Land

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA TODAY WHERE DO YOU STAND?
Land and Indigenous

Peoples rights
Source: National Library of Australia, nla.pic-vn3293677/
Judy Horacek, www.horacek.com.au
RESOURCE PACKAGE CONTENTS
The accompanying website, www.amnesty.org.au/wheredoyoustand,
includes the following PDFs and worksheets:
01 Introduction for teachers
02 Indigenous rights: Starting points for discussion
Worksheets:
2.1 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples rights and you
2.2 Where do you stand? Discussing the issues through cartoons
2.3 Investigating media coverage of Indigenous issues
2.4 Indigenous rights in the media
2.5 Telling the story of Indigenous rights in Australia
2.6 Patterns in Indigenous and non-Indigenous relation
2.7 Exploring the timeline of Indigenous and non-Indigenous history
03 The intervention and human rights
Worksheets:
3.1 The Amperlatwaty walk-off
3.2 The intervention and human rights
04 Land and Indigenous Peoples rights
Worksheets:
4.1 Debates about land in Australian history
4.2 Land and Indigenous rights
05 The Northern Territory Intervention: the media debate
This section includes Worksheet 5.1 Analysing and responding
to different points of view and 16 worksheets each relating to
specific articles
06 Cartoons
07 Taking action
Cover: Anangu traditional owners are presented with the land title deeds for Uluru-Kata Tjuta
National Park on 26 October 1985. This event becomes known as Handback. Photo: UKTNP 1985
CONTENTS
Land and Indigenous rights
in Australia 4
Debates about land
in Australian history 6
Rights to land:
investigating some issues in the news 12
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples rights to land: useful readings 18
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
are respectfully advised that this resource
contains images of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people who may be deceased.
Amnesty International Australia | ABN 64 002 806 233 | Locked Bag 23, Broadway NSW 2007 | 1300 300 920 | [email protected] www.amnesty.org.au
Do we continue to stay silent, and watch
the continued destruction of our people,
our culture, and our land taken away?
Do we watch our people forced from
homelands into hub centres to create
Ghettos, where there will be abuse,
drugs, fights, jealousies, murders?
Do we stand strong and reconnect the
link in the chain again with our brothers
and sisters who long ago walked off
WAVE HILL, who showed leadership,
determination and a path of unity and
recognition, and reconnection with land
and people as one.
Our future is in our hands. We are the
ones to bring change.
Let us stand united against the federal
governments Northern Territory
Emergency Response legislation and other
racist policies, and the Northern Territory
governments homeland policies by
sending statements to govt and media,
walking off communities, signing on
to support groups, attend a gathering
Dont let the flame die down.
Aboriginal leader Richard Downs
1
SECTION 04: LAND AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS
3
4 Download the full resource and take action at www.amnesty.org.au/wheredoyoustand
Discussion of Aboriginal rights in Australia today inevitably leads to the question of Aboriginal rights to land.
Land has been and remains central to the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in
Australia. The issue of land brings into focus many of the unresolved human rights issues which have
resulted from colonisation. For non-Indigenous people, facing these issues has often sparked a sense of
guilt about what was done in the past, apprehension about economic issues and unfounded fears that their
backyards are somehow vulnerable that somehow what was done to Indigenous people will be done in
return to those who have inherited the land that was taken away.
Facing the issues that arise from Australias past is important; however, it is also important to focus on
the effects of government actions in the present. Aboriginal leader Professor Patrick Dodson, a Yawuru man
and Chairman of the Lingiari Foundation, known as the father of reconciliation has stated:
While large sections of Australian society can indulge in contemporary grief about past
injustices inflicted on indigenous peoples, there is a pervasive silence about the policies
of national, state and territory governments.
The article describes the implications of the intervention for Indigenous rights, particularly rights to land.
Dodson argues that the government has used problems in Indigenous communities, including the needs
of children, to justify a much broader agenda:
The welfare of our children and our families remains the key to our lives and future.
But this priority is undermined by the governments heavy-handed authoritarian
intervention and its ideological and deceptive land reform agenda.
The agenda is to dismantle the foundations of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Land
Rights Act. It seeks to excise residential community settlements from the Aboriginal land
estate under special Commonwealth Government five-year leases, and the abolition of an
authorisation entry protocol called the Permit System
The government has not made a case in linking the removal of land from Aboriginal ownership
and getting rid of the permit system with protecting children from those who abuse them.
2
The article also focuses on government proposals to transform indigenous larger settlements into
mainstream towns and extinguish by attrition the capacity of indigenous people to maintain small
homeland communities.
The Federal Governments actions under the NT intervention, such as taking control of Aboriginal land
through leases, abolishing the Permit System and requiring Aboriginal people to give up their rights to
land in order to receive basic government services are part of a long history of government actions affecting
Aboriginal peoples property rights.
Land and Indigenous Peoples rights in Australia
Ron Tandberg
5
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF LAND
Indigenous control of land provides the opportunity to develop livelihoods and ensure a stable basis for
economic development of Indigenous communities. The loss of land removes this livelihood, often pushing
Indigenous Peoples off their land and into regional and urban centres.
Indigenous communities with rights to land use these rights in a variety of ways. In one example, the
Jawoyn Association in the NT has accumulated $5 million from mining royalties and a tourism business
that is being used to achieve social, cultural, training and employment goals.
CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF LAND
In a statement protesting against the Northern Territory intervention, Aboriginal leader Richard Downs
calls on non-Indigenous Australians to release the chains of control; give us our freedom; let us walk once
again as free human beings on this earth (our mother), with our ancestors, spirits, songs, and ceremonies.
(See the detailed extract from the statement below and the full text online.)
This quote, like several others in this resource, communicates something of what land means to Aboriginal
people. Richard Downs refers to Indigenous ownership of land and systems of Indigenous land tenure,
however he is clearly writing about something much more than what Western people mean by owning land.
People who are interested in understanding more can find a wide range of material on these issues on
the internet.
Resources for finding out more
Lore of the Land www.loreoftheland.com.au
Aboriginal Australia Art & Culture Centre Alice Springs http://aboriginalart.com.au
Australian Museum: Indigenous Australians Exhibition Guide
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Indigenous-Australians-Exhibition-Guide
Land of riches given over to Kakadu, article in the Brisbane Times, 29 May 2010 by Lindsay Murdoch
www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/land-of-riches-given-over-to-kakadu-20100529-wlri.html
Aboriginal representatives placing a flag in front of Old Parliament
House on the day of the National Apology to the Stolen
Generations. Fairfaxphotos/Andrew Taylor
European doubts about the justice of dispossession:
Secret instructions to Captain Cook for his 1770 voyage had stated the need for Aboriginal peoples
consent: You are with the consent of the natives to take possession of the country in the name of
the king of Great Britain. Or if you find the country uninhabited take possession for his Majesty by setting
up proper marks and inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors.
3
If it was not clear to Cook, it soon became clear to others that European occupation took place without
Aboriginal consent.
The legitimacy of taking Indigenous land has been questioned since colonisation began. One example is
a letter to the editor of the Hobart Town Gazette in 1824, at the time that Aboriginal Peoples were being
driven off their lands in Tasmania:
We ought to feel that we have invaded a domain from which our invasion has expelled
those who were born, bred, and providentially supplied in it; that we have driven by our
usurpation, families from their birthplace, and then completed our cruelty by destroying
in sport, and consuming for profit, the principal means of their subsistence.
4
First contact between Aboriginal Peoples and Europeans ranged from dancing together on the beach to
violent encounters.
5
Armed opposition to European occupation became widespread: some well known
examples are the Wiradjuri uprising in Bathurst in 1824, the guerilla warfare led by Pemulwuy in the Sydney
region from 17901802 and the campaign by Yagan in the 1830s in the area that is now Perth. In 1828,
Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemens Land (Tasmania), George Arthur, wrote about the Tasmanian Aboriginal
Peoples, saying They already complain that white men have taken possession of their country, encroached
upon their hunting grounds and destroyed their natural food, the kangaroo, and they doubtless would be
exasperated to the last degree to be banished together from their favourite haunts.
6
This was the same
year that he declared martial law in response to Aboriginal attacks and the Black War in Tasmania began.
In 1840, the missionary Francis Tuckfield reported on what Aboriginal people in Victoria were telling him:
They are conscious of what is going on they are driven from [their land] and threatened
if they do not leave immediately they will be lodged in gaol or shot My country all gone,
gone The White men have stolen it.
7
Debates about land in Australian history
Newspix/Bill Leak
7
THE GURINDJI STRIKE
One of the first major steps forward in recognising Aboriginal rights to land was
the Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. This Act was passed after years of
attempts by Aboriginal Peoples to get their land back. One of the most notable
protests was the strike (also known as the Wave Hill walk off) by the Gurindji people
in 1966, lead by spokesman Vincent Lingiari.
The Gurindji people were paid little or nothing by British Lord Vestey for the work
they did that made him wealthy. They were not allowed to control their finances
even when they were paid, and they were fed and housed in appalling conditions.
The Gurindji campaign turned into Australias first successful land rights claim
when they demanded the return of their traditional lands. In 1975, Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam formally handed the Gurindji people title deeds to lands that their
ancestors had occupied for tens of thousands of years. The following year the Fraser
Government passed the Land Rights Act.
Their nine year protest became the subject of the song From little things big things
grow by Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody.
8
Vincent Lingiari and Gough Whitlam
at Wattie Creek, Northern Territory,
16 August 1975 National Archives of
Australia: A8598, AK6/5/80/11
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA TODAY: WHERE DO YOU STAND?
A landmark achievement:
the return of Uluru to its traditional owners
In 1985, after years of campaigning to regain their land, Anangu the traditional owners of the land where
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is located received the title deed to the park area from the then Governor
General of Australia, Sir Ninian Stephen. Hundreds of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people participated in
the ceremony at the base of Uluru which was held to celebrate the event.
In turn, Anangu leased the land back to the Federal Government for 99 years to be managed jointly.
The Northern Territory government of the time felt so threatened by the Handover that it withdrew from the
management arrangements. Yami Lester, an Anangu leader, land rights campaigner and the first chair of
the Board of Management, lightheartedly joked at the time that the Governor General was able to come
here today to see the rock. By tomorrow the rock will be missing, the Aboriginal people going to take it away.
The story of the controversy at the time about the return of Uluru to its traditional owners, and how they
overcame a strident scare campaign against the Handback is told online at
http://www.clc.org.au/media/releases/2010/A_bitter_struggle.html
Since 1985 Anangu have been managing Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, together with the Director of
National Parks. This process of working together has come to be known as joint management. Joint
management is the foundation for all management decisions and activities at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
This means that in all park operations and future directions Anangu are esteemed for the depth of their
cultural knowledge and their place as owners of the land which has been their home for countless
generations. In 1994 the cultural values and traditional land practices of Anangu were recognized by
UNESCO when the park was given World Heritage listing for its cultural values. The listing recognised
Anangu as being one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world and gave international recognition
to Tjukurpa (Anangu traditional law) as a major religious philosophy and a tool for caring for country.
In 1995 the Director and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board of Management were awarded the Picasso Gold
Medal, the highest award given by UNESCO, for setting new international standards for World Heritage
management and for outstanding efforts to preserve the landscape and Anangu culture. For further
information, valuable online resources include World Heritage and International Significance:
www.environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/culture-history/heritage/index.html and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National
Park Knowledge Handbook: www.environment.gov.au/parks/publications/uluru/pubs/handbook.pdf
Anangu traditional
owners are presented
with the land title
deeds for Uluru-Kata
Tjuta National Park on
26 October 1985. This
event becomes known
as Handback. Photo:
UKTNP 1985
9
THE MABO DECISION
In 1992, the Mabo decision of the High Court recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
right to land existed before colonisation and that this right continues today. Opponents of the decision ran a
scare campaign declaring that peoples backyards were under threat from land claims. In fact, Australian law
recognises the security of private property, including peoples backyards. Native title claims cannot be made
on land which is fully owned by someone else. It can only be recognised in the following areas:
Vacant land owned by the government (crown land).
Some national parks and forests.
Some pastoral leases (where the pastoralist rents a cattle or sheep station from the government without
owning the land).
Indigenous reserves.
Beaches, seas, lakes and rivers that are not privately owned.
9
Some extracts from the Mabo decision:
[Dispossession according to the theory of terra nullius was] the darkest aspect of the history
of this nation. The nation as a whole must remain diminished unless and until there is an
acknowledgment of, and retreat from, those past injustices
The lands of this continent were not terra nullius or practically unoccupied in 1788
The British acquisition of sovereignty over the colony of New South Wales was regarded
as dependent upon the settlement of territory that was terra nullius
The fiction by which the rights and interests of Indigenous inhabitants in land were treated
as non-existent was justified by a policy which has no place in the contemporary law of this
country The common law of this country would perpetuate injustice if it were to continue
to embrace the notion of terra nullius
If it were permissible in past centuries to keep the common law in step with international law,
it is imperative in todays world that the common law should neither be nor be seen to be
frozen in an age of racial discrimination
Whatever the justification advanced in earlier days for refusing to recognise the rights and
interests in land of the Indigenous inhabitants of settled colonies, an unjust and discriminatory
doctrine of that kind can no longer be accepted.
10
Although the property rights of non-Indigenous landowners are secure under Australian law, Aboriginal property
rights are currently being undermined under measures introduced as part of the intervention.
Murray Island land rights plaintiff,
Eddie (Koiki) Mabo. Taken 28 May
1989. The Age/Jim McEwan
What has Native Title done for me lately?
For Aboriginal people whose lands were colonised first, Native Title has offered little, if anything at all.
Tom Calma, the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, comments,
Native title is at the bottom of the hierarchy of Australian property rights The more an Indigenous
community has been affected by white settlement the less likely the law will recognise their native title rights.
He adds, Despite the High Courts landmark decision, Australian courts, governments and non-Indigenous
people have struggled to accept fully the rights of Indigenous peoples to their lands, waters and territories.
In successive court decisions, our cultures have been viewed through a non-Indigenous lens, with our rights
separated and eliminated one by one. The result, as former Federal Court judge Murray Wilcox observed,
is that for many Aboriginal people native title has become a mirage.
11
The Yorta Yorta people, whose lands are located on both sides of the Murray River in the area of modern
Echuca and Wangaratta, were one of the first Aboriginal Peoples to make a Native Title claim. Their claim
was rejected, with a judge asserting that the tide of history had washed away any real acknowledgement
of traditional law and any real observance of traditional customs.
The article by Yorta Yorta leader Monica Morgan What has Native Title done for me lately? tells the story
of the case from an Aboriginal point of view. Read the article online at
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=8923&page=0
Ron Tandberg
NATIVE TITLE AND LAND RIGHTS:
SOME ONLINE RESOURCES
Atkinson, Wayne, 2003 Not One Iota of
Land Justice: The Yorta Yorta Case
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~aar/nojustice.htm
Australian Human Rights Commission
Native Title Reports
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/nt_report/
Creative Spirits website, 2011, Native Title
Issues and Problems
http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalcultur
e/land/native-title-issues.html
Chaney, Fred, 2002, Eddie Mabo
Memorial Lecture
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/extras/file.php
?id=79&file=mabo_lecture.doc
Foley, Gary, 1997, Native Title is not
Land Rights
www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_2.html
Foley, Gary and Anderson, Tim, 2006,
Land Rights and Aboriginal Voices
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AJHR/20
06/5.pdf
Loos, Noel, 1997, Edward Koiki Mabo:
The Journey to Native Title
http://tinyurl.com/44vmx98
National Native Title tribunal website
http://www.nntt.gov.au
Activities
1. Discuss what stands out to you most from reading this article.
2. What happened in the story of Kaia, Edward Curr and
Undarnying? How is this story relevant to claims made today
by Yorta Yorta people for the land that they have occupied for
tens of thousands of years?
3. How did the judge argue that Native Title came to be
extinguished? How does Morgan respond?
4. Olney dismissed the claimants own self recognition and oral
history as not being reliable Explain why Morgan states
that his views represent an antiquated, backward notion of
Indigenous peoples.
5. Given that the Yorta Yorta/Bangerang native title application
was not recognised by Australian courts, what solution does
Morgan suggest? Discuss your views of what this would mean.
11
Activities
1. Spend a few minutes completing the following
statements.
a. For Indigenous people, land means
b. For other people, land means
2. Share your answers. What seem to be the biggest
issues? How are your responses linked to issues
of human rights?
3. What examples are there in Australian history of
progress in recognising Indigenous rights to land?
4. In what ways does your local council/ local school
recognise traditional ownership of the land on which
it is located?
5. What factors lead to opposition to land rights?
What do some people fear that land rights might mean?
6. Discuss the following quote from Australian author
Xavier Herbert:
Until we give back to the black man just a bit of the
land that was his and give it back without provisos,
without strings. To snatch it back, without anything but
complete generosity of spirit in concession for the evil
we have done him until we do that, we shall remain
what we have always been so far, a people without
integrity; not a nation, but a community of thieves.
12
7. Explain how supporters of land rights would see the link
between rights to land and the task of overcoming poverty
in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
8. Discuss the proposition: Issues of Aboriginal rights to
land will not go away. They will continue to haunt non-
Aboriginal Australians until there is real justice.
9. What else might real justice involve?
a. Compensation?
b. Recognition of Indigenous Peoples in the preamble
to the Constitution?
c. Greater legal protection for Indigenous rights in
the Constitution?
d. Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Peoples at local and regional level?
e. A treaty?
10. Research what happened during the dispossession of
Indigenous Peoples in the state or region of Australia
where you live.
a. Do local history books focus on how dispossession
happened? What picture do they give of European
and Indigenous perspectives?
b. List the actions of Indigenous Peoples, non-
Indigenous people and governments.
c. Make a timeline of key events.
d. Where you can, find quotes which represent
different points of view which people held at
the time.
See whether there are any newspaper resources
available for the part of Australia where you live:
you can try the searchable articles at the National
Library of Australias Historic Australian
Newspapers, 1803 to 1954
http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/.
e. Has any land in your part of Australia been returned
to Indigenous people?
Aboriginal people protesting at
the construction of Reconciliation
Place in Canberra. Fairfax
News/Jacky Ghossein
WORKSHEET 4.1
Debates about land in Australian history
The intervention and land rights some key issues
While the Northern Territory intervention has been justified in relation to meeting the needs of women
and children, it has included far-reaching changes that affect Aboriginal rights to land.
Changes made under the intervention allow the Federal Government to:
acquire land compulsorily in areas affected by the intervention under renewable five-year leases,
which give the government exclusive possession of the land while the lease is in force and deprive
traditional owners of the right to make decisions about the use of the land
abolish the permit system, which enabled Aboriginal communities to control who came onto their land
pressure Aboriginal organisations to sign away control of their land under leases that run from five
to forty years as a condition for receiving government services such as housing.
Governments are now proposing that small Aboriginal communities living in homelands in the Northern
Territory and other parts of Australia be relocated to larger towns.
Aboriginal leader Patrick Dodson
(right) during an Aboriginal smoking
ceremony at Cabramatta High School
in Sydney, 2008. AAP/Dean Lewins
Rights to land: investigating some issues in the news
13
Community dysfunction is now understood as the fault of the
colonised and their persistent cultural practices, rather than
as a result of violent dispossession, brutal colonisation and
authoritarian state Intervention
In the absence of any consultation with affected communities or
any real debate in the Australian Parliament, the Government took
control of communities, compulsorily acquired land and imposed
administrative and statutory management over peoples lives that
no other Australians, free from prison, endure.
The suspension of the Racial Discrimination Act, which accompanied
the Intervention, hardly ruffled the nations conscience
Professor Patrick Dodson, a Yawaru man from the Kimberley known as the
father of reconciliation, former director of the Central Land Council and
the Kimberley Land Council.
18
Claiming possession of Aboriginal-owned land:
reversing land rights progress
Despite some progress in recognising Aboriginal land rights in Australia, government policies in recent
years have undermined Aboriginal rights to land. The Federal government has imposed compulsory five year
leases on land in areas affected by the intervention. This has deprived Aboriginal owners of the right to
make decisions about their land, because all decision-making power about its use has been given to the
Australian Government. This over-rides rights held by Aboriginal Peoples under the Land Rights (Northern
Territory) Act 1976, a historic law which represented a major step forward in recognising rights to land.
13
The Federal government has argued that the leases are necessary because it needs secure tenure in
order to build infrastructure in Aboriginal communities. These arguments are dismissed in a 2009 report
by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. He observes that governments
have frequently built infrastructure such as schools, police stations, and housing in Indigenous communities
in the past without obtaining a lease.
14
He cites arguments that Labor raised when it was in Opposition,
although it later supported the policy of leases. On 13 June 2007, Jenny Macklin MP (then Shadow
Minister for Indigenous Affairs) told the House of Representatives
The government is arguing that land rights have not delivered economic outcomes, and is therefore
seeking to construct a Hobsons choice for Indigenous people. Choose between your rights to land and
your rights to economic development. I do not believe that it is beyond the wit of traditional owners and
the government to devise land tenure arrangements... without fundamentally undermining Indigenous
ownership and control of their land.
15
During consultations about the future of the intervention held in 2009, a member of the Bagot community
made the following comments to government officials.
[The intervention] started in 2007 Then later onKevin Rudd stood in national
television and said sorry. Okay, so we were expecting that sorry was for both, stolen
generation and intervention. And then, now you guys come in, second time. Well why?
Why are you coming here? What for? What next? Can you tell me? Why are you coming here?
You should close the gap first then come and visit You know, you widen the gap
Then you are coming in, another consultation, another consultation, carry on and carry on
and carry on ... You try to go and talk to people, getting a five-year lease, you know, a
land-grabbing thing. That is what you people are doing land-grabbing.
16
The Law Council of Australia has voiced its concerns about government plans to acquire Indigenous land:
We regard the compulsory acquisition of land as an extreme measure which conflicts with
the fundamental rights to land ownership.
17
Indigenous permit system should be restored:
Amnesty International
Amnesty Internationals consultations with communities in the NT found the permit system to be
something communities want in order to protect culture and land. Researcher Lucas Jordan said:
The permit system is an enabling system it enables Aboriginal people to live among
their family, cultural and language groups, often close to traditional country; it offers a
respite from the pressures of town life and is often the inspirational base of much of the
art and music that is beloved by many Australians.
19
The organisation said that removing the permit system contrary to the wishes of the community violates
the rights of community members, except where it is necessary for a legitimate public purpose such as
public health or national security. It also said that a strong body of research on Indigenous communities
has not identified the permit system as a risk factor in child abuse in such communities.
20
The NT Police Association also expressed concern, saying, the permits help police officers in the bush
with their efforts to keep alcohol and drugs out of communities that are supposed to be dry.
21
Alyawarr senior kwerterngerl
(manager) for Amperlatwaty Donald
Thompson Kemarr, Honeymoon Bore,
Northern Territory, August 2009.
AI/Rusty Stewart
15
Aboriginal leader Barbara Shaw examines the findings of the Federal Court,
following its decision to dismiss her appeal against the government takeover of
town camps in Alice Springs. AAP Image/Larine Statham
Government pressures Aboriginal communities
to give up property rights to receive services
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around Australia are urgently in need of basic
services including housing and healthcare. State and Federal governments have been aware of these needs
for decades but have consistently failed to respond on the scale that is needed. The NT Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner writes: Federal and NT governments haveknown about this disadvantage for decades yet
they have continued to neglect, systematically underfund and impose policy from afar.
22
Following the intervention, the Federal Government offered to build houses and provide other services to
Indigenous communities if they gave up their rights to land by leasing it back to the government for periods
between five and forty years.
The government says that this would provide it with the secure control of the land it needs in order to
undertake construction projects.
Ensuring sufficient tenure to support substantial government investment in housing and
infrastructure on Indigenous held land must be the first priority in order to allow housing
projects to proceed quickly The Australian Government minimum requirements in this
regard are ... government must have access to and control of the land on which
construction will proceed for a minimum period of 40 years.
23
What the government has not explained is why it is not prepared to negotiate agreements with Aboriginal
landowners that enable houses to be built without transferring control of the land to governments.
The issue of services in exchange for giving up rights came to a head in the conflict between the
government and residents of town camps in Alice Springs. Tangentyere
24
(pronounced Tungen-jerra) Council
in Alice Springs was offered urgently-needed services on the condition that they sign away their land under
a 40-year lease. Given a choice between the services and the lease, they eventually felt forced into
choosing the services. They signed late in 2009.
25
No other person or group in Australia has to
surrender their property rights to gain basic
government services, including policing.
The policy is discriminatory. It is racist.
It is the responsibility of the Commonwealth and
NT governments to ensure that the Alice Springs
town camps are policed and proper housing,
education, health and social services are provided
to camp residents. They should be able to meet
these responsibilities without requiring the
compulsory lease back of Indigenous land.
After all, they manage to provide those things
for all other Australians without requiring the
surrender of any property rights.
Aboriginal lawyer and academic Larissa Behrendt.
26
Leases policy extended beyond the NT
The system of offering services in exchange for leases is being extended to other regions of Australia as
well. The ABCs Message Stick program spoke about the issues with Des Jones, the Chair of Murdi Paaki
Regional Housing Corporation of western New South Wales and Percy Neal, the Mayor of Yarrabah in
Far North Queensland:
Des Jones: You talk about 40-year leases, well, weve just had 43 years of state
involvement and Commonwealth involvement and it hasnt improved much on the ground
for housing. So I think it needs a real engagement process with the community
Percy Neal: Theres no need for a 40-year lease in Yarrabah theyre just trying to take
autonomy away from Aboriginal people on our own lands and that. Were in a position to
determine our future; we dont need them to actually do it. Its not rocket science. You
know, we should be able to actually determine our own future and thats the way were
going so its just not on, you know. Its just paternalism
Miriam Corowa: What do you think is going to happen for a community like Yarrabah if
you choose not to go along with signing a 40-year lease?
Percy Neal: Well, exactly what theyve said to us if theres no 40-year lease, you wont be
getting funded. Thats just straight-out blackmail, well, where I come from anyhow
27
Reproduced by permission of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ABC Online.
2010 ABC. All rights reserved.
MYTH: INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DESTROY THEIR HOMES
Paul Pholeros, an architect who works with Indigenous communities, conducted a survey of 4,343
houses in 132 communities. The research showed that 60 per cent of housing problems arose from
poor maintenance, 25 per cent from poor initial construction and only 8 per cent from damage and
abuse by tenants.
He observes that if you have in your head that Aboriginal people trash the houses, everyone else
gets off the hook Almost a quarter of the money we spent in the last 10 years on over 6,500
houses around Australia has been due to poor initial construction, faulty work. Thats a toilet without
a drain attached, a tap without water attached.
To find out more
Fixing Indigenous housing, SBS Insight, news.sbs.com.au/insight/episode/index/id/146#transcript
Myth: Aboriginal people destroy houses
www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/land/indigenous-aboriginal-housing.html
Australian government fails to deliver promised Indigenous housing
www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia/stories/200907/s2635442.htm
17
Homelands: returning to country
For many decades, government policies forced Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples off their
traditional lands and into government-run reserves, church-run missions and bigger towns and cities.
Governments and non-Indigenous Australians treated Western culture as the model which everyone
should fit into.
Despite the dispossession and relocation that they experienced, Aboriginal Peoples continued to remain
connected to their country. In the 1960s, small groups of Aboriginal people who wanted to determine their
own destiny began relocating back to and establishing communities on their traditional lands and waters.
This became known as the homelands movement.
Today, one-third of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory live on homelands (also referred to as outstations).
There are approximately 500 homelands in the Northern Territory.
GROWTH TOWNS: STRIPPING SERVICES FROM HOMELANDS
In 2009, the Northern Territory Government announced plans that will strip services from homelands in
favour of larger towns and cities, effectively forcing Aboriginal Peoples to move in order to access basic
services. The NT governments media release heralded the prospect of towns like anywhere else
in Australia and real towns, real jobs and real opportunities.
28
This approach was supported by the Federal Government, which announced plans to prioritise funding and
services for 15 selected growth towns in the Northern Territory, relying on them to act as servicing hubs
for outlying areas.
29
These policies exclude the 500 homelands where one-third of Aboriginal People in the Northern Territory live.
For more information on homelands visit www.amnesty.org.au/homelands
Young people living on
their traditional country,
Utopia homelands.
AI. Photo: April Pyle
An entire culture is at stake:
Patrick Dodson on Homelands and the NT intervention
This is an extract from an article written by Yawuru man and Chairman of the Lingiari Foundation,
Professor Patrick Dodson just after the Intervention was launched. The full article appears in the media
section of this resource.
J70' 21, 2007, /#; 9'.. $' 5''0 #5 #
&'(+0+0) &#6' +0 A7564#.+#0 *+5614;. T*#6
&#; %*#0)'& )18'40/'06/+0&+)'0175
4'.#6+105*+25 241(170&.; 9*'0 P4+/'
M+0+56'4 J1*0 H19#4& #00170%'& 6*#6
*+5 G18'40/'06 2.#00'& 61 5'+<' %10-
641. 1( 64 A$14+)+0#. %1//70+6+'5 +0
6*' N146*'40 T'44+614;=
T*'4' +5 01 #4)7/'06 6*#6 6*' 74)'06
+//'&+#6' 24+14+6; +5 61 2416'%6 %*+.-
&4'0. T*' 9'.(#4' 1( 174 %*+.&4'0 #0&
174 (#/+.+'5 4'/#+05 6*' -'; 61 174 .+8'5
#0& (7674'. B76 6*+5 24+14+6; +5 70&'4-
/+0'& $; 6*' G18'40/'06A5 *'#8;-
*#0&'& #76*14+6#4+#0 +06'48'06+10 #0&
+65 +&'1.1)+%#. #0& &'%'26+8' .#0& 4'-
(14/ #)'0&#.
T*' #)'0&# +5 61 &+5/#06.' 6*' (170&#-
6+105 1( 6*' N146*'40 T'44+614; A$14+)-
+0#. L#0& R+)*65 A%6. I6 5''-5 61 ':%+5'
4'5+&'06+#. %1//70+6; 5'66.'/'065 (41/
6*' A$14+)+0#. .#0& '56#6' 70&'4 52'%+#.
C1//109'#.6* G18'40/'06 (+8'-;'#4
.'#5'5, #0& 6*' #$1.+6+10 1( #0 #76*14+-
5#6+10 '064; 24161%1. %#..'& 6*' 2'4/+6
5;56'/.
T*' G18'40/'06 *#5 016 /#&' # %#5' +0
.+0-+0) 6*' 4'/18#. 1( .#0& (41/ A$1-
4+)+0#. 190'45*+2 #0& )'66+0) 4+& 1( 6*'
2'4/+6 5;56'/ 9+6* 2416'%6+0) %*+.&4'0
(41/ 6*15' 9*1 #$75' 6*'/. !*#6 +5
$'%1/+0) +0%4'#5+0).; %.'#4 +5 6*#6 6*'
H19#4& G18'40/'06 *#5 75'& 6*' '/1-
6+8' +557' 1( %*+.& #$75' 61 ,756+(; 6*+5
+06'48'06+10 +0 6*' 10.; A7564#.+#0 ,7-
4+5&+%6+10 +0 9*+%* +6 %#0 +/2.'/'06 +65
4#&+%#. +0&+)'0175 21.+%; #)'0&# =
T*' (70&#/'06#. %*#0)'5 241215'& (14
6*' .#0& 4+)*65 #%6 6*#6 /#0&#6'5 C1/-
/109'#.6* G18'40/'06 %10641. 1( 6*'
N146*'40 T'44+614; %1//70+6+'5 917.&
$' # &'8#56#6+0) 5'6$#%- (14 A$14+)+0#.
4+)*65.
T*' N146*'40 T'44+614; ALRA +5 6*'
+%10+% &'%.#4#6+10 1( 6*' A7564#.+#0 0#-
6+10A5 +06'06 61 4'5614' 61 A$14+)+0#.
2'12.' 6*' &+)0+6; 1( 6*'+4 64#&+6+10#.
.#0&5.
0&'4 6*' L#0& R+)*65 A%6, #.. A$14+)-
+0#. 4'5'48'5 )#<'66'& &74+0) 6*' 241-
6'%6+10 #0& %10641. '4# 9'4' 64#05('44'&
61 A$14+)+0#. 190'45*+2 #0& 6*' N146*-
'40 L#0& C170%+. #0& C'064#. L#0&
C170%+. 9'4' '56#$.+5*'& #5 56#67614;
$1&+'5 61 *'.2 64#&+6+10#. 190'45 24'-
2#4' %.#+/5 #0& 4'24'5'06 6*'+4 +06'4'565.
T*' #%6 .+$'4#6'& A$14+)+0#. 2'12.' +0
6*' N146*'40 T'44+614; (41/ 6*'+4 57$-
14&+0#6' #0& %1.10+#. 56#675 #0& $'%#/'
#0 +052+4#6+10 (14 /7%* A$14+)+0#. .#0&
.')+5.#6+10 6*#6 *#5 $''0 2#55'& +0 '8'4;
A7564#.+#0 ,74+5&+%6+10 9+6* 6*' ':%'2-
6+10 1( !'56'40 A7564#.+#.
M14' 6*#0 *#.( 6*' N146*'40 T'44+614;
.#0& /#55 +5 A$14+)+0#. .#0& %106#+0+0)
/14' 6*#0 700 +0&+)'0175 %1//70+-
6+'5, 6*' 8#56 /#,14+6; 1( 9*+%* #4'
5/#.. *1/'.#0& %1//70+6+'5.
T*'4' 5*17.& $' 01 &17$6 #$176 9*#6 +5
#6 56#-' *'4'. T*' G18'40/'06A5 #)'0&#
+5 61 64#05(14/ +0&+)'0175 .#4)'4 5'66.'-
/'065 +061 /#+0564'#/ 61905 #0& ':-
6+0)7+5* $; #664+6+10 6*' %#2#%+6; 1( +0-
&+)'0175 2'12.' 61 /#+06#+0 5/#..
*1/'.#0& %1//70+6+'5.
T*'5' 5'66.'/'065 *#8' $'%1/' 6*'
.+('$.11& 1( %7.674#. 4')'0'4#6+10 #5 +0-
&+)'0175 2'12.', $; 6*'+4 190 &'6'4/+-
0#6+10, 4'.1%#6'& +0 ':6'0&'& (#/+.;
)41725 61 64#&+6+10#. %17064; #(6'4 6*'
%1..#25' 1( 6*' ('7&#. 2#5614#. +0&7564;
4')+/' #0& %.1574' 1( %*74%* /+55+105
+0 6*' 19605 #0& 19705.
A ('9 ;'#45 #)1, #55+/+.#6+10 9#5 %1/-
24'*'05+8'.; 4','%6'& $; /#+0564'#/
A7564#.+#0 51%+'6; #5 4#%+56. T*#6 +6
5*17.& $' $#%- +0 81)7' #5 6*+5 G18-
'40/'06A5 +0&+)'0175 27$.+% 21.+%; &+-
4'%6+10 4'(.'%65 6*' 2#7%+6; 1( +06'..'%-
67#. #0& 2*+.1512*+%#. &+5%755+10 #$176
6*' 215+6+10 1( +0&+)'0175 2'12.' +0
A7564#.+#0 0#6+10 $7+.&+0).
!*+.' .#4)' 5'%6+105 1( A7564#.+#0 51-
%+'6; %#0 +0&7.)' +0 %106'/214#4; )4+'(
#$176 2#56 +0,756+%'5 +0(.+%6'& 10 +0-
&+)'0175 2'12.'5, 6*'4' +5 # 2'48#5+8'
5+.'0%' #$176 6*' 21.+%+'5 1( 0#6+10#.,
56#6' #0& 6'44+614; )18'40/'065.
30
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples rights to land:
useful readings
19
Statement on the Northern Territory intervention
by Richard Downs
Richard Downs is the leader of the Ampilatwatja (pronounced Um-blud-ahwatch) walk-off. This is an edited
version of a statement he made on August 23, 2009. View the full statement at
http://Interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com/statements
I $4+0) 9+6* /' /#0; 81+%'5 1( %10-
%'40, (41/ /; .'#&'45 9*1 #4' %7561&+-
#05 1( 174 64#&+6+105 #0& %7561/5,
2#55'& &190 18'4 )'0'4#6+105, (14
/#0; 6*175#0&5 1( ;'#45; .'#&'45 9*1
#4' 6*' %#4'6#-'45 1( 174 .#0&5 6*417)*
174 &4'#/+0), /16*'4 '#46*, #0& 52+4+65
> 56+.. 9+6* 75 61 6*+5 &#;, 9#6%*+0) 18'4
#.. 1( 75=
S+0%' %1.10+<#6+10 9' *#8' '0&74'&
/7%* *#4&5*+2, %47'.6;, 6*'(6, )'01%+&',
#0& &'5647%6+10 1( 174 %7.674', 64#&+-
6+105, %7561/5 #0& .#95.
!' #4' 2'12.' 9*1 #4' 8'4; '#5; 61
(14)+8' #0& /18' 10; 6*+5 9' *#8' &10'
(14 18'4 200 ;'#45, 9+6* 01 4'5'06/'06
#0& *#64'&, $76 #.9#;5 9+..+0) 61 ':6'0&
174 *#0&5 #0& 9'.%1/' 174 ('..19 *7-
/#0 $'+0)5 61 '/$4#%' 6*'/ #5 10'
9+6* 174 52+4+67#. .#0&5.
"'6 6*' )18'40/'065 #0& 6*' #)'0%+'5
*#8' #.9#;5 %106+07'& 6*'+4 (#.5' 24'-
6'0%' 1( %*#4+6;, )+8+0) # .+66.', 9*+.'
56+.. 4'6#+0+0) 6*' 219'4 #0& 6#-+0)
#9#; '8'4;6*+0) 6*'; %17.& 9+6* 6*'
16*'4 *#0&.
I0&+)'0175 2'12.' *#8' #.9#;5 276
2'12.' 1( &+(('4'06 4#%'5 #0& %7.674'5
(+456; #$18' 5'.(+5*0'55, #$18' #0; 2'4-
510#. 9+5*'5.
!' *#8' #.9#;5 276 174 %*+.&4'0 #.10)-
5+&' 75 51 6*'; /#; .'#40 6*' 9#;5 1(
174 2'12.' 6*417)* 6'#%*+0), .+56'0+0),
#0& 5614+'5 (41/ 6*'+4 '.&'45. T*';
.'#40'& #$176 .+(', 6*' +06'4%100'%6+10
1( #.. .+8+0) 6*+0)5, $4''&+0) %;%.'5 1(
#.. #0+/#.5 10 174 .#0&5, #0& 6*' 510)5
6*#6 )1 9+6* '#%* #0+/#.; 51 6*'; 611
*#8' # 2.#%' 10 '#46* =
T1&#;, #0& 5+0%' 6*' +0641&7%6+10 1( 6*'
?I06'48'06+10@ +0 2007, I0&+)'0175 2'1-
2.' #%4155 6*' N146*'40 T'44+614; #4'
(#%+0) # 4'0'9'& #0& 5756#+0'& .'8'. 1(
&'5647%6+10 #0& &'0+#. 1( 174 $#5+% *7-
/#0 4+)*65 70&'4 6*' F'&'4#. )18'40-
/'06A5 N146*'40 T'44+614; E/'4)'0%;
R'52105', +0641&7%'& 70&'4 6*' )7+5' 1(
2416'%6+0) %*+.&4'0.
T*' 21.+%+'5 6*#6 9'4' &'8'.12'&,
2#55'& 6*417)* 2#4.+#/'06 37+%-.;, +/-
2.'/'06'& 9+6* /#46+#. .#924, #0&
9*+%* 9'4' 5722146'& $; 6*' L#$14
2#46; 9*+.' +0 12215+6+10, #4' *#8+0)
5'4+175 #0& &'64+/'06#. '(('%65 10 A$1-
4+)+0#. 2'12.' #%4155 6*' NT=.
R'.'#5' 6*' %*#+05 1( %10641.; )+8' 75
174 (4''&1/; .'6 75 9#.- 10%' #)#+0 #5
(4'' *7/#0 $'+0)5 10 6*+5 '#46* (174
/16*'4), 9+6* 174 #0%'56145, 52+4+65,
510)5, #0& %'4'/10+'5.
L'6 75 5*#4' 174 4+%*0'55 1( %7.674'5
9+6* 16*'45. !' #4' #.. 10' $.11& #0&
%100'%6'& 6*417)* 174 52+4+67#. &4'#/5
1( 2#6*9#;5, E#46*, !#6'4, T4''5, S-;,
#0& !+0&, 9*+%* %#44; 174 6*17)*65
#0& 52+4+65 #%4155 #.. %106+0'065.
L'6 75 10%' #)#+0 '/$4#%' 174 ;170)'4
)'0'4#6+10 +061 174 (1.&5 61 5*19 #0&
)+8' 6*'/ )7+&#0%', #5 6*'5' #4' 174
0':6 )'0'4#6+10 1( .'#&'45 9*1 #4' .156
$'69''0 691 914.&5 (%7.674'5) $76 #4' #6
6*' %4155 41#&5 $'69''0 .+)*6 #0& &#4--
0'55.
!' *#8' #0 12214670+6; #0& 10' %*#0%'
+0 174 .+(' 6+/' 61 )'6 +6 4+)*6. L'6 ;174
*'#465 )7+&' ;17, 016 ;174 )18'40/'06
21.+%+'5 9*+%* #4' #6 6*' %14' 1( 6*' &'-
5647%6+10 1( A$14+)+0#. 2'12.'.
31
C
a
r
t
o
o
n

b
y

N
i
c
h
o
l
s
o
n

f
r
o
m

T
h
e

A
u
s
t
r
a
l
i
a
n

w
w
w
.
n
i
c
h
o
l
s
o
n
c
a
r
t
o
o
n
s
.
c
o
m
.
a
u
Comments from members of Indigenous
communities during government consultations
on the NT intervention
Thats the message, very strong.
We will not stop being Aboriginal
People, with our language, with
our rituals, through our rituals,
our responsibilities to the land,
and furthermore, holding that
land as the underpinning of
everything we are.
Were not interested in anybody
dictating to us how were going
to live on this land, on Utopia.
You heard it loud and clear
Future directions of the
Australian Aboriginal persons
will come at our pace. Well own
that journey. Well not be
dictated to from edicts coming
down like bullets from Canberra.
This land is much older than
white settlement. Your values are
entirely different to ours. Entirely
different. If youre going to have
generosity of heart and good will,
you take into consideration, one of
the oldest living cultures in the
world, in the whole wide world.
Rosalie Kunoth-Monks, President of
Urapuntja Council, Barkley Shire
President and resident of Arlparra in the
Utopia homelands, speaking at a
meeting with government officials.
32
Why are you coming here?
What for? What next? Can you
tell me? Why are you coming
here? You should close the
gap first then come and visit
You try to go and talk to people,
getting a five years lease, you
know, a land grabbing thing.
That is what you people are
doing land grabbing.
Member of the Bagot community
33
Aboriginal land! im cant take
it away! You know, we cant go.
It is Aboriginal land. We got
grown up here. We sit down here.
Aboriginal land! Aboriginal land!
Thats right. im cant take im
away! We stay here Arlparra.
Aboriginal land! Old one, this one,
Aboriginal land! This is strong
This is strong Aboriginal land.
Nobody is to erase it or take
it away from us. This is strong
Aboriginal land.
Resident of Arlparra in the Utopia
homelands
34
21
The Barunga statement: a call for Aboriginal rights
THE BARUNGA STATEMENT
We, the Indigenous owners and occupiers of
Australia, call on the Australian Government
and people to recognise our rights:
to self-determination and self-management,
including the freedom to pursue our own
economic, social, religious and cultural
development;
to permanent control and enjoyment of our
ancestral lands;
to compensation for the loss of use of our
lands, there having been no extinction of
original title;
to protection of and control of access to
our sacred sites, sacred objects, artefacts,
designs, knowledge and works of art;
to the return of the remains of our ancestors
for burial in accordance with our traditions;
to respect for and promotion of our Aboriginal
identity, including the cultural, linguistic,
religious and historical aspects, and
including the right to be educated in our own
languages and in our own culture and history;
in accordance with the universal declaration
of human rights, the international covenant
on economic, social and cultural rights, the
international covenant on civil and political
rights, and the international convention on the
elimination of all forms of racial discrimination,
rights to life, liberty, security of person, food,
clothing, housing, medical care, education
and employment opportunities, necessary
social services and other basic rights.
We call on the Commonwealth to pass laws providing:
A national elected Aboriginal and Islander
organisation to oversee Aboriginal and
Islander affairs;
A national system of land rights;
A police and justice system which recognises
our customary laws and frees us from
discrimination and any activity which may
threaten our identity or security, interfere
with our freedom of expression or association,
or otherwise prevent our full enjoyment and
exercise of universally recognised human
rights and fundamental freedoms.
We call on the Australian Government to support
Aborigines in the development of an international
declaration of principles for indigenous rights,
leading to an international covenant.
And we call on the Commonwealth Parliament to
negotiate with us a Treaty recognising our prior
ownership, continued occupation and sovereignty
and affirming our human rights and freedom.
35
Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke
receives the Barunga statement from
Galarrwuy Yunupingu in Arnhem Land
in Northern Territory, 13 June 1988.
Fairfaxphotos
On the 12 June 1988, during Australias bicentennial year, the Prime Minister Bob Hawke was presented
with the Barunga Statement by Aboriginal leaders.
Written on bark, the Statement called for Aboriginal self-management, a national system of land rights,
compensation for loss of lands, respect for Aboriginal identity, an end to discrimination, and the granting
of full civil, economic, social and cultural rights. The Prime Minister replied That there shall be a treaty
between the Aboriginal people and the government on behalf of all the people of Australia. This promise
has not been fulfilled.
Town camps acquisition seen as step backwards:
7.30 Report
This transcript from the 7.30 Report on 30 July 2009 provides an overview of the debate about basic
government services being offered in exchange for leases on Aboriginal land.
Watch at www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2641518.htm
The segment features Jenny Macklin, Indigenous Affairs Minister; William Tilmouth, Tangentyere Council;
Professor Larissa Behrendt, University of Technology Sydney; and Barbara Shaw, Town Camp resident.
Introduction: The Federal Governments recent offering of one hundred million dollars
to upgrade Aboriginal town camps in Alice Springs comes with a catch; the Tangentyere
Council has to give up their land. Not ready to cave in to the governments demands,
the acquisition is now being challenged in court.
Kerry OBrien, presenter: The Federal Government has finally achieved a breakthrough
in the long standoff with Tangentyere council, the organisation that runs Aboriginal town
camps in Alice Springs. And the brawl has been over the future of the camps.
The governments offered $100 million to upgrade the camps, but only on the condition
the council gives the Commonwealth a 40-year lease over the tracts of land that the
camps are on.
After the council rejected her offer two months ago, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny
Macklin threatened compulsory acquisition of the leases under the umbrella of legislation
supporting the Northern Territory intervention.
But Tangentyere council buckled this week and Jenny Macklin says the ways now clear
to begin work to transform the appalling living conditions in the camps.
But the Federal Government may yet be thwarted by legal challenges filed in the Federal
Court today. Murray McLaughlin reports.
Murray Mclaughlin: Its been high brinksmanship for more than two years now as
successive governments have sought to remedy the squalor of town camps in Alice
Springs a need thats long stirred the nations conscience.
Jenny Macklin, Indigenous Affairs Minister: What we have in these town camps is
something that looks like it might be a war zone or a refugee camp. Severe over-crowding,
terrible levels of violence, shocking conditions of the houses and we knew that we really
had to act.
Murray McLaughlin: But its the way the Governments acted that aroused protest today
outside the ALPs annual conference in Sydney.
Protester: Its a disgrace Jenny Macklin.
Murray McLaughlin: The Government moved on Alice Springs town camps under the
cloak of the intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Its
threatened to compulsorily acquire the town camps unless their residents agree to lease
the land to the Commonwealth.
And the Governments refused to release funds to improve the camps till the lease deal is struck.
Aboriginal people have always occupied permanent camps in Alice Springs. They used
to be beyond the fringes of town. But as Alice Springs has grown, many of the camps
have been virtually surrounded by industry and housing.
Through the 1960s and 70s, and in the face of hostility from the towns white
population, residents struggled to secure permanent leasehold title over 19 camps. Their
permanent population is around 1600 but the pressure of large numbers of visitors from
remote communities needing to access services in Alice Springs has been a constant
burden, more than doubling the regular population.
William Tilmouth, Tangentyere Council: The population is actually around 3500. Weve never
been funded to that capacity yet weve always been inundated by the movement of people.
Murray McLaughlin: Tangentyere council comprises representatives of each of the town
camps. The councils responsible for servicing the camps and blames decades of neglect
by governments for the rundown conditions.
23
William Tilmouth: Its a condition thats been created from long-term lack of funding,
appropriate funding, long-term bureaucratic bungle after bureaucratic bungle. Weve
always had to do things on the cheap. Weve always tried to do it on the cheap.
Murray McLaughlin: The Federal Governments put up $100 million to improve the Alice
Springs town camps. But its prerequisite was that Tangentyere council had to assign the
leases in perpetuity over to the Commonwealth for the next 40 years.
Jenny Macklin: Its critical that the Australian Government and the Northern Territory
Government take responsibility as a result of holding the tenure for the future
maintenance of these homes. That hasnt been clear in the past because there was no
secure tenure. So these are the critical reasons for tenure and we normally require it in
any public housing environment.
Murray McLaughlin: Larissa Behrendt, herself an Indigenous woman, is part of a legal
team thats challenging the Federal Governments imposition of 40-year leases over the
town camps.
Professor Larissa Behrendt, UTS: Its very disappointing that were now seeing a policy
approach that sees governments refusing to fix problems in places like the town camps
unless land is surrendered and not being at all willing to negotiate on that particular
principle before theyll put resources into housing or other infrastructure needs.
Murray McLaughlin: Tangentyere council agreed on Tuesday to lease the town camps
lands, but it was with a heavy heart. For the past two months, Tangentyere has weighed
up the Federal Governments proposal under the threat that their leases would be seized.
William Tilmouth: Weve had the gun at our head ... compulsory acquisition is the last
resort. At the end of the day its something that weve been threatened with, and its a
pretty high thing to consider. I think at the end of the day we need to work with what we
have got and make some agreement.
Jenny Macklin: We have the authority to compulsory acquire under the Northern Territory
Emergency Response Act. That was quite clear. But as I say, Im very pleased that we
havent had to go down that path, that weve been able to secure an agreement.
Murray McLaughlin: But agencies like the NT Council of Social Service say that Territory
housing does not have a good record of managing Aboriginal tenants.
Jonathan Pilbrow, NT Council Of Social Service: Dealing with a large bureaucracy can be
very confronting for some people. Theres lots of paperwork involved, at times meetings,
and, yeah, it can be a difficult process for people to negotiate.
Murray McLaughlin: Tangentyere council members expected to sign tomorrow the lease
agreements with the Commonwealth. But an urgent action brought on the Federal Court
in Melbourne this afternoon has delayed that timetable. Its been brought on behalf of
this town camp resident Barbara Shaw and others.
Barbara Shaw, Town Camp resident: We dont know the future plans for us as town
campers and our leases, our special purpose leases that is we have got in perpetuity, a lot
of people dont know, and a lot of people would want Tangentyere to stay as their landlord
or the housing associations. Theres been a lot of talk especially on Territory Housing, like
Aboriginal people really dont have faith in Territory Housing.
Ben Schokman, Human Rights Law Resource Centre: We have been concerned all along
that Barbara Shaw and other town camp residents are voices havent been heard in this
debate, in negotiations between the Federal Government and Tangentyere council. So we
have been taking this action in order to preserve those rights of interests rights and
interests of the town camp residents and to ensure that their place is heard at the
negotiating table.
Murray McLaughlin: The Federal Court case was adjourned late this afternoon till a full
hearing Tuesday. At least until then the Commonwealth wont be able to sign off on any
lease agreement with Tangentyere council and its members.
The Commonwealths legal team made clear in court this afternoon that the upgrade
program is ready to be rolled out across the Alice Springs town camps immediately after
legal issues are involved. Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin said this evening she
was disappointed about the delay.
36
Reproduced by permission of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and ABC Online.
2009 ABC. All rights reserved.
Activities and research projects
Current government policies and Indigenous Peoples
rights to land
1. Investigate the impact of current government policies on
Indigenous rights to land, focusing on the points below:
a. The permit system.
b. Five-year leases over land affected by the
intervention.
c. Leases being used as a condition for receiving
government services.
d. Government proposals to move Indigenous people
from small homeland communities in the Northern
Territory to larger towns. This issue is addressed in
Pat Dodsons article An Entire Culture is at
Stake. For the full text, see
www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/an-entire-culture-
is-at-stake/2007/07/13/1183833765256.html.
2. For the issues above, describe:
what Indigenous people are saying
what non-Indigenous media commentators and
the Federal Government are saying
your views about what should happen.
Land rights and the Town Camps in Alice Springs
3. Read the transcript of the 7.30 Report Town camps
acquisition seen as step backwards for land rights.
a. Why is there opposition to the Governments
proposal to compulsorily acquire the leases
on lands held by the Tangentyere Council?
b. Draw up a table describing:
the views of the Minister for Indigenous Affairs
key points made by opponents of the
governments plans.
c. Discuss whether you think the governments
approach is necessary or whether there are other
ways to achieve the same goals.
d. Research how Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny
Macklins attitudes to leases changed since she was
in opposition. Read the speech by Jenny Macklin in
the House of Representatives, Hansard, 12 June
2007 where she opposes government proposals for
leases:
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/chamb
er/hansardr/2007-06-12/toc_unixml/5487-2.xml,
also reproduced at http://www.antar.org.au/node/56.
4. In small groups, create a scenario where government
services, such as policing, health and education are
provided to your community only on the condition that
your community gives up rights. What rights are you
asked to give up? What happens? Discuss your
scenarios in class.
Respect, Dignity and Hope: Mabo oration by Tom Calma
5. In his Mabo oration From self-respect comes dignity,
and from dignity comes hope, Tom Calma, then
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights
Commission, makes the following statements:
Eddie Mabos fight was not a popular one. It was
not about working within the confines of the system
as it existed. It was about challenging a
fundamental premise on which our society
operated.
A system built on discrimination or dispossession
is a house of cards. It is not a stable basis for a
society.
Over the past decade we have seen a convenient
but very destructive approach utilised by the
Australian Government. This is to treat protections
against racial discrimination as expendable and not
a necessary precondition for government action.
The end result is a native title system which some
say has simply formalised dispossession
However native title has done what no other law
did. It recognised the truth of our history and
started the path forward.
37
Using your existing knowledge and what you have
learned from the materials above, discuss what you
think he might mean by these statements. What are
your views?
6. Read the full Mabo oration From self-respect comes
dignity, and from dignity comes hope in full at
www.adcq.qld.gov.au/ATSI/FromSelfRespect.html#oration.
List key points, using the statements above as
headings.
7. What does Tom Calma mean in saying that the
promise of the Mabo case has not been met?
8. What are Tom Calmas key concerns and what are the
key elements of moving forward that he outlines?
9. What would it take for Australia to move forward in the
way that he outlines? What stands in the way, and how
can this be overcome?
WORKSHEET 4.2
Land and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights
25
Aboriginal views of land
10. Using the readings on pages 1823, discuss:
how the readings communicate an Aboriginal view
of land
what these perspectives add to your understanding of:
Aboriginal values and world views; and the changes
in Australian society that the people making these
statements are calling for.
11. What are the similarities and differences between
Aboriginal dispossession in the past and the ways in
which Aboriginal rights to land are affected by current
government policies?
12. Are current government policies a continuation of the
process of taking away rights to land that began with
colonisation in 1788? What different views might
people hold on this question? Where do you stand?
Researching campaigns to regain rights to land
13. Research case studies of Indigenous people
campaigning to reclaim their land, such as:
the story of the Gurindji people and the strike
at Wave Hill
the story of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
the return of Uluru.
The campaign by the Yorta Yorta people in NSW
and Victoria for Native Title to their land, which was
denied in the courts, where a judge argued that tide
of history had extinguished their native title rights.
The story of Eddie Mabo and land in the Torres
Strait.
Wreck Bay on the south coast of New South Wales.
Campaigns for land by the people of Framlingham
in Victoria
Native Title claims described on the website of the
National Native Title Tribunal, www.nntt.gov.au.
Describe:
The history of Indigenous people in this area.
The history of non-Indigenous people in this area
(it may be useful to search using newspaper
resources at the National Library of Australias
Historic Australian Newspapers, 1803 to 1954
website: http://newspapers.nla.gov.au).
Campaigns by Indigenous people to claim their land.
The situation today.
Aboriginal leader Barbara Shaw in a march against
the Northern Territory Intervention. Alice Springs, NT.
2010. Jagath Dheerasekara
Additional resources
For the life story of Eddie Mabo and how the Mabo decision came about, watch the DVD Mabo: Life of and
Island Man.
For the story of the Gurindji people and the Wave Hill Walk-Off that led to land rights, view Ripples From
Wave Hill Part 1 at abc.gov.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s1888167.htm and Ripples From Wave Hill Part 2
at: www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s2310447.htm.
The series First Australians chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the
perspective of its first people. First Australians explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the
world is overrun by the worlds greatest empire. Over seven episodes, First Australians depicts the true
stories of individuals both black and white caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and
victory in Australias most transformative period of history.
First Australians is available online and on DVD. Look for the DVD in your library or watch episodes online
at www.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians.
Myrtle and Violet Petyarr on their
ancestral land at Mosquito Bore,
Utopia, Northern Territory. AI.
Photo credit: April Pyle
DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples provides an internationally-agreed
framework for approaching Indigenous rights.
In April 2009 the Australian Government
stated its support for the Declaration. Like the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this
statement of rights does not have legal force in
Australia, but the government has now
recognised this Declaration as setting the
standard for how government actions affecting
Indigenous rights should be assessed.
There is a focus on land throughout the
declaration, including:
Article 8, which focuses on the obligations of
governments when Indigenous peoples rights
are violated.
Article 10, which addresses removal of
Indigenous people from their lands.
Article 26, which addresses Indigenous
Peoples rights to their land.
Article 28, which specifies Indigenous
Peoples right to redress (such as
compensation) when their rights to land have
been violated.
Article 32, which outlines Indigenous peoples
rights to determine how their land is used.
38
For the full text of the Declaration go to:
www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/declaration
27
Endnotes
1 Dodson, P. 14 July 2007. An entire culture is at stake, The Age. Retrieved from
www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/an-entire-culture-is-at-stake/2007/07/13/1183833765256.html.
2 Murdoch, L. 29 May 2010. Land of riches given over to Kakadu, Brisbane Times.Retrieved from
www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/land-of-riches-given-over-to-kakadu-20100529-wlri.html.
3 National Library of Australia (2001) Secret Instructions to Lieutenant Cook 30 July 1768 retrieved
from www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=34.
4 Zeno (1824, 24 July) Hobart Town Gazette and Van Diemens Land Advertiser Retrieved from
http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/1090271
5 Clendinnen, I., 2005. Dancing With Strangers: Europeans and Australians at first Contact. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge
6 Bischoff, J. 1832. Sketch of the history of Van Diemens Land, John Richardson, Royal Exchange,
London. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=hsARAAAAYAAJ&dq=inauthor%3A%22James%20Bischoff%22&
pg=PR5#v=onepage&q&f=false
7 Rev Francis Tuckfield quoted in Attwood, B. and Markus, A. 1999. The Struggle For Aboriginal
Rights: A Documentary History. Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW.
8 Carmody, K. and Kelly, P. 1991. From little things big things grow, on K. Carmody, Bloodlines (CD),
Festival Records, Australia.
9 Australian Human Rights Commission, 2005. Face The Facts. Retrieved from
www.hreoc.gov.au/racial_discrimination/face_facts_05/atsi.html
10 Mabo v Queensland [No 2], 1992. 175 CLR 1. Retrieved from
www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1992/23.html.
11 Australian Human Rights Commission, 2009. Native Title Report 2009, Sydney, Australian Human
Rights Commission. Retrieved from
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/nt_report/ntreport09/chapter2.html
12 Xavier Herbert, quoted in Monahan, S, 2003, A long and winding road: Xavier Herberts literary
journey Nedlands University of Western Australia, p304
13 See Australian Human Rights Commission, 2007. Native Title Report 2007, Sydney, Australian
Human Rights Commission. Retrieved from
www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/nt_report/ntreport07/chapter9.html Shaw,
Barbara et al, 2009, Request for Urgent Action under the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms Racial Discrimination, available at
http://www.hrlrc.org.au/files/E75QFXXYE7/Request_for_Urgent_Action_Cerd.pdf
Howie, Emily and Edwards, Louise, 2010, Freedom Respect Equality Dignity: Action: NGO
Submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Australia, available at
http://www.hrlrc.org.au/files/NGO-CERD-Report-endorsement-version.pdf
14 Australian Human Rights Commission, 2009, Native Title Report 2009, Chapter 4, Indigenous Land
Reform, Sydney, Australian Human Rights Commission, p134. Available at
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/nt_report/ntreport09/pdf/ntr_ch4.pdf
15 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 12 June 2007, p 92 (The Hon
Jenny Macklin MP, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs). At
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/ dr120607.pdf (viewed 6 September 2009), quoted in
Australian Human Rights Commission 2009 p126
16 Nicholson, A., Behrendt, B., Vivian, A., Watson, N. and Harris, M., June to August 2009. Will they be
heard? A response to the NTER Consultations, p62. Retrieved from www.childjustice.org/docs/will-
they-be-heard.pdf
17 Law Council of Australia, 5 July 2007. Law Council Criticisms of NT Emergency Plan, media release
retrieved from www.lawcouncil.asn.au/media/news-article.cfm?article=B55FF376-1E4F-17FA-D2B1-
E2F8A4FB588D
18 Dodson, P. 20 August 2009. Intervention turned our backs on Reconciliation, Sydney Morning
Herald. Retrieved from www.smh.com.au/opinion/contributors/intervention-turned-our-backs-on-
reconciliation-20090819-eqhv.html.
19 Amnesty International Australia (2008, 25 November) Rudd: Reinstate permit system Article
available at http://www.amnesty.org.au/indigenous-rights/comments/19900/
20 Amnesty International Australia (2008, 28 November) Indigenous permit system should be restored
Media release Retrieved from www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/19913/
21 Donald, P., 7 July. Police support Indigenous permit status quo, Australian Broadcasting Corporation,
Sydney. Retrieved from www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/07/1972552.htm
22 The NT Anti-Discrimination Commission, June 2008. Fair Go Newsletter. Retrieved from
www.adc.nt.gov.au/news/2008/NTADC_News_17_WEB.pdf
23 Letter from Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin to state and territory housing ministers,
obtained by the National Indigenous Times, 5 March 2009. The Betrayal: Macklin unveils plan
to force 40-year leases in exchange for public housing, Retrieved from
www.nit.com.au/News/story.aspx?id=17274
24 Tangentyere means working together in the Arrernte language.
25 McLaughlin, M. 30 July 2009. Town camps acquisition seen as step backwards for land rights,
7.30 Report. ABC Television, Sydney. Transcript and video retrieved from
www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2641518.htm
26 Behrendt, L. 28 May 2009. A sorry start to a sombre week, National Indigenous Times. Retrieved
from www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=17838
27 Corowa, M. 28 February 2010. Talking Stick: Housing, Message Stick, ABC Television, Sydney.
Retrieved from www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s2831321.htm?site=sydney
28 Northern Territory Government 20 May 2009. A Working Future: Real Towns, Real Jobs, Real
Opportunities, media release retrieved from
http://newsroom.nt.gov.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewRelea se&id=5584&d=5
29 Moran, M. 2010. The viability of hub settlements, Dialogue, 29 (1):38-51.
30 Dodson, P. 14 July 2007. An entire culture is at stake, The Age. Retrieved from
www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/an-entire-culture-is-at-stake/2007/07/13/1183833765256.html
31 Downs, R. 23 August 2009. Statement on the Northern Territory Intervention. Retrieved from
http://Interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com/statements
32 Nicholson, A., Behrendt, B., Vivian, A., Watson, N., and Harris, M., 2009. Will they be heard?
A response to the NTER Consultations, p174, 17980.. Retrieved from
www.childjustice.org/docs/will_they_be_heard.pdf
33 Nicholson et al, p62
34 Nicholson et al, p180
35 Yunupingu, G. et al., 1988, The Barunga Statement, Northern Land Council and Central Land
Council, Barunga, available at www.barungafestival.com.au/statement.html
36 McLaughlin, M. 30 July 2009. Town camps acquisition seen as step backwards for land rights,
7.30 Report, ABC Television, Sydney. Transcript and video retrieved from
www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2009/s2641518.htm
37 Calma T., 2009, From self-respect comes dignity, and from dignity comes hope: meeting the
challenge of social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Mabo Oration 2009,
available at http://www.adcq.qld.gov.au/ATSI/FromSelfRespect.html
38 United Nations, 2008. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, United Nations, New York.
Retrieved from www.hreoc.gov.au/social_justice/declaration/assembly.html

Land

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Land

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Land

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS IN AUSTRALIA TODAY WHERE DO YOU STAND?

Land and Indigenous

You might also like