Native Title in the News - January 2015

Publication date

Thursday, 1 January 2015

Type

Native Title in the News

AIATSIS Research

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1501_native_title_in_the_news.pdf (pdf, 300.07 KB)

Native Title in the News - February 2015
DATE	STATE	SUBJECT	SUMMARY	SOURCE
31/01/2015	QLD	Home Ownership Dreaming	As of 1 January 2015 residents of Indigenous towns in Queensland have the option to buy their homes and convert communal land to freehold. Many want ‘the great Australian dream’, but it will extinguish native title and may expose communities to the open real estate market for the first time	ABC Radio National, Australia, 31 January 2015
30/01/2015	QLD	Cairns woman ‘stole $50k from trust’	Police charged a 59 year old woman with fraud for using her position as co-chair of the Gulf Aboriginal Development Company to transfer the cash to personal accounts between May and October last year. The company represents native title groups and manages compensation payments from the Pasminco Century zinc mine, northwest of Mount Isa.	7 News, Australia, 30 January 2015
29/01/2015	Overseas	Saweto community of late Edwin Chota to win land rights	Alto Tamaya-Saweto, a community in Peru’s Amazon Ucayali region, will receive titles to their land after a 12 year lawsuit filed by their murdered leader, Edwin Chota.	National, International, 29 January 2015
29/01/2015	SA	Native title something to be proud of	Traditional owner says the approval of a native title claim for the Barngarla people in SA is something the wider community should also be proud of.	Whyalla News Online, Australia, 29 January 2015
28/01/2015	NSW	Department responsible for protecting Aboriginal heritage has made no prosecutions in three years	The Office of Environment Heritage, entrusted with protecting Aboriginal heritage, investigated half the 62 complaints of unauthorised destruction of heritage sites it received last year, but did not prosecute in any case. Eleven were for mine-related activities.	Newcastle Herald, Australia, 28 January 2015.
27/01/2015	QLD	Native title claim over Brisbane refused	The Federal Court refused an application for native title lodged in 1998 on behalf of the Turrbal people and a 2011 claim on behalf of the Yugara people. The Yugara claim covered Brisbane and some bordering regions, while the Turrbal claim identified several discrete areas in the greater Brisbane region. In a written judgement on Tuesday, Justice Christopher Jessup cited a lack of a continued, "uninterrupted" system of traditional laws to sustain the claimed rights. He also found that under the traditional laws, no member of either claim group would be recognised as possessing rights to the land.	ABC News, ABC Online, ABC Indigenous, 7 News, Australia, 27 January 2015
27/01/2015	WA	NOVA Nickel breaks new ground on Australia Day	Sirius Resources commenced project development for the Nova nickel mine. Operations will be conducted by contractor Barminco under a three year contract valued at $129 million. Sirius managing director Mark Bennett was commended last year for his sensitive approach to negotiating the native title agreement with the Ngadju people. “It is also pleasing to continue involving local stakeholders such as the traditional owners and local pastoralists in the venture,” Bennett said.	Australian Mining, Australia, 27 January 2015
26/01/2015	SA	South Australia's traditional landowners face investigation over mismanagement	South Australian minister for Aboriginal affairs Ian Hunter says he has written to the auditor general asking him to consider conducting an audit of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara lands	Guardian, Australia, 26 January 2015
26/01/2015	NSW	Indigenous fishing protest at Tomakin	A large group of members of the South Coast indigenous community gathered at Barlings Beach at Tomakin on Monday to stage a peaceful protest against fishing regulations. The protest was organised by the NSW Aboriginal Fishing Rights Group, and protestors conducted net fishing, which is illegal on a public holiday, although native title rights to fish in accordance with laws and customs are protected	Bay Post Moruya Examiner, Australia, 26 January 2015
26/01/2015	NSW	Australia Day crowds gather in NSW; Indigenous people call for national treaty	Warren Mundine called for a national treaty to enforce Indigenous land rights and preserve the culture of Australia's original inhabitants. Mr Mundine said it was impossible for Indigenous people to celebrate Australia's national identity on a day they associate with invasion and colonisation.	7 News, Australia, 26 January 2015
24/01/2015	WA	Principle Nyungar Claim Groups To Vote On $1.3b Native Title Settlement, Recognition Bill	On the 31st of January, approximately 20,000 people will be eligible to vote on the proposed settlement which culminates in total to a $1.3 billion package, to be paid in annual $50 million payments to an elected Future Fund over the next twelve years.	Rotunda Media, Australia, 24 January 2015
23/01/2015	WA	Real Consultation needed on WA Indigenous recognition bill, former federal minister Fred Chaney says	Former federal Indigenous affairs minister Fred Chaney has warned a push to recognise Aboriginal people in Western Australia's constitution will not make a major contribution towards reconciliation unless more people in the community have their say.	ABC News, 23 January 2015
23/01/2015	WA	Noongar people to vote on $1.3 billion native title settlement with WA Government	About 20,000 people will be eligible to participate in the January 31 ballot. The South West Land and Sea Council is confident that the settlement will be accepted despite continuing opposition in some parts of the Aboriginal community.	ABC News, Australia, 23 January 2015
22/01/2015	SA	Barngarla claim upheld over two thirds of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula	Federal Court Justice John Mansfield upheld the Barngarla People’s claim, over two thirds of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. The judge is yet to decide whether those rights have been Extinguished.	9 News, ABC News, SBS News, Adelaide Advertiser, ABC Mobile News, ABC PM, The Australian, Australia, 22 January 2015 BBC World News, UK Telegraph International, 22 January 2015
22/01/2015	QLD	Campbell Newman lied about Stradbroke Island mining promises	Labor's special 2011 legislation extended expired mining leases at Stradbroke's main mine to 2019. Newman promised he would restore rights on Stradbroke and not give Sibelco anything more. Sibelco had applied for an extension to 2027. A legal opinion sent to Mr Newman in April 2012, the month after his election, that Sibelco, under existing mining legislation, had lost the chance of obtaining an extension of expired mining leases to 2027. In July 2013, at a parliamentary Estimates hearing, Mines Minister Andrew Cripps was asked whether the LNP government intended a longer timeframe for sand mining. Cripps answered: "It may involve a longer timeframe …"	Brisbane Times, Australia, 22 January 2015
21/01/2015	NSW	Sacred trees vandalised at Bulgandry Aboriginal Place near Kariong	An area listed on the Aboriginal Places and State Heritage Register has been targeted by vandals, with the removal of bark on two trees, at a site which holds special significance for the Aboriginal community of the Gosford region.	Daily Telegraph, Central Coast, Australia, 21 January 2015
21/01/2015	National	National Native Title Conference 2015	The 2015 Annual National Native Title Conference will be co-convened by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and Cape York Land Council (CYLC). This year’s conference will be held on the traditional lands of the Kuku Yalanji people in Port Douglas QLD. The conference will commence on Tuesday 16 June and conclude Thursday 18 June.	Indigenous.gov.au, Australia, 21 January 2015
19/01/2015	TAS	Opposition ramps up over plan to allow tourism developments in Tasmania’s World Heritage Area	The Aboriginal community was hoping for greater ownership as part of the Government's new management plan. The draft plan proposes dual naming of the area and what the Government is calling a "Cultural Business Unit" to better engage Aboriginal people in its management. But community leader Michael Mansell said that was not enough.	ABC News, Australia, 19 January 2015
18/01/2015	NSW	Coal industry weighs native title ruling.	The National Native Title Tribunal has ruled that the Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People “speaks for country” over a 10,000 square kilometre area. A result of the ruling is that coal companies will be forced to negotiate with the Wonnarua people over future mining projects.	Newcastle Herald, Australia, 18 January 2015
17/01/2015	VIC	Taste of Summer: It’s eel season for the Gunditjmara people in south-west Victoria	For Gunditjmara people like Tyson Lovett-Murray, summer is eel season. Lovett-Murray says “his community's native title win and land buybacks mean young people have far more access to their country than the generation before them”.	The Age Victoria, Australia, 17 January 2015
16/01/2015	NSW	Aboriginal groups to arrive in Hunter over rail corridor	Related to the article on 7 January 2015 in the Newcastle Herald, this article sets out that Aboriginal groups from across Australia are expected to arrive in Newcastle next month to protest the disturbance of Aboriginal remains and artefacts along the rail corridor.	Newcastle Herald, Australia, 16 January 2015
16/01/2015	NSW	Wonnarua Native Title Claim	This editorial discusses the difference between native title law and state land rights law by reference to the registration of the claim by the Plains Clans of the Wonnarua People	Newcastle Herald, Australia, 16 January 2015
16/01/2015	NT	Indigenous land owners granted ‘significant’ water licences for farming in the Northern Territory	‘Top End Farm’ an agricultural company working on behalf of the Beswick Aboriginal Land Trust, Mangarrayi Aboriginal Land Trust and the Wubalawan Aboriginal Land Trust was granted four water licences for agricultural use	ABC Rural, Australia, 16 January 2015
15/01/2015	NSW	$300,000 Upper Hunter mining trust fund for Aboriginals granted to Government Department	The Plains Clans of the Wonnaruah People are asking the government to explain how, in December 2014, it approved the grant of nearly $300,000 of a trust that is supposed to be compensation for the loss of cultural heritage.	Newcastle Herald, Australia, February 15
15/01/2015	Overseas	Blockades & Band Councils: Nganyaywana man Callum Clayton-Dixon reflects on the nature of native politics in so-called Canada and the parallels with Aboriginal politics in occupied Australia	In this article, Callum Clayton-Dixon reflects on the journey and the parallels he observed between Native politics in Canada and Aboriginal politics in occupied Australia.	IC Magazine, Washington USA, 15 January 2015
15/01/2015	NSW	Awakbal Aboriginal group lodges harbor land claim	The land claim over the entrance to Newcastle Harbour was one of 10 claims lodged last week across Newcastle and Lake Macquarie by the Awabakal Aboriginal Land Council, under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act NSW. Other claims include the Newcastle-to-Wickham rail corridor, the former Newcastle Bowling Club site at King Edward Park and James Fletcher Park.	Newcastle Herald, Australia, 15 January 2015
14/01/2015	WA	Deal to extinguish native title & land rights in one hit	More than 300 Noongar people gathered at a Perth park last Saturday to speak out against the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council’s (SWALSC) support for the Western Australian Government $1.3 billion in-kind package proposal. The Government offer if accepted by Noongar people will come on the condition that their native title rights are extinguished, and therefore whatever shot they have at land rights are extinguished.	The Stringer, Australia, 14 January 2015
10/01/2015	WA	Slump in sites for heritage listing	According to Carmen Lawrence, the chair of the Australian Heritage Council, a steep drop in Aboriginal sites being added to Western Australia’s heritage register is leading to “a vast sea of ignorance” that will thwart heritage protection.	Weekend Australian, Australia, 10 January 2015
08/01/2015	WA	Cauldron claims win in Forrest fight	Mines Minister Bill Marmion has disregarded a recommendation by the Mining Warden to reject three exploration licence applications submitted by Cauldron Energy. This decision means that Cauldron Energy is free to push ahead with plans to drill for uranium on Andrew Forrest's family cattle station near Onslow. Cauldron will need to win agreement from Native Title holders, before the tenements can be formally granted.	West Australian, Australia, 08 January 2015
07/01/2015	NSW	Land claim on the rail corridor	The state government is being accused of sidelining the indigenous community in the rush to get work underway on the truncation of Newcastle's inner-city rail line. The Awabakal Aboriginal Land Council has made a claim, under the NSW Land Rights Act, on a two-kilometre stretch of the heavy rail corridor, on the basis that it is no longer being used for a public purpose after trains were stopped on Christmas Day.	Newcastle Herald, Australia, 07 January 2015 ABC Indigenous, Australia, 08 January 2015
06/01/2015	WA	Ascot Resources reports iron ore reserve in Pilbara, cashed up	Ascot Resources has reported a maiden iron ore reserve of 28.9 million tonnes at 58% iron for its Wonmunna Iron Ore Project. Native Title Mining Agreements are in place with the two claimant groups whose claims affect the Project. Heritage Surveys have been completed for the proposed Project footprint, including all planned mining and infrastructure disturbance areas.	Proactive Investors Australia, Australia, 06 January 2015
06/01/2015	WA	Noongar filmmaker opposed to Native Title settlement offer	The director/co-producer of a documentary film about the Western Australian Government's Noongar 1.3 billion dollar Native Title offer says the deal will short-change his people. Voting to accept the offer to extinguish Native Title claims in the south-west will begin at the end of the month.	National Indigenous Radio Service, Australia, 06 January 2015
06/01/2015	NT	Clash of the clans	Early in 2015, a judge will decide how to proceed with a case that could substantially alter the way Aboriginal land rights operates in the Northern Territory. The case involves two powerful Yolngu clans, the Gumatj and the Rirratjingu, and challenges interpretation of the law affecting distribution of the proceeds from using Aboriginal land.	The Australian, Australia, 06 January 2015
05/01/2015	WA	Confidence grows in Flinders’ Pilbara project as WA backs rail plan	The Western Australian government, at the end of December, invited ASX-listed Rutila Resources to negotiate a state agreement for the construction of a railway in the Pilbara, linking the Balla Balla port with the proposed 25-million-tonne-a-year Pilbara iron-ore project, being developed by Flinders. The required access with native title participants, pastoralists and mining tenement holders have been largely completed.	Mining Weekly, Australia, 05 January 2015
02/01/2015	ACT	ACT light rail will not need national environmental law assessment	The Department of Environment says the ACT Capital Metro Stage 1 Light Rail Service is unlikely to have a significant impact on environment and heritage matters protected under national environment law. An environmental impact statement will need to be carried out to address more detailed assessment of Aboriginal archaeological risks associated with the route.	Canberra Times, Australia, 02 January 2015
02/01/2015	WA	Colin Barnett cool on Terry Redman’s remote funding proposal	Premier Colin Barnett has refused to endorse West Australian Nationals party leader Terry Redman in his vow to fund services across the state’s remote Aboriginal communities when federal funding is cut next year even though, the Premier has said that his government could not afford to fund essential services. If the services are not funded it could lead to the closure of up to 150 communities once federal funding is axed.	The Australian – National Affairs, Australia, 02 January 2015
02/01/2015	QLD	Man found guilty over ‘sacred’ Musgrave Park fire	A man has been found guilty of lighting and maintaining a fire in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane, following complicated legal arguments about the validity of Brisbane City Council's case against him.	Brisbane Times, Australia, 02 January 2015

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the articles linked to and mentioned in this document do not necessarily reflect those of AIATSIS, and the Institute accepts no responsibility for them. Some of the links in this resource may lead to subscription only news items.