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 UN
body reaffirms laws are
racist
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples can claim a
significant victory in their bid for international
recognition and defence of their human rights.
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 Voting
to strengthen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights
and communities
The right to vote must be used at every opportunity to
improve the circumstances faced by Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people, ATSIC's Women's Advisory Committee
says.
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 Acknowledge
our unjust legacy
The first speech of Australia's only Indigenous member of
federal parliament, Senator Aden Ridgeway.
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 The
lawyer's tale
Having recently been appointed solicitor at FAIRA, I would
like to introduce myself to LRQ readers by explaining some
of my background and offering some comparative views on land
rights issues here and overseas. I will also present some
views on the role of lawyers in community organisations such
as FAIRA.
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Claimants
waiting on Yorta Yorta decision
An Appeal Court decision on the landmark Yorta Yorta native
title claim along the Murray River was reserved on 26
August.
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State
regimes face testing time
The Northern Territory Chief Minister, Mr Dennis Burke,
launched a last ditch lobbying effort in Canberra last month
in a bid to save his Government's native title legislation
from being overturned in the Senate.
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Government
under fire on many fronts
The National Indigenous Working Group (NIWG) considers that
the Australian Government is now facing pressures on many
fronts.
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Sam
Watson jnr in West End performance
On his return from what we are willing to bet will be a
great time at the Sydney Writers' Festival, Brisbane-based
poet Sam Watson jnr won't have to trek so far to the next
gig.
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Noongar
deal to protect sites, cut costs for
miners
Under the terms of a deal between the Noongar Land Council
and eight mining companies, Noongar people will have the
assurance that their sites will be identified and protected.
The agreement will cut the costs of exploration in the south
west of Western Australia.
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Dark
ages return to Indigenous policies
A gathering of tribes took place in Sydney recently under
the auspices of Quadrant magazine. Lawyers, anthropologists,
politicians and even churchmen were debating the topic,
Rousseau vs Reality: Aborigines and Australian
Civilisation.
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Building
a leading role
Throughout
this decade the Quandamooka Land Council (QLC), based at
Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island, has been building its
capacity to take a leading role in natural and cultural
resource management in Moreton Bay.
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Protocol
sets precedent on consultation
The chair of the Queensland Indigenous Working Group Terry
O'Shane and Premier Peter Beattie last month signed
Australia's first formal protocol for future consultation on
land and resource management.
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Studies
confirm crisis in health
Indigenous babies are twice as likely to die at birth as
other babies, a survey by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare shows. The study, conducted from 1994 to 1996,
found foetal death rates in some regions were five times
higher than for the rest of the population.
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Cape
York handback
The largest handback of land to Aboriginal peoples in
Queensland took place last month on Cape York Peninsula.
Traditional owners at Injinoo, near the tip of Cape York,
were granted freehold title to more than 345,000 hectares of
Angkamuthi, Atambaya, Gudang and Yudikana land.
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Beattie,
O'Shane sign landmark consultation
deal
The Queensland Government has continued to
consolidate its balanced approach to land and heritage,
through an agreement that reserves Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people a seat at the consultation table.
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How
Mr Howard tricked us all
Last Thursday the Federal Parliament passed a motion
of reconciliation. With the exception of the Labor Party and
the sharpest Aboriginal political minds, most progressively
minded Australians were pleased. They mistook a tricky
political manoeuvre for a genuine moral turning point in the
history of the nation.
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What
They Said...
The words from the people who made the headlines this
month.
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What
they said on the preamble
Indigenous leaders around the country have voiced their
opposition to the proposed constitutional preamble passed in
the Senate as a result of a compromise deal between the
Democrats and the Government.
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Tent
embassy in talks with Ngunawal
A meeting between representatives of the Aboriginal tent
embassy and representatives of the local Ngunawal people on
August 16 has resulted in agreement to work through a
reconciliation process towards a treaty.
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Having
your say on the draft document for
reconciliation
The acoustics of the huge Brisbane Room at Brisbane
City Hall were perfect to hear the resounding views of the
public who had come along to speak out on the draft document
for reconciliation.
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From
little things big things grow
It was clear from early on at Victoria's first public
meeting to review the Draft Document for Reconciliation that
time was the enemy.
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ANTaR
News...
By far the most important decision of the last month was the
UN CERD resolution which reaffirmed CERD's position against
the Federal Government's native title amendment legislation.
ANTaR Queensland for the past month campaigned on the CERD
issue in anticipation of the UN committee's August
meeting.
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New
building for Darnley Island Council
New headquarters for Darnley Island Council were officially
opened by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy
Minister, Judy Spence, on August 4.
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Skull
origin shock
Members of the regional Indigenous community have called for
a full and open investigation into how the skulls of two
Indigenous women ended up under the floorboards of the old
Ipswich police station
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Radiologist
retires
Gubbi Gubbi elder Nurdon Serico retired as senior
radiologist at the Royal Brisbane Hospital at the end of
July after 48 years service with Queensland Health.
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In
Brief
- The
successful resolution of native title negotiations in
central Queensland.
- Former
social justice commissioner Mick Dodson will write a code
of conduct for tourists visiting communities.
- The
Urrpantyenye title deed was handed last month to members
of the Yewerre Aboriginal Land Trust.
- A
proposed system of authentication for Aboriginal art
works developed by the National Indigenous Arts Advocacy
Association.
- The
South Australian Government has given the go-ahead for
the Hindmarsh Island bridge to be built.
- The
Native Title Office at the Torres Strait Regional
Authority has taken significant steps towards its goals
in 1999 and has progressed native title claims in the
majority of Torres Strait communities.
- Businesswoman
Sharon Firebrace, chair of the WA Aboriginal Lands Trust,
Clem Riley and businessman David Baffsky have been
appointed to the board of the Indigenous Land
Corporation.
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The
concept of 'just terms' in native
title
In an earlier article in LRQ (July 1999), it was noted that
little guidance exists as to the nature of the
constitutional protection of "just terms", notwithstanding
that the concept has been in place in the Australian
Constitution for 98 years. This guarantee of compensation
has both complexity and subtlety in the context of Native
Title.
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Spreading
the word on the Jabiluka mine
In May 1998, Michael Del Monaco felt compelled to support
the anti-Jabiluka mine campaign. He headed to Kakadu
National Park for a two-and-a-half-week stint at the
blockade and returned home three months later.
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Cybertracker
Capers
I have been working with a couple of digital cameras and am
surprised at the lack of knowledge about this medium. It is
to be expected that the general public would not be up to
date, but some of the retailers are not much
better.
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Bookmarks
Links to interesting places on the internet.
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Book
Reviews
Book reviews on Green Meat & Oily Butter Memories of
Yarrabah, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights and
A Rape of the Soul So Profound.
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Government
shames Australia
Letter to
the editor.
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Indigenous
Aspirations Report for the north-east Wetlands region of
Brisbane
The Brisbane City Council (BCC) expects to prepare a
draft strategic plan for the North-East Wetlands Region
(NEWR) by March 2000.
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Inquiry
dumps Reeves Report
NLC Chairman Galarrwuy Yunupingu said the report of the
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Affairs inquiring into the Reeves
Report had rejected all of Reeves's major
recommendations.
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