Symbolic Protest Proposal

16 April1997

We are thinking about staging a symbolic protest on the steps of the Northern Territory Parliament. Six or eight men in nagas and ceremonial paint will wear chains around their necks and carry a blown up photograph of Aboriginal prisoners from the early days.

The Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre have given us permission to use photographs from the east Kimberley, saying this is a good idea to get the message across and wishing us good luck.

The protest is simple and easy. It requires a few as six people, a plastic chain can be purchased cheaply from any hardware store. We already have copies of the approved photographs and these can be scanned and printed to A1 size on a computer plotter relatively simply.

The protest will gain maximum exposure at home and overseas if the protest is repeated by Aboriginal people at every Parliament building in every capital city in Australia.

We seek the views of the Working Group on this proposal and ask for assistance with picking a suitable date for a nationally coordinated day of protest. It is our view this date should be once we have something tangible, and detrimental to our interests, on the table from the Prime Minister.

We would appreciate a response from the Working Group prior to the next Nation meeting on Sunday April 20.

Your sincerely,

Bill Risk for the Larrakia Nation