info/clc-rangers1">Murnkurrumurnkurru Central Land Council rangers</a>. </p>
<p>As the elders recall, memories of their brutal treatment over several generations weighed heavily on the minds of Gurindji people when they walked off the station.</p>
<p>One of the first things the Gurindji did after the walk-off was to take the bones of those massacred at Blackfellows Knob and accord them the respect of a traditional burial, by interring them in the caves of the Seale Gorge. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133557/original/image-20160809-18014-15hb59d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Violet Wadrill describes the Blackfellows Knob massacre and the later reburial of bones at Seale Gorge to her granddaughter Leah Leaman in 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Penny Smith, from Yijarni.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘They shot blackfellas like dogs’</h2>
<p>Gurindji country was first colonised by pastoralists who considered the blacksoil plains of the Victoria River District to be prime grazing land.</p>
<p>In late 1855, the brothers Henry and <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gregory-francis-thomas-frank-3899">Francis Gregory</a> arrived from the north and followed the Victoria River and its tributaries upstream. Here they met Gurindji, Malngin, Bilinarra and Mudburra people for the first time.</p>
<p>The first Gurindji murder recorded by pastoralists occurred just after <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/buchanan-nathaniel-nat-3101">Nat Buchanan</a> established Wave Hill Station in 1882. His son Gordon noted in his memoirs that Sam Croker shot a Gurindji man in the back for trying to take a bucket.</p>
<p>Killings of individuals and groups increased in frequency as more and more Gurindji land was taken for grazing.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Nyanuny-ngurlu-rni ngurra-ngurlu kartipa yani nyamu yani ‘nother place, ‘nother land-kari-ngurlu. Murlangkurra paraj ngumpit turlakap warlaku-marraj, kula kuya-ma punyu … nyawa-ma-rna yurrk marnana nyamu-yilu yurrk marnani kamparlkarra marlarluka-lu, kajikajirri-lu yurrk.</em></p>
<p>They were shot on their own country by the foreigners. When they came here, they found blackfellas and shot them like dogs — that’s not right! I’m telling it how the old people who were there told it. <strong>– Ronnie Wavehill, speaking in Gurindji in 1997, translated into English.</strong> (Yijarni, page 50-51)</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131548/original/image-20160722-21872-rt5lrd.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jack Beasley in 1939.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lilly collection, courtesy of Darrell Lewis, The Murranji Track, 2011</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One man from the 1930s still remembered by Gurindji people is stockman Jack Beasley. He had a reputation among Gurindji and <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=OhPKA3T2YjUC&lpg=RA1-PA56&ots=7bmBDYLhT5&dq=murranji%20track%20jack%20beasley&pg=PA132#v=onepage&q=murranji%20track%20jack%20beasley&f=false">white stockmen</a> alike as a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-velvet-redefining-and-celebrating-indigenous-australian-women-in-art-56211">gin jockey</a>”: a common term for someone who took Aboriginal women against their will for his own sexual gratification.</p>
<p>In a memoir by Doug Moore, an Ord River bookkeeper, <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=JTbWBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266&dq=jack+beasley+wave+hill&source=bl&ots=mnGsn2vQ4M&sig=6R0TGoGI9LQFyORkfFo9vtLuqgA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwin0Z7emcjOAhVGpJQKHfOfCKMQ6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q=jack%20beasley%20wave%20hill&f=false">Beasley is described</a> as “a rough good-natured chap who talked about gouging out blackfellows’ eyes with a blunt pocket knife”.</p>
<p>To this day, the Gurindji talk about Beasley as the worst perpetrator of massacres in this area.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131547/original/image-20160722-21879-x6uzb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">More than a dozen known massacre sites from the early colonial period – as recorded by Gurindji elders or early pastoralists – are marked on this map with the symbol of a cross.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yijarni, p. 28-29</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>‘He kicked my mother till she dropped dead’</h2>
<p>In the 1930s, when Jimmy Manngayarri was only about four years old, he watched as his mother was kicked to death by pastoralist Harry Reid. Half a century later, he said he always believed Reid had killed her because his mother had been unable to make him stop crying.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I was a little boy … Harry Reid was kicking my mother here on the kidney. He kicked her in the kidney till she dropped dead. <strong>– Malngin elder Jimmy Manngayarri talking to Deborah Rose in the early 1980s.</strong> (<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Hidden_Histories.html?id=xsM7LPwGwFQC">Hidden Histories</a>, p. 41)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He also saw his uncle die at the hands of two other white men, Jack Cusack and Jack Carpenter.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Cusack and Carpenter meikim im cartim jangilany. ‘Alrait yu cartim wud.’ Wal imin gedim wud na. Imin gedim wud, stackimap. ‘Rait yu stand up deya. Stand up longsaid langa faya.’ Jutim deya binij on top of the wood. Gedim kerosin an barnimap rait deya top of the wud jukim kerosine barnim. Puka kartiya brobli. Dat ai bin siim acting langa mairoun eye ai bin siim wen ai was piccininny.</p>
<p>Cusack and Carpenter made my uncle get some firewood. ‘Alright, you cart some wood,’ they told him. Well, he got some wood then and stacked it up. ‘Right you stand up there,’ they said. ‘Stand lengthways to the pile of firewood.’ Then they shot him so he fell on top of the wood. They got some kerosene and burnt him right there. Those whitefellas were rotten to the core. I saw them do these things with my own eyes when I was a child. <strong>– Jimmy Manngayarri, recorded in 1975.</strong> (Yijarni, p. 60-62)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="34" data-image="" data-title="Jimmy Manngayarri describes his uncle's death." data-size="273572" data-source="McConvell collection (AIATSIS)" data-source-url="" data-license="" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/464/manngayarri.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Jimmy Manngayarri describes his uncle’s death.
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">McConvell collection (AIATSIS)</span><span class="download"><span>267 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/464/manngayarri.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<h2>‘You reckon you can run as fast as a horse?’</h2>
<p>The establishment of the Gordon Creek Police Station in 1894 and Bow Hills Police Station in 1913 (later known as Wave Hill Police Station) did little to stop the increasingly normalised violence against Gurindji men, women and children.</p>
<p>Mounted Constable William Willshire was the first policeman posted at Gordon Creek Police Station in 1894. He arrived with a murderous reputation, as <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/willshire-william-henry-9128">the Australian Dictionary of Biography records</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Disliking paperwork, Willshire often failed to report his activities; by 1890 Aboriginal deaths associated with his actions certainly exceeded the official number of thirteen … In 1891 Willshire’s men attacked sleeping Aborigines camped at Tempe Downs station. Two men died and were cremated. F.J. Gillen, Alice Springs sub-protector of Aborigines, investigated the reported episode and committed Willshire to Port Augusta for trial for murder … Aboriginal witnesses attended, but problems over accepting their evidence resulted in Willshire’s popular acquittal. Having prudently stationed him at southern centres, his superiors transferred him in 1893 to the Victoria River district where he was able ‘to commit mayhem at will’.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133566/original/image-20160809-11853-114r0qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous ranger George Sambo shows the tree where Mounted Constable McDonald used to chain Aboriginal men.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Penny Smith, Yijarni</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even after being put on trial, Willshire’s brutality continued unchecked in the north when he was posted at Gordon Creek.</p>
<p>Another early policeman, Mounted Constable MacDonald, stationed at Bow Hills Police Station, had a reputation for chaining up Gurindji men and setting dogs on them.</p>
<p>Little changed in the new century. In the 1940s, Gordon Stott’s patrols of the Victoria River District with his tracker Kurnmali were feared by Aboriginal stockman.</p>
<p>Like Willshire, Stott’s reputation had preceded him. Following a trial in Borroloola in 1933 involving Aboriginal witnesses, a departmental inquiry found that “Mounted Constable Stott, by intimidation and assault, extracted false evidence of cattle killing from a number of aboriginals”. Another witness had also died following an assault by Stott. It was recommended that he be dismissed; instead, he was sent to the Victoria River District.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘Rarraj-ku-ma ngun yawarta-marraj wayi?’ Ngurla kup mani kuyarniny-ma jamana-ma nyila-ma. Ngurla kup mani kujarrap. Ngurla mani shorn-rasp na yalungku na imin raspim nyila-ma jamana-ma najing til im meikim kungulu nyawa-ma wansaid.</p>
<p>‘You reckon you can run as fast as a horse?’ Gordon Stott the policeman taunted the prisoner. Stott took the chains off one of the prisioner’s feet and then the other. Then he got a horse rasp and filed the sole of his foot until it bled. – <strong>Banjo Ryan, interviewed in 2015.</strong> (Yijarni, p. 221)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="17" data-image="" data-title="Banjo Ryan describes the actions of policeman Gordon Stott." data-size="141079" data-source="Yijarni p. 220" data-source-url="" data-license="" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/465/ryan.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Banjo Ryan describes the actions of policeman Gordon Stott.
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yijarni p. 220</span><span class="download"><span>138 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/465/ryan.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<h2>‘We grieved for our kids’</h2>
<p>In 1911, the first children were taken under the Aboriginal Ordinance, which was incorporated with the 1910 Aborigines Act. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=363&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131555/original/image-20160722-21868-1yvvn1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Patrol Officer Ted Evans, shown in 1951, was among those who took children from their mothers. Years later, he wept at what he’d done.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Harry Giese collection, courtesy of Northern Territory Library</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Chief Protector had the power to remove children who had white fathers from their families and put them into state custody or missions. These children became part of Australia’s <a href="http://www.nsdc.org.au/stolen-generations-history/">Stolen Generations</a>.</p>
<p>For many Gurindji families, Ted Evans and Creed Lovegrove are still remembered as the patrol officers who removed many of their children in the 1940s and ‘50s.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Nguyina kanya dat two Welfare na, Welfare-kujarra. Nyila-ma kurrurij-ma jangkarni yard-jawung, welfare kurrurij. International. Ngurnayinangulu nguran karrinya yaluwu na karu-wu. Jawiji-ma nyampa-ma jaju-ma ngamayi-ma nguyinangulu.</p>
<p>The two welfare officers took the children away in a large International truck with wooden slats like a cattle truck. We grieved for those kids — all of us mothers and grandparents. <strong>– Violet Wadrill, interviewed in 2014.</strong> (Yijarni, p. 127)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="23" data-image="" data-title="Violet Wadrill describes how her children were taken away from her and other mothers." data-size="188726" data-source="Yijarni, p. 127" data-source-url="" data-license="" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/466/violet.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Violet Wadrill describes how her children were taken away from her and other mothers.
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yijarni, p. 127</span><span class="download"><span>184 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/466/violet.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<p>Gurindji children were taken to a number of places in the Northern Territory including the Bungalow (<a href="https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nt/YE00019">Alice Springs Half-Caste Institution</a>) where <a href="http://www.portrait.gov.au/people/joseph-croft-1926">Joseph Croft</a>, the father of a photographer for Yijarni, <a href="https://www.artdesign.unsw.edu.au/about-us/our-staff/ms-brenda-croft">Brenda L. Croft</a>, was taken.</p>
<p>Although Patrol Officer Ted Evans was involved in removing children, he found the process traumatic, as Maurie Ryan Japarta, who was taken to <a href="https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/nt/YE00023">Retta Dixon Home</a> and later Croker Island, discovered:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was in time later to meet the person who removed me from my family and Wave Hill. Ironically, he was the president of my football club, the Wanderers … Ted Evans used to cry … and I thought he was crying because of the scores … I was sitting down there one night … and I said to Ted, ‘Look Ted, don’t worry you know. It’s only a game.’ … And he looked at me and he said, ‘Maurie, I’ve got to tell you something … I was the person that removed you from your family.’ I looked at him and he was still crying, and I just hugged him. I said, ‘It’s alright Ted. What you did is what public servants do today, you had to do a job.’ He said, ‘After I’d taken you and Bonnie, I’d never ever removed another person.’ <strong>– Maurie Ryan Japarta, 2015.</strong> (Yijarni, p. 132)</p>
</blockquote>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="108" data-image="" data-title="Maurie Ryan Japarta describes meeting Ted Evans years later." data-size="868328" data-source="Yijarni, p. 132" data-source-url="" data-license="" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/467/maurie.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Maurie Ryan Japarta describes meeting Ted Evans years later.
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yijarni, p. 132</span><span class="download"><span>848 KB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/467/maurie.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131553/original/image-20160722-21890-rpfxth.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Maurie Ryan Japarta, with his brothers Justin and Michael Paddy, sitting at the place where he was taken from his family as a small boy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brenda L Croft 2015, Yijarni, p. 130</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fifty years on: 'We’re still here’</h2>
<p>Over the next three days, the walk-off will be <a href="http://www.freedomday50.com.au/">celebrated</a> with speeches, footy games and bands as an important milestone for black-white relations in Australia – one that sparked the equal wages and Indigenous land rights movements. </p>
<p>But for the Gurindji, the walk-off wasn’t just an industrial or land dispute with their cattle masters. It was a pivotal moment where they chose to wrest back control of their lives after the culmination of 80 years of fear and brutality.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Wurlurturr-warla pani ngumpit ngaliwuny-ma ngumpit-ma Gurindji-ma. Nyawa-ma-lu yuwani marru-nganyju-warla. Nyawa-ma-rla ngurra karrinya ngumpit-ku-rni. Kula wapurr pani kaya-ngku-ma lawara. Nyanuny maramara-rni ngunyunu. Ngumpit-tu-rni nyangani-ma murlany-mawu-ma kayirrak kurlarrakkarra. Yumi-ma-rla karrinyani.</p>
<p>Whitefellas massacred our Gurindji ancestors. Then they put up their station houses, yards and stock camps. But this land is Aboriginal land and whitefellas haven’t succeeded in getting rid of us. Aboriginal people still recognise each other as the traditional owners all ‘round this area. The law has always been here. <strong>– <a href="http://indigenousrights.net.au/people/pagination/pincher_manguari">Pincher Nyurrmiari</a>, interviewed in 1978.</strong> (Yijarni, p. 30-31)
<br></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="http://aiatsis.gov.au/publications/products/yijarni-true-stories-gurindji-country/paperback">Yijarni: True Stories from Gurindji Country</a>, is published by Aboriginal Studies Press, the publishing arm of <a href="http://aiatsis.gov.au/">AIATSIS</a>. It will be launched in Kalkaringi on August 19, and in <a href="http://avidreader.com.au/events/felicity-meakins-brenda-croft-yijarni">Brisbane</a> on September 6.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62890/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Felicity Meakins receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Indigenous Languages and Arts (ILA) and the Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA). She is also a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and is a co-editor of Yijarni: True Stories from Gurindji Country.</span></em></p>The Gurindji people of the Northern Territory made history 50 years ago by standing up for their rights to land and better pay. But a new book reveals the deeper story behind the Wave Hill Walk-Off.Felicity Meakins, Professor of Linguistics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/434582015-06-18T20:12:22Z2015-06-18T20:12:22ZIs the white paper a game-changer for northern Australia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85513/original/image-20150618-23223-znx6bd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The white paper on developing northern Australia outlines a solid vision - now for action. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Campbell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/white-paper">White Paper on Developing Northern Australia</a> released <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-06-18/our-north-our-future-vision-developing-north-australia">by the Prime Minister</a> yesterday represents the most comprehensive attempt yet to think through the development possibilities of the north.</p>
<p>For me, there are two big tensions in this whole exercise. How they play out will determine whether it represents a genuine paradigm shift in the development of the north, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/northern-futures">yet another case</a> of southern Australia focusing ephemeral attention on the quirky distant north, throwing some money at it, and then lamenting failed projects down the track.</p>
<p>The first is the tension between developing a northern economy based primarily on export commodities, versus one based around distinctive environment, demography, knowledge and services.</p>
<p>The second is the perennial struggle associated with trying to achieve long-term objectives with short-term funding and even shorter electoral cycles.</p>
<p>The White Paper and its implementation could reduce the dependence of the northern economy on boom-bust commodity markets, complementing primary industries with high value exports of knowledge and services.</p>
<p>This will be more likely if the participating governments — and industry, community and Indigenous leaders — are able to work together patiently within a bipartisan long-term governance framework, insulated and inoculated against the myopia and rancid partisanship of quotidian politics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85514/original/image-20150618-23243-1alnjbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Darwin - northern outpost of a vast, thinly populated continent, or southern knowledge hub for the fastest growing region on earth?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Campbell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New money, old and new ideas</h2>
<p>The White Paper itself is a useful introduction to the unique characteristics of Australia’s north, and compendium of existing government programs and activities, sprinkled with new initiatives and spending commitments. </p>
<p>There is both “new money” (in Canberra parlance) and a reasonably comprehensive commitment to microeconomic reform to facilitate private sector investment, lubricated by a A$5 b <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-budget-harks-back-to-old-ideas-for-northern-australia-41817">concessional loan scheme</a>.</p>
<p>The Abbott government has been very upfront since the launch of its <a href="http://www.liberal.org.au/2030-vision-developing-northern-australia">2030 Vision</a> document prior to the 2013 election about its determination to develop the north, defined primarily in economic terms. Success is seen mostly in terms of private sector industry development and export income.</p>
<p>There is considerable emphasis in the White Paper (echoed by the Prime Minister and Ministers Joyce and Truss at the <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-06-18/our-north-our-future-vision-developing-north-australia">launch of the paper</a>) on the need to develop the primary industries of northern Australia – agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and aquaculture, minerals and energy. </p>
<p>However it was heartening to hear Trade Minister Andrew Robb in particular emphasise the potential for northern Australia to be exporting high value services such as <a href="http://www.menzies.edu.au/page/About_Us/">tropical medicine</a>, international education, <a href="http://www.nationaltraumacentre.nt.gov.au/">disaster risk reduction and response</a>, tourism, defence services and biosecurity. </p>
<p>Andrew Robb pointed out this morning that northern Australia sits at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/northern-australia-the-sequel-remaking-an-old-policy-classic-23833">intersection of the tropics and Asia</a>, by far the fastest growing region in the world. The emphasis in the White Paper on helping northern Australian organisations and businesses to develop and consolidate durable partnerships within this dynamic region is welcome. </p>
<p>In the cultures of our region, such partnerships take time. </p>
<p>The infrastructure discussion in the White Paper is mostly focused on “hard” infrastructure like roads, pipelines, dams and ports, rather than “soft” infrastructure like education and health services, or developing governance and economic models that work for remote Indigenous communities. Improving Indigenous governance is crucial, but <a href="https://theconversation.com/would-you-risk-losing-your-home-for-a-few-weeks-of-work-30911">successful models are unlikely to look like conventional corporate structures</a> in Sydney, Canberra or Melbourne.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85515/original/image-20150618-23252-1tem0ox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cattle remain symbolic in the coalition’s northern vision.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Campbell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The principles set out in the White Paper about appropriate cost-benefit analysis are sound. It will be interesting to see if they are followed in practice.</p>
<p>Minister Robb at this morning’s launch was at pains to highlight the special environmental values of the north, and that developments would be managed to avoid or minimise negative environmental impacts. </p>
<p>Some responses were predictable, with the Greens summarising it as presaging ‘<a href="http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/abbott%E2%80%99s-vision-north-environmental-destruction-and-economic-white-elephants">environmental destruction and economic white elephants</a>’ and the NFF <a href="http://www.nff.org.au/read/4987/developing-north-part-of-future-of.html">welcoming</a> it.</p>
<p>Oddly, the excellent work done by the <a href="http://www.regional.gov.au/regional/ona/nalwt.aspx">North Australian Land and Water Task Force</a> and its underlying study of the best available science is not referenced. The White Paper reiterates the government’s commitment to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-one-stop-shop-for-environmental-approvals-19515">one-stop shop</a> for environmental assessments and approvals, which essentially means the Commonwealth accrediting state and territory processes. All well and good, but such processes often <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-06/nt-govt-odds-with-ntepa-over-tiwi-port-process/6448984">leave much to be desired</a>.</p>
<h2>Indigenous rangers - a case in point</h2>
<p>From an environmental perspective, it was pleasing for me to see explicit mention of <a href="https://theconversation.com/remote-indigenous-communities-are-vital-for-our-fragile-ecosystems-38700">Indigenous ranger programs</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/savanna-burning-carbon-pays-for-conservation-in-northern-australia-12185">savanna burning</a> initiatives, and joint management of national parks and other reserves, in addition to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australias-outback-is-globally-important-32938">Indigenous Protected Areas</a>. </p>
<p>The White Paper heralds a A$12.4m boost for Indigenous Ranger groups (for biosecurity work), which will undoubtedly be welcomed by the groups concerned. Ministers love <a href="http://www.alp.org.au/cm8_190813">announcing funding for ranger programs</a>. </p>
<p>Indigenous ranger programs provide a classic window into northern development challenges. Ranger jobs are highly respected and prized within Indigenous communities, because they get people out on country, doing valuable skilled work with appropriate training and equipment. They are usually seasonal in nature and the better programs enable rangers to participate in cultural activities such as “ceremony business”.</p>
<p>They are highly relevant and useful across fields as diverse as fire, pests and weed management, <a href="http://www.nailsma.org.au/saltwater-people-network-0">sea country management</a>, biodiversity, biosecurity, tourism, <a href="http://www.bnhcrc.com.au/news/2015/top-end-resilience-discussed">disaster risk reduction and response</a>, and border security.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85516/original/image-20150618-23239-hafstw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fire management is critical across the north and Indigenous rangers play an important role.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Campbell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However grants for ranger groups are usually short term (three years if you’re lucky), and they do not invest sufficiently in the underlying infrastructure of governance, administration, training and career paths. Ideally, Indigenous people should see ranger work as a long-term profession within which future leaders can be developed, which is not the case now.</p>
<p>In the absence of a complementary long-term investment in “soft infrastructure” of governance, training and support, we won’t see ranger programs reach their potential to provide a critical plank in the structures needed to ensure meaningful engagement of Indigenous people in northern development. </p>
<p>I believe we urgently need such an investment. It should be bipartisan, long-term (multi-decadal) and of course it should be managed and led by <a href="http://www.nailsma.org.au/">Indigenous organisations</a>, in partnership with appropriate supporting agencies.</p>
<p>Similar lessons apply across other aspects of northern development.</p>
<h2>From commodities to knowledge and services</h2>
<p>Tourism is properly mentioned as an industry development priority, with significant emphasis on facilitating and increasing visitor numbers from China and India. However there is room for deeper analysis of the values and services that are likely to attract and reward such tourists, and how best they can be ensured well into the future. </p>
<p>While improving roads, airports and ports will obviously boost tourism, there is an obvious tension between the “wild, rugged and empty” appeal of the outback, and the dams and other developments envisaged in the White Paper.</p>
<p>The provision of A$75m for a new Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Developing Northern Australia is a great initiative (noting my <a href="http://www.grownorth.com.au/">vested interest</a>). The White Paper does a good job setting out some of the crucial knowledge gaps that need to be tackled if new developments are to be founded on good science, and if the risks of new developments in unique and challenging environmental and climatic conditions are to be well-managed. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://crca.asn.au/about-the-crc-association/about-crcs/">CRC model</a> is a proven framework for productive partnerships between science and industry in solving applied research problems. Our science expertise across the north is world-class (<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-infrastructure-cuts-would-hit-the-top-end-hard-38495">world leading in a tropical context</a> in several fields), but we are spread thinly across a vast landscape and it is important that we work cooperatively to make the best use of existing and new resources.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/85517/original/image-20150618-23232-1ctvme3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Northern Australia is closer to Asian markets, trade partners and distribution hubs such as Singapore.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Campbell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Implementation will be critical</h2>
<p>As with most areas of government policy, policy intent is one thing, legislative and programmatic content is another, and program implementation is another thing entirely. Poor implementation has undermined many a worthy program (think <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-21/parker-lessons-to-be-learnt-from-the-pink-batts-disaster/5466762">roof insulation</a>).</p>
<p>Indigenous engagement in northern development is a case in point. The White Paper places considerable emphasis on land tenure and speeding up native title processes to facilitate investment and development. There are many references to the potential benefits for Indigenous people through such reforms, which have been “<a href="http://www.nlc.org.au/media-releases/article/nlc-cautiously-welcomes-white-paper/">cautiously welcomed</a>” by Indigenous leaders. </p>
<p>Much will depend on how this is implemented. </p>
<p>If it is done in a spirit of partnership, with Indigenous people as influential shareholders, it will be more likely to succeed. But if native title is framed as a <a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2015/06/19/abbotts-white-paper-for-the-black-tropics-boon-or-boondoggle/">barrier to be overcome</a> — a constraint to development — rather than as a framework within which meaningful negotiations can (and already do) take place, then this is likely to hold up rather than facilitate development.</p>
<p>Overall, and acknowledging the government’s unashamedly pro-development bent, the White Paper launched by the PM today provides a sound framework. </p>
<p>If it serves to both strengthen and broaden the base of northern economies, and if its bipartisan and long-term aspirations are realised, it will have made an important, valuable contribution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43458/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Campbell was involved in the development of the GrowNORTH CRC proposal and is on its Steering Committee. Charles Darwin University is a partner in that CRC bid and may be a beneficiary of some funding through the initiatives discussed in this article.</span></em></p>The White Paper on Developing Northern Australia represents the most comprehensive attempt yet to think through the development possibilities of the north.Andrew Campbell, Director, Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/304222014-08-14T20:38:21Z2014-08-14T20:38:21ZPyning for Indigenous rights in the Australian Curriculum<p>The soon-to-be-released <a href="http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/review-australian-curriculum">review of the Australian Curriculum</a> was outlined by Education Minister Christopher Pyne as <a href="http://ministers.education.gov.au/pyne/press-conference-adelaide-1">intended to address</a> “fair criticism” that the curriculum was overly focused on “the way we’ve treated Indigenous Australians” at the expense of illustrating “the benefits of Western civilisation”.</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/10/national-curriculum-christopher-pyne">numerous commentators noted</a>, a major source of such criticism was the appointed co-chair of the review, Kevin Donnelly.</p>
<p>While many defended the curriculum against claims of bias, there has been little evidence in the discussion of the way the Australian Curriculum represents Indigenous history.</p>
<p>The history curriculum <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/history/rationale">claims to promote</a></p>
<blockquote>
<p>understanding of the past and present experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their identity and the continuing value of their culture.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet close inspection of the <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/humanities-and-social-sciences/history/Curriculum/F-10">history curriculum</a> from Year 7 to 10 – the years in which history is compulsory at a secondary level – reveals that it fails in this objective.</p>
<h2>What does the curriculum say about Indigenous history?</h2>
<p>Despite political posturing on both sides of the debate, Indigenous history features infrequently in the secondary history curriculum.</p>
<p>Each year level contains an overview and three “depth studies” corresponding to a historical era, beginning with the study of the Ancient World in Year 7 and concluding with the Modern World in Year 10.</p>
<p>In Year 7, students investigate the “ancient past” of Australia from an archaeological perspective. In Year 9, students consider “the effects of contact (intended and unintended)” between “European settlers” and Indigenous peoples, including “massacres”, “the spread of European diseases”, “forcible removal of children” and “killing of sheep”. Later in Year 9, students investigate the experiences of Indigenous people during World War One.</p>
<p>Then there is the Year 10 “Rights and Freedoms” depth study, an investigation of “struggles for human rights” with a near-exclusive content focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander struggles. </p>
<p>Standing as the only sustained inquiry into the perspectives and historical agency of Indigenous people, this depth study also stands out for its misrepresentation of some of the most widely celebrated Indigenous political achievements. The fundamental problem is that this depth study characterises all Indigenous political struggle as a fight for civil rights, contrary to overwhelming historical evidence.</p>
<p>In addition to demands for civil rights (such as freedom of movement and equal treatment before the law), Indigenous political struggles have for centuries been fought over rights to land and self-governance.</p>
<p>In contrast to civil rights, these rights are premised on the unique status of Indigenous peoples in relation to the colonial state. They are collective Indigenous rights, not individual rights premised on citizenship. </p>
<p>Since the late 1960s, “self-determination” has been a prominent Indigenous political aspiration in Australia. Self-determination encompasses both land rights and self-governance, as land has been conceived as the economic (and in some cases spiritual) basis for Indigenous communities to be self-governing.</p>
<h2>Civil rights focus masks Indigenous rights agenda</h2>
<p>The first topic investigated in the “Rights and Freedoms” depth study is the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Here the curriculum fails to draw parallels with liberation struggles of oppressed Black and Indigenous communities worldwide, which are crucial to understanding the emergence of the Indigenous self-determination agenda.</p>
<p>The 1920s Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association drew heavily from the ideology and tactics of <a href="http://press.anu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ch0153.pdf">Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association</a>, while young Aboriginal activists in the 1960s were galvanised by the <a href="http://press.anu.edu.au/aborig_history/transgressions/mobile_devices/ch02.html">Black Power movement in the US</a>.</p>
<p>The second topic in this depth study is the background to Indigenous struggles for rights and freedoms, “including the 1938 Day of Mourning and the Stolen Generations”. To really comprehend this topic, students would have to have prior knowledge of the widespread dispossession of Indigenous people and their confinement to state-run missions and reserves.</p>
<p>The depth study then jumps to the “US civil rights movement and its influence on Australia”. Next, students consider “the significance of [a number of landmarks in Indigenous political struggle] for the civil rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”. These landmarks include the “Mabo decision”, which was significant primarily in terms of land rights, not civil rights.</p>
<p>Equally perplexing is a reference to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as an example of the “continuing nature of efforts to secure civil rights and freedoms”, given that this document is fundamentally concerned with the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination.</p>
<h2>What’s missing from the curriculum?</h2>
<p>Many critical developments in Indigenous history with strong ties to global political trends are ignored in the curriculum. For example, the international Black Power movement was critical to the emergence of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Services and the birth of the Black cultural movement in the 1970s. These are still <a href="http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_1.html">vitally important to Indigenous communities today</a>.</p>
<p>The depth study’s silence on land rights is perhaps the most troubling, as the <a href="http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-33.html">historic Mabo decision</a> cannot be understood without the history of the land rights movement, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_frontier_wars">early frontier warfare</a>, to the 1966 <a href="http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs224.aspx">Wave Hill walk-off</a>, to the 1972 <a href="http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/images/history/1970s/emb72/embassydx.html">Aboriginal Tent Embassy</a>.</p>
<p>In light of its actual content, the Australian Curriculum’s <a href="http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Aboriginal-and-Torres-Strait-Islander-histories-and-cultures">numerous statements</a> affirming the critical importance of Indigenous histories are rendered hollow and its conservative critics absurd.</p>
<p>When the review of the Australian Curriculum is finally released, debate needs to be informed by an understanding of its content, rather than its packaging. We need many voices to demand greater attention to Indigenous perspectives and some much-needed academic rigour.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The soon-to-be-released review of the Australian Curriculum was outlined by Education Minister Christopher Pyne as intended to address “fair criticism” that the curriculum was overly focused on “the way…Gary Foley, Indigenous Lecturer, Victoria UniversityElizabeth Muldoon, Masters Student, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.