Native Title in the News - March 2015
| DATE | STATE | SUBJECT | SUMMARY | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
30/03/2015 |
WA |
$1.3bn land rights deal approved |
After meetings with Noongar people throughout the last months, the $1.3 billion native title deal between the State Government and Noongar people is expected to go ahead. A meeting in Perth on Saturday of about 350 descendants of the Whadjuk clan was the last of six meetings that resulted in majority "yes" votes. Glen Kelly, the South West Land and Sea Council chief executive said the agreement would usher in a new era of prosperity for Noongar people. |
The West Australian, Australia, |
|
29/03/2015 |
WA |
Kimberley traditional owners want tighter controls over tourism to protect sacred sites |
Dambimangari traditional owners who have been granted exclusive possession native title rights of land and sea off the northern Kimberley coast are looking to charge fees and tighten the regulation of the cruise boat industry to protect the region’s sacred sites. |
ABC News, Australia, |
|
29/03/2015 |
NT |
Northern Territory Indigenous community says it was not adequately consulted over fracking permits |
Tensions are rising in the Northern Territory as some residents of a remote Aboriginal community say they were not adequately consulted on the granting of fracking permits on Aboriginal freehold land. |
ABC News, Australia, |
|
27/03/2015 |
WA |
Nyoongar campers return to Heirisson Island after being cleared off a second time |
Protesters have returned to Heirisson Island after being removed by the WA Police. The self-proclaimed refugee camp is to protest the proposed forced closures of remote communities in the states north. |
Perth Now, Australia, |
|
26/03/2015 |
QLD |
Aboriginal group fights to stop $16bn Carmichael coalmine, Australia’s largest |
Representatives for the Wangan and Jagalingou people have formally rejected an Indigenous land use agreement for mining firm Adani to develop the $16bn Carmichael mine, in what is shaping up to be an unprecedented test of native title laws. Adani has turned to the national native title tribunal to override this objection. |
The Guardian, Australia, |
|
26/03/2015 |
WA |
WA recognition for Aboriginals endorsed |
WA Premier Colin Barnett has committed the Government to support Kimberley MLA and Gidja woman Josie Farrer's push to amend the Constitution preamble after a joint parliamentary committee endorsed her plan. The change would acknowledge Aboriginal people as the first West Australians and traditional custodians of the land and commit Parliament to effect reconciliation. |
9 News, Australia, |
|
25/03/2015 |
WA |
Mining giants to hand over rights to area in the Kimberley for new national park |
Rio Tinto and Alcoa have handed back 40-year-old mining rights to the Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberley as part of a proposal by the Western Australian government to create the country’s largest national park. Traditional owners in the area opposed mining but some are concerned at giving up exclusive possession rights for a national park to be established. The WA environment minister, Albert Jacob, said the government would work with traditional owners to jointly manage the national park. |
The Guardian, Australia, |
|
25/03/2015 |
SA |
Kaurna people didn’t exist when Europeans arrived, Kelly Henderson says |
At a council meeting, failed lord mayoral candidate Kelly Henderson made the controversial claim that the Kaurna people did not exist at the time of European settlement and said the Adelaide City Council should stop officially recognising them. |
The Australian – News, Australia, 25 March 2015 |
|
25/03/2015 |
WA |
Loans spark action |
After an audit raised concerns about senior staff borrowing large sums of money, Anthony Beven, the registrar of Indigenous Corporations has placed the Murchison Region Aboriginal Corporation under special administration. |
Koori Mail, Australia, pg 15, |
|
24/03/2015 |
QLD |
Queensland Indigenous minister moved to tears |
Queensland's first indigenous minister, Leanne Enoch, has been moved to tears during a traditional blessing from indigenous elders. Ms Enoch was blessed alongside fellow indigenous MP Billy Gordon, before state parliament was sworn in on Tuesday morning. |
Yahoo 7 News, Australia, |
|
21/03/2015 |
QLD |
The story behind Stradbroke Island’s planning time bomb |
Quandamooka elder Uncle Ian Delaney is the face of the Quandamooka people's push to have things improve for Aboriginal culture on Stradbroke Island. Ian Delaney says future planning needs to start soon, because since native title was granted over the area in July 2011, people want to go and live in the bush. He said "They are entitled to do that. But because of safety concerns, we have got to encourage them to wait until we have the proper infrastructure in those areas." |
Brisbane Times, Australia, |
|
20/03/2015 |
TSI |
Alice Queen seeks to resume gold mining on Horn Island |
Gold was discovered on Horn Island in the Torres Strait in the late 1800s. A mine was created but fizzled out and the Queensland taxpayer was left with a clean-up bill for the operation. Mining company Alice Queen seeks to resume the mining on Horn Island. Harry Seriat, secretary of the Kaurareg Aboriginal Land Trust said that the mine is starting out the right way, talking to elders before doing anything else. “The elders were upset with the previous operation because they were never consulted. And then the company just packed up and left,” he said. Milton Savage, chairman of the prescribed body corporate for the Kaurareg’s native title, said “proper” jobs for the locals were the big hope for the gold project. |
The Australian – Business Review, Australia, |
|
19/03/2015 |
NSW |
Aboriginal groups want cultural fishing rights made law in NSW |
Aboriginal groups have called on both sides of New South Wales politics to formally recognise cultural fishing rights before the state election. In 2009, both houses of Parliament passed an amendment to the Fisheries Management Act that would allow Aboriginal people the right to unlimited fishing for personal and cultural purposes. But six years later that law has still not come into force in NSW. |
ABC Indigenous, Australia, |
|
19/03/2015 |
NSW and VIC |
Traditional Owners monitor the health of rivers and wetlands |
Recognising that the Aboriginal peoples in the Murray-Darling Basin have been intimately connected to its river systems for thousands of years, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has worked with Traditional Owners from Deniliquin and Walgett in New South Wales and the Victorian Alps to test a method to measure the health of river and wetland places. |
Indigenous.gov.au, Australia, |
|
19/03/2015 |
WA |
Aboriginal community closure: intense rally at Parliament House |
WA Premier Colin Barnett was shoved by an angry protester as hundreds of people rallied outside Parliament House on Thursday to campaign against the state government's plans to shut down remote Aboriginal communities. More than 700 people marched on the steps of Parliament angry at the state government plans to close almost half of the 270 remote Aboriginal communities in WA. |
WA today, Australia, |
|
19/03/2015 |
NSW |
Police say charges likely if Nimmie Caira squatters don’t move on |
Police say that more than a dozen Aboriginal families form Balranald and Robinvale have moved into empty houses between Hay and Balranald. The people are squatting on land that the Federal Government purchased as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan’s Nimmie Caira project. |
ABC News, Australia, |
|
18/03/2015 |
WA |
Protest held against WA native title deal |
A group of Aboriginal people have protested outside the West Australian parliament against a $1.3 billion native title deal. The deal offers Noongar people land, finance and benefits in exchange for the surrender of native title rights in the region. The Noongar community is currently considering the deal, but some members have accused those who support it of being sell-outs. |
News.com.au, Australia, |
|
18/03/2015 |
Overseas |
Develop native lands instead of selling, Ghapur tells owners |
Malaysian MP Datuk Seri Abdul Ghapur Salleh strongly urged the Bumiputera community in his constituency, especially those with native title land, not to sell them for instant profit. He said they should develop the land with agriculture, fishery or plantation which is more profitable. "Don't sell your native title lands for land is a priceless asset to be inherited by the next generation… Develop your native lands for more profit in long term basis," he said. |
Daily Express, Malaysia, |
|
18/03/2015 |
WA |
Badimia native title claim over 36,000sq km in WA’s mid-west rejected |
A native title claim by the Badimia people, for 36,000 square kilometres of land in Western Australia has been rejected by the Federal Court. The claim was dismissed due to ‘connection issues’ as the court did not believe there was sufficient evidence to prove the Badimia people’s ongoing connection to country. |
ABC News, Australia, |
|
16/03/2015 |
QLD |
Queensland to ban uranium once more |
The new Queensland Labor Government is planning to once more ban uranium mining in Queensland. Anthony Lynham, the recently instated minster for natural resources and mines, announced the prohibition, which had stood in place from 1982 until 2012, would be brought in again. |
Australian Mining, Australia, |
|
16/03/2015 |
SA |
Barngarla native title claim determined |
Keith Thomas of SA Native Title Services talks to Kaliah Alice about the significance of the Court decision in January 2015, to recognise native title for the Barngarla people of South Australia. |
Radio Adelaide, Australia, |
|
15/03/2015 |
Australia |
Aboriginal ‘recognition’ – a cover for assimilation |
According to Paddy Gibson, the debate on constitutional recognition is a farce designed to divert attention from the funding cuts and the closure of communities. |
The Stringer, Australia, |
|
14/03/2015 |
NSW |
Hunter Concerned citizens in support of Awabakal land claim on rail corridor |
David Blyth from the Hunter Concerned Citizens has announced its support of the Awabakal Aboriginal Land Claim although they haven’t given up fighting to retain the rail line. |
ABC News, Australia, |
|
11/03/2015 |
Australia |
Tony Abbott “lifestyle choice” |
Tony Abbott, the Australian Prime Minister who aspires to be known for his contribution to indigenous affairs has been criticised for suggesting that Indigenous people who live on remote homelands are making a lifestyle choice. He said “it is not the job of the taxpayer to subsidise lifestyle choices”. |
9 News, Australia, |
|
11/03/2015 |
WA |
Traditional owners in WA to launch class action over deregistration of sacred sites |
In the past year several culturally significant sites have had their protection withdrawn by the Western Australian Government on the basis they no longer fit the definition of a sacred site. Traditional owners in WA are now set to launch a class action lawsuit against the State Government over the deregistration of these sacred Indigenous sites. |
ABC News, Australia, |
|
11/03/2015 |
NT |
NT investing in remote communities: Giles |
Despite Tony Abbott backing a West Australian plan to shut down remote communities, the Northern Territory government says it's investing heavily in remote communities. NT Chief Minister Adam Giles said “The connection to language, law and culture is so important that the NT government is investing in homelands like never before”. |
SBS, Australia, 11 March 2015 |
|
09/03/2015 |
WA |
Buru up on Native Title deal |
Buru Energy has taken a big step forward in securing production licences for its Ungani oil field in the Kimberley by signing a native title agreement with local indigenous groups, the Nyikina Mangala and Karajarri Yanja People. |
The West Australian, Australia, |
|
08/03/2015 |
NT |
Federal government to ‘scrutinise closely’ NT government’s progress on health projects |
Senator Nova Peris called on the Commonwealth Department of Health to conduct an urgent investigation into the status of the Palmerston Hospital. Health Minister John admitted the bush clinics were behind schedule. “But what would Senator Peris have us do when some of the hold-ups are around the land tenure issues for some of the clinics?” |
News.com.au, Australia, |
|
06/03/2015 |
Australia |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act extended for three years |
A bill passed through the Australian Parliament to extend the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Recognition Act 2013 for three years, until 28 March 2018. The extended Act recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of Australia and records the Parliament's commitment to work towards a referendum on Indigenous constitutional recognition. |
Indigenous.gov.au, Australia, |
|
06/03/2015 |
WA |
WA uranium mine approved despite looming corruption investigation |
On 5 March, the WA Environment Minister Albert Jacob approved a controversial uranium mine proposal despite a looming investigation into the dealings of representatives of the traditional owners of the land. |
WA today, Australia, |
|
04/03/2015 |
Australia |
Greens propose federal coal, gas mining veto |
The Australian Greens introduced a bill to the federal Parliament that exercises constitutional powers to give landholders nationally the right to say no to coal and gas mining on their land. The bill is intended to give farmers, native title holders and local councils the right to veto and would also, if passed, ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for unconventional gas. |
Climate Spectator, Australia, |
|
04/03/2015 |
WA |
Native Title meeting stirs Noongar activism |
The Native Title Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) Authorisation Meetings in Katanning was decided by a narrow margin to the Yes vote 207-200. After the first two Native Title Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) Authorisation Meetings in Bunbury and Busselton which recorded big wins for the Yes vote, the case for the No vote had its last chance in Katanning to challenge the overall claim. The three further meetings are planned for March. |
The Guardian – the workers weekly, Australia, 4 March 2015 |
|
04/03/2015 |
Australia |
$860 million investment through Indigenous Advancement Strategy Grants Round |
Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Nigel Scullion, said that under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, more than $860 million will support 964 organisations to deliver 1297 projects to Indigenous people and communities throughout Australia. |
Indigenous.gov.au, Australia, |
|
03/03/2015 |
WA |
Heirisson Island Aboriginal protest |
Dozens of indigenous people are protesting against the planned closure of up to 150 remote communities by living in a "refugee camp" at Heirisson Island. The City of Perth ordered the group to leave immediately or face eviction. |
The West Australian, Australia, |
|
03/03/2015 |
WA |
Mobile apps drive WA’s search for minerals |
A new mobile app is being used in Western Australia to search for minerals and resources using mapping and tracking technology that is tailored for smartphones and mobile devices. Bill Marmion the Mines and Petroleum Minister said the mobile app allows users to view multiple layers of information, including the use of land, native title arrangements or the data around biodiversity. |
CIO, Australia, 3 March 2015 |
|
02/03/2015 |
NT |
Leigh ‘Tracker’ Tilmouth – a pioneer of Indigenous People |
Indigenous Australians have lost a true pioneer in the passing of Leigh ‘Tracker’ Tilmouth. Tracker had dedicated himself to improving the lives of Indigenous people and fought fearlessly against negative attitudes and racism towards them. |
Indigenous.gov.au, Australia, |
|
02/03/2015 |
WA |
Newmont Boddington Gold offers Murdoch scholarships to Indigenous students seeking mining careers |
Newmont Boddington Gold is offering a scholarship a year for the next five years to Indigenous students aspiring to a career in the mining industry at Murdoch University. Preference will be given to students from the South West of Western Australia with specific cultural linkage to the Gnaala Karla Booja Native Title Claimant Group or other Noongar people. |
Mandurah Mail, Australia, |
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