Songlines

Australian Human Rights Commission - 9 March 2010

“A report containing the observations of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, Professor James Anaya, on the situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia has been released today.

The report is based on exchanges of information with the Government, Indigenous peoples, and other interested parties, including during the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Australia between 17 and 28 August 2009.”

The UN report is available at

http://www.un.org.au/Special-Rapporteur-on-Indigenous–Australia-Report-news105.aspx

Australian Human Rights Commission media release.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, hopes to gather first hand information on the most pressing concerns and the most innovative solutions being developed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples when he takes to the road next week to meet with key organisations and community leaders around Australia.

From March to June, Commissioner Gooda will meet with communities, organisations, government, parliamentary, community, academic and private sector stakeholders, beginning in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

“I am really excited about this trip because it will give me first hand information at the beginning of my term as Commissioner on what human rights issues Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities think need to be given specific priority,” Commissioner Gooda said.

“The trip has been organised so that I can work with people on the ground to identify new or emerging issues and gather up-to-date information and case studies to inform my work.

“I will be connecting widely with a range of people and building strong relationships with Indigenous leaders and others,” he said.

Commissioner Gooda starts his visit this weekend in Cape York and throughout the coming week will meet with Cape York Land Council, Cape York Health Council and the Cape York Family Violence Prevention Unit in Cairns.

He will also be meeting with the Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council, key Yarrabah community organisations and Cape York Partnerships in Cairns.

“These, and future, visits will ensure I have the most up to date information on the state of the nation in terms of the human rights and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and will steer the course for my term as Social Justice Commissioner,” Commissioner Gooda said.

The Commissioner will also be visiting a range of metropolitan, regional and remote locations in Townsville, Palm Island, the Torres Strait Islands and Darwin in the coming month. He will also be meeting with key stakeholders in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Canberra over the next months.”

EVENT: Our Land, Our Future: Melanesian Land Speaking Tour 15 - 29 March 2010
Join us to hear from two leading campaigners for land rights in Melanesia about the impacts of land reforms on Melanesian peoples, their cultures, economies and livelihoods.

Throughout Melanesia, customary land tenure is under pressure from aid agencies such as AusAID, which want to instigate land reforms as a means to accelerate economic growth in the region. However, local indigenous peoples have significant concerns about the transformation of land ownership practices through registration and privatisation. Customary ownership remains central to the lives of Melanesian peoples and land reforms threaten to undermine their livelihoods, cultures, environments and economies.

Speakers:
Joel Simo, Land Desk, Vanuatu Cultural Centre
Steven Sukot, Campaigns Manager, Bismarck Ramu Group, PNG

The tour will visit Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne.

For tour dates, see: http://www.aidwatch.org.au/events/our-land-our-future-melanesian-land-speaking-tour

For more information contact Gary at AID/WATCH on 02 9557 8944; or email: gary@aidwatch.org.au

AID/WATCH
19 Eve St., Erskineville,
NSW 2043 Australia
Ph: +61 2 95578944
Fax: +61 2 95579822
www.aidwatch.org.au
gary@aidwatch.org.au

WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)

2 MARCH 2010: NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

WGAR website: http://wgar.info/

- Background

Beyond Nuclear Initiative’s weblog:
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.wordpress.com/
“This site is a snapshot of current nuclear free campaigns in Australia, particularly focusing on the proposal for a federal radioactive waste dump in the Northern Territory.”

- Media Releases

Aboriginal News Group: Stop Dumping on Aboriginal Rights
http://aboriginalnewsgroup.blogspot.com/2010/02/stop-dumping-on-aboriginal-rights.html
26 Feb 10: ” ‘Stop dumping on Aboriginal Rights’, say anti-Intervention campaigners. The Intervention Rollback Action Group in Alice Springs today said that the imposition of a nuclear dump on NT Aboriginal Land is yet another clear breach of ALP election commitments and demonstrates contempt for Aboriginal rights. IRAG says that Intervention policies, which only resource communities deemed ‘viable’ by government, are exacerbating pressure on Aboriginal people to give up their land for destructive
projects like the nuclear dump.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Land owners out of mind, out of site
LINDSAY MURDOCH AND TOM ARUP
Sydney Morning Herald February 27, 2010

Nuclear waste dump plans are dividing an Aboriginal clan, write Lindsay Murdoch and Tom Arup.

DIANNE STOKES says the Rudd government’s decision to push ahead with plans to dump nuclear waste on land north of Tennant Creek has caused trouble in her Warlmanpa tribe.

“People have given away land that doesn’t belong to them … now there is big trouble among us,” she says.

For centuries, Aboriginal clans followed their dreaming across the gently sloping, low scrub land that became known last century by white people as Muckaty cattle station.

Now some members of one of those clans have agreed to allow Australia’s first national waste dump to be established on 1.5 square kilometres of land they claim is theirs in return for $12 million, most of it in cash.

The terms of the agreement remain secret - even some members of the Ngapa clan who might get the money have not been given a copy.

Full story:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/land-owners-out-of-mind-out-of-site-20100226-p95w.html

Australian Human Rights Commission media release:

Recognition in Queensland’s Constitution another milestone for reconciliation

Passage of legislation in the Queensland Parliament yesterday recognising Indigenous people as the first Queenslanders in the preamble to the State’s Constitution, was one more milestone in the country’s reconciliation journey, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda said today.

Commissioner Gooda said Queensland could now stand tall alongside Victoria as the only States that have positively recognised the unique position of Indigenous Australians in their Constitutions.

“The Queensland Government, like the Victorian one before it, has shown great courage and commitment to true reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by amending its Constitutional preamble to recognise Indigenous peoples as the first Queenslanders,” he said.

“The amendment is of great symbolic importance and will contribute to redressing the historical exclusion of Indigenous peoples from Australia’s foundational documents and national identity.”

Commissioner Gooda said the time was right to build on the bipartisanship that currently exists towards a preamble, to work towards securing a new preamble for the Australian Constitution that recognised Indigenous peoples.

He said guidance on matters that could be considered in a new Australian Constitutional preamble could be found in existing federal legislation such as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (Cth) and the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).

Mr Mick Gooda, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, and Mr Graeme Innes, Race Discrimination Commissioner, appeared before the Senate Inquiry this morning.

Their opening statement to the Inquiry can be found at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/media/media_releases/2010/20100225_opening_statement.html

“Ferguson To Dump Nuclear Waste On ‘Soft Target’
By Natalie Wasley

Ferguson To Dump Nuclear Waste On ‘Soft Target

The Government wants to go ahead with its radioactive waste dump plans — and it’s no coincidence that those plans involve Aboriginal land far from marginal seats, writes Natalie Wasley”

see http://newmatilda.com/2010/02/24/ferguson-dump-nuclear-waste-soft-target

comments there as well.

Australasian World Music Expo, 18 - 21 November 2010

ARTIST SHOWCASE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN UNTIL MONDAY 31 MAY 2010.

Three days of the finest traditional and contemporary Indigenous, roots and world music from Australia, Asia, the Pacific and beyond!
Now in its third year the Australasian World Music Expo (AWME) provides artists the unique opportunity to perform to and network with music industry delegates from Europe, North America, Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
By day, AWME is a trade fair, which attracts prominent and influential festival bookers, talent agents, record labels and media for workshops, panel discussions and industry networking.

By night, AWME transforms a variety of Melbourne venues into a festival showcase in which delegates and music fans rub shoulders and sample some of the most exciting roots music the planet has to offer.

Featuring more than 50 artists and attracting national and international representatives, AWME aims to raise the profile and commercial opportunities for contemporary and traditional roots/world music groups from Australia, the Pacific and beyond.

Please refer to the website for further information, criteria and details regarding the application process. www.awme.com.au

Media Release The Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP
Minister for Resources and Energy
Minister for Tourism

FAIRNESS RESTORED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESS
10/024

The Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP, will this week introduce the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010 to the Australian Parliament.

This honours our longstanding commitment to repeal the Howard Government’s Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005.

The new legislation finally provides a proper process to establish a purpose-built facility for managing radioactive waste generated by Australia’s medical, industrial, agricultural, and research use of nuclear material.

Minister Ferguson said: “The Bill being introduced this week means that a site can no longer be automatically imposed on a community in any State or Territory.

“Firstly, the three sites selected by the Howard Government on Defence land in the Northern Territory have been ruled out, as we promised before the 2007 election.

“Secondly, there is no pre-determined site outcome – the new Bill requires any site to be volunteered by the landowners.

“Affected landowners and communities must also be consulted.

“Thirdly, the Bill restores procedural fairness rights that were stripped away by the Howard Government.

“Fourthly, the Bill ensures the selected site will go through full environmental, heritage and other approvals processes.”

The Bill contains provisions for two volunteer nomination processes.

The first allows a Land Council to volunteer Aboriginal land on behalf of Traditional Owners and the second provides for a nation-wide volunteer process.

The Bill also recognises that Ngapa land on Muckaty Station was a volunteer nomination by the Northern Land Council in 2007 and that the Commonwealth entered into a Site Nomination Deed in relation to that land.

The nomination has the continuing support of the Ngapa clan and the Full Council of the Northern Land Council.

The Deed has no termination date and the parties to it have the reasonable expectation that the Commonwealth will act in good faith and good spirit to implement the 2007 agreement.

For that reason, the new Bill allows the nomination of Ngapa land on Muckaty Station to stand and it will also allow the Land Council to nominate other Ngapa land if that is the wish of the Traditional Owners.

Minister Ferguson said: “Australia has been attempting to meet its international obligations to properly manage its own radioactive waste since 1988.

“It is about time we did so.”

Australia’s radioactive waste stockpile is presently stored at more than 100 less-than-ideal sites at Australian universities, hospitals, offices and laboratories, mostly in our capital cities.

While safe, this situation is not consistent with international best practice.

Australian research reactor waste is also presently stored in Scotland and France.

We have both contractual obligations and a moral responsibility to accept the return of our own waste for proper management by 2015-16.

Australia’s low and intermediate level radioactive waste is an unavoidable result of very many worthwhile activities including the screening and treatment of cancer and other diseases, as well as medical research.

Every year, around 500,000 Australians undergo medical procedures using radioisotopes produced by the research reactor at Lucas Heights.