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Tragedy for Aboriginal Land Rights - Senate approves paternal bill
by Elliot	2006-08-16 11:44 AM +0800
Auguast 16, 2006: "This will be marked as a tragic day for land rights in Australia," said Senator Rachel Siewert today. Despite strong criticism the laws are "paternalistic and strip Aboriginal Australians of their property rights." Amendments to Northern Territory Land Rights Act passed through the Senate today. The changes scrap the NT's 30-year-old scheme of communal land ownership under land council administration...
Attempts by Labor and the Greens to have amendments, including the provision of 99-year leases on Aboriginal land and a reduction in powers for land councils removed from the Bill, failed. "It became obvious during the debate that this is just part of the Government's renewed paternalistic approach to Aboriginal Australians. They are simply telling communities of their intentions, not listening to their concerns or seeking agreement or compromise," said Senator Siewert. In some cases this involved merely telling the NT government or the land councils at a very late stage, and then claiming it was their responsibility to ensure the communities directly affected knew of these radical changes. "The Government isn't interested in economic development and improving living conditions in Aboriginal communities, it is only interested in its own agenda of undermining land councils and traditional owners" said Senator Siewert. A United Nations expert has warned yesterday that the federal laws overhauling land rights in the Northern Territory are unwise and unworkable. UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing Miloon Kothari says the laws could be unworkable. Mr Kothari, who has spent the last two weeks touring Indigenous communities, says the move is unwise. "I'm quite sure that it's not going to work," he said. Mr Kothari said home ownership arrangements for non-indigenous Australians were not necessarily suitable. "I think you have larger issues of self-determination, you have issues of community title, land titling, you have issues of just the sheer lack of family or community resources to be able to engage in the housing market," he said. Australia could borrow from schemes in other countries, like community land trusts and cooperatives. Mr Kothari also said the government's changes were largely unknown in the affected communities. "I think that the act has been pushed through too hurriedly," he said. "Whenever I visited places I asked both civil society groups working with the indigenous and the people themselves and nobody had even heard of the bill in the Northern Territory. "I think there's certainly a lack of information and for something so significant which so significantly changes the terms of land essentially from a community right and a question of identity to an economic good where money can be made from leases... I think needs to be very, very carefully considered." Some aspects of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Bill 2006 could breach international law, like the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, he said. Federal Labor said the debate over changes shows the Government's lack of respect for traditional owners. Labor Senator Chris Evans told the Senate the way the Government forced the amendments through is one of the most depressing processes he has been involved in. "That's why we've concentrated so much on process, on consultation because it creates the atmosphere in which the detail is debated," he said. "They haven't been engaged with the detail because they haven't been given the opportunity. But the approach is what's been so insulting and it fundamentally represents a lack of respect a lack of respect for traditional owners."

The Age ABC Warnings as Senate backs land rights changes - Age NT LAND RIGHTS ACT APPROVED Land Act debate 'lacks respect for traditional owners' - abc 'Bleak day' for Aboriginal land rights - abc Martin supports land rights changes but questions process Senate backs Aboriginal land changes scale pictures
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WAR
by john	2006-08-16 6:35 PM +0800
THE END Link here
APY Lands families 'hungry 3 days a week'
by Parrot Press	2006-08-17 9:20 AM +0800
Families are allegedly going without food for three days a week in the far north of South Australia because of the extreme cost of food in the area. The Federal Government is spending $48 million to restructure outback stores to be more like Coles and Woolworths to lower the cost of food. John Tregenza, a consultant for the Nganampa Health Council who helps manage eight stores in the Anangu Pitjantjatjarra Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, says many stores are already doing what they can to reduce costs. He says people just are not given enough money to buy food in the first place. "In the APY lands we call those days 'May Weir days'. It's the days when you don't have any food," he said. "In most communities, the vast majority of people have those days at least three days a week." Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough says a typical family of six children gets about $1,000 a week. "The reality is that money is being spent on alcohol and drugs," he said. Fruit can cost up to $3 a piece in the APY lands. Link here
Ignored?
by Elliot	2006-08-17 11:12 AM +0800
This story did not even rate a mention on ABC's current affairs flagship "Lateline" last night - despite the major significance of what has happened. Link here
Land rights changes attack social justice: academic
by Media Flink	2006-08-18 12:42 AM +0800
August 17, 2006. ABC - An academic specialising in Indigenous land issues says changes to the Northern Territory Land Rights Act attack the principle of social justice for Aboriginal people. The overhaul received the final tick of approval in Federal Parliament today. Professor John Altman from the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University says the changes are a blow for Indigenous rights. "To the whole notion of social justice for Indigenous people through land rights," Professor Altman said. "I think the Federal Government has dressed these amendments up as a way to deliver industry and commerce to Aboriginal land, but I think there's absolutely no evidence base that suggests that's going to happen." Link here
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