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 Howard
Failed
THE Howard Government has grossly misled the public in
relation to it's policy achievements in Aboriginal Affairs,
and the Prime Minister is using ATSIC as a scapegoat for his
own government's lack of accountability.
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 Outlawed!
SENIOR
Traditional Owner of the proposed Jabiluka Uranium mine
site, Ms Yvonne Margarula (pictured above with her
children), was found guilty on September 2 of "trespass" on
her own land.
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 Freehold
Title for Gau People
TWO hundred and twenty-eight years
ago, Captain James Cook illegally claimed possession of the
Torres Strait Islands for King George III. On August 22 the
Queensland Government held a ceremony to officially
recognise the prior ownership of the Indigenous people and
give part of their territory back to the Traditional
Owners.
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 Historic
handover at
Musgrave
Park
FOLLOWING
a struggle that has lasted more than 20 years, the Musgrave
Park Aboriginal Corporation (MPAC) has finally secured a
portion of Musgrave Park in South Brisbane to build a
cultural centre.
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Jabiluka
on Federal Election Agenda
The Jabiluka mine is a federal election litmus test
on Indigenous rights, the environment and nuclear policy.
With the Coalition intent on promoting the mine and the ALP
refusing to rule out support for it, the Greens remain
determined to campaign against the mine as the pre-eminent
environment issue for 1998.
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Vote
Indigenous!
Aboriginal Senate Candidates
in Three States
Tired of hearing non-Indigenous politicians speaking on
your behalf? Now is the time to act by voting for Murri or
Koori candidates on October 3.
At least four Indigenous people are standing as Senate
candidates in the Federal election. Because the Senate has a
different structure to the House of Representatives,
Senators can be elected with about 14% of the total vote in
a State so show them your support and vote Indigenous in the
Senate.
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Agreements
are on Queensland Agenda
INDIGENOUS spokesperson, Les Malezer, has confirmed
the Queensland Beattie Government is prepared to negotiate
land-use agreements with the Indigenous Peoples.
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Government
Hostile to Indigenous Rights
The Federal Liberal Government is planning to strip
ATSIC of many of its key functions, according to reports in
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald on September 3.
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New
Indigenous Department in Queensland
"The development of this new Department is in keeping
with my pledge to improve the co-ordination of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander issues within the
Government."
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A
Green lawn at Waitangi - Where our histories
diverged
A perfect lawn runs to the tip of the promontory on
the Bay of Islands. One of the great lawns of the world.
Standing on these green acres is a white flagstaff that
almost marks the spot where a marquee was pitched in 1840
for Maori chiefs to negotiate a treaty with young Queen
Victoria, a treaty to guard their lands from white
adventurers.
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What
They Said...
The words from the people who made the headlines this month.
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Election
battle for Indigenous Rights
"Australian's
treatment of Indigenous people has gone backward under the
Coalition Government."
- Democrats' Aboriginal Affairs Spokesperson, Senator John
Woodley.
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UN
Conferences focus on Indigenous
rights
From the United Nations Draft Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples to the current dialogue
advocating the establishment of a United Permanent Forum for
Indigenous Peoples, there is currently a lot of
International activity regarding the advancement of
Indigenous Rights globally.
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Back
to basics - Aboriginal Sovereignty
What has happened to the sovereign rights of
Aborigines? Has the Aboriginal right to determine our own
future somehow been lost, and with it any chance of
regaining a just share of the lands so violently taken from
us?
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Indigenous
Land Corporation active in Queensland
The Adelaide-based Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC)
is stepping up its northern operations and has been busy
purchasing land on behalf of Traditional Owners in
Queensland. Under the legislation which established it, the
ILC attempts to gain land on behalf of Indigenous groups who
are not able to claim under the federal Native Title
Act.
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The
Ten-Point Quiz
Test your knowledge.
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Western
Queensland rock art endangered
Ancient Aboriginal rock art in the State's west is
under threat of being lost forever, according to Robert
Lacey, an Indigenous man who has worked in and around the
region for the past five years.
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Historical
Notes: The Dolphins of Moreton Bay
Of the many sea creatures living in the world's
oceans, the dolphin stands out as an animal with which
people across different cultures share a special bond. This
bond was especially important to the Indigenous saltwater
peoples of South-East Queensland. Dolphins figure
prominently in the living traditions, lore and dreaming of
the Kombumerri people of the Gold Coast and the Quandamooka
people of Moreton Bay.
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Croker
Island breakthrough on Native Title
The recent Federal Court ruling on the Croker Island
case Found Native Title rights existed over the sea and
inter-tidal zone surrounding Croker Island.
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Downer
fears "self-determination" for
Aboriginals
Concern about the creation of a separate Aboriginal
State prompted the Federal Government to try to water down
the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous
peoples, the Foreign Minister, Mr Alexander Downer, has
said.
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AMA
spotlights Black health in election
The Australian Medical Association will, in the
lead-up to the Federal election, seek cast-iron commitments
from the major political parties for a greater effort to
improve the health of Indigenous Australians.
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Quandamooka
Land Council Activities
Quandamooka Land Council (QLC) has recently
undertaken a freshwater fish survey on North Stradbroke
Island (Minjerriba).
Freshwater fish are an important indicator of the health
of waterways and wetlands. In the past month the QLC Office
has disproved a commonly held belief that there was a very
poor freshwater fish population on Minjerriba.
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"Blood
Libel" Used by Hitler and Hanson
The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) has
rejected complaints about a documentary which, with no real
evidence, slandered Cape York Aboriginal people as
cannibals.
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Courts
Must Hear Claims on Aboriginal Land:
Yanner
If the Courts were to hear Native Title claims on the
land instead of in a court room the chances of a successful
outcome would be doubled or even tripled says Chair of the
Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, (CLCAC),
Murrandoo Yanner.
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Northern
Land Council Under Siege
The Northern Land Council has reiterated its
opposition to the establishment of 18 Northern Territory
land councils, one of the recommendations contained in the
recently tabled Review of the Northern Territory Land Rights
Act.
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Unaipon
Award winner - Ruth Hegarty
Ruth Hegarty has been announced winner of this year's
national David Unaipon Award for her unpublished
autobiography Ruthie Is That You.
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Chinese
Delegation Visits FAIRA
A group of delegates from China's State Ethnic
Affairs Commission (SEAC) and representing various Chinese
ethnic minorities recently visited FAIRA during the travels
to Australia.
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