Lemezina, Zrinka --- "Month in Review" [2009] IndigLawB 17; (2009) 7(11) Indigenous Law Bulletin 28

An audit by the WA State Government estimates that over 2000 dilapidated houses in remote Indigenous communities need replacing or upgrading. Housing Director-General, Graham Seale says that the State will ‘provide the same infrastructure for Indigenous communities in remote locations as we would to white communities’ but ‘if people choose to live in areas that are virtually impossible to service, we will not support that on an ongoing basis. The responsibility will become theirs for making sure services are delivered to those locations’.

The Federal Government has overturned the decision by Home Affairs Minister, Bob Debus, to close the Australian Crime Commission taskforce, the body responsible for investigating allegations of child sex abuse, drug-trafficking and alcohol-related crime in Indigenous communities. Funding for law and order programs, together with measures against alcoholism and child abuse, has been committed until 2012.

Allegations about a cover-up of a prisoner’s death in Kirkconnell Correctional Centre in Bathurst were today referred for investigation to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (‘ICAC’). The 36 year old Aboriginal man died in May 2007 while serving time at the centre. Corrective Services Minsiter John Robertson says he is awaiting the findings of the Inquest and any possible investigation by the ICAC.

Public meetings are being held across communities in the Torres Strait, asking residents whether they wish to secede from Queensland. Shire Mayor, Fred Gela says that there has been ‘overwhelming support from the community’ and that the question is ‘still a burning issue’.

A coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal elder, who died while being transferred from Laverton to Kalgoorlie-Boulder in January 2008, commenced today. The death has prompted a review of the prisoner transport system in WA.

The Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council in southern Queensland has withdrawn its two community police officers from the town as alcohol restrictions came into place today. The council considers the measures to be discriminatory and does not want the officers involved in enforcing them.

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14/03
The Aboriginal Rights Coalition in Darwin has criticised the Australian Crime Commission taskforce, arguing that extra funding for the body is unacceptable. Coalition spokeswoman, Alyssa Vass says that the taskforce has failed to uncover claims of paedophile rings or produce prosecutions. Ms Vass says that evidence from the Northern Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency suggests that police have uncovered a high incidence of consensual teenage sexual activity, which does not require special police powers.

16/03
APY Board has written to the South Australian Housing Minister, Jennifer Rankine seeking discussions about the proposals to begin building new housing to reduce overcrowding in remote SA Aboriginal communities. Although the Federal Government and APY leaders negotiated a $25 million housing package in August last year, no tenders have yet been advertised.

13/03
The Federal Government plans to withhold Commonwealth housing funds for the construction of homes on land subject to unresolved native title claims. The plan is currently restricted to remote regions, and will affect approximately 25% of the Indigenous population. In a letter to State and Territory housing ministers, Minister Macklin wrote that ‘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’ and that, as a minimum requirement, Federal Government must have ‘access to and control of the land on which construction will proceed for a minimum period of 40 years.’

Health workers met in Canberra this week to seek federal legislation prohibiting the sale of regular fuel in Central Australia. Blair MacFarland of the Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service says that, because the issue of petrol sniffing crosses jurisdictional borders, the onus is on the Federal Government to take responsibility.

In a report presented to the UN Human Rights Committee in New York, Amnesty International says the NT Intervention is a ‘clear-cut’ breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The report further says that Indigenous Australians face ‘widespread discrimination’ that has only been ‘exacerbated by state actions’ such as the Intervention.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released figures indicating that the number of Indigenous students enrolled in year 12 have doubled over the past 10 years, with 4779 enrolled in 2008, compared with 2206 enrolled in 1999.

The Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (‘CAEPR’) has found that, while Kimberley, Cape York and NT communities are the most disadvantaged in the country, urban areas in western Sydney such as Cambelltown and Blacktown, as well as in regional towns in central NSW, are not far behind in socio-economic indicators. Dr Nicholas Biddle of CAEPR says that, while Government focus on easing poverty in remote areas remains a priority, ‘closing the gap’ must include close attention to disadvantage in urban areas.

Federal Attorney-General, Rob McClelland today introduced legislation to achieve quicker, more flexible negotiated settlements of native title claims. The Native Title Amendment Bill 2009 introduces reforms that would give the Federal Court control over native title claims from start to finish, providing opportunities for negotiated settlements to be more effectively identified and progressed. The Bill would allow the Court to make consent orders beyond native title where this would assist with negotiating broader agreements; it would recognise the way Indigenous communities record traditional laws and customs and streamline the recognition process for native title representative bodies.

A report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found that Australia’s Indigenous population suffers a higher rate of infant mortality and has a lower life expectancy than that of New Zealand, Canada and the US.

A report by Flinders University, In Our Own Backyard, has found that most Aboriginal people continue to face racial discrimination in public places and institutions. Dr Anna Ziersch, says that ‘people who experience racism regularly have poor mental health’ and ‘closing the gap’ is not possible without addressing racism.
April 2009

6/04
A report from the UN Human Rights Committee has found that many of the measures under the Intervention discriminate against Aboriginal people and put Australia in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

7/04
Professor George Williams of University of New South Wales says that, while the Federal Government’s formal endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is an important step towards Indigenous rights, it does not do enough to address Australia’s racist past. Professor Williams says that, while ‘supporting the Declaration will bolster the country's international reputation, it will not do anything by itself to change the dismal state of Australian law’ or the ‘racist premise of our constitution’.

7/04
Data from the Commonwealth Grants Commission reveals that the NT Government needed to spend $253.4 million in 2007-08 to bring services to Indigenous communities in line with the national average but only spent $139.6 million over that period.

8/04

The Australian Law Reform Commission (‘ALRC’) has called for a new direction in native title laws. Professor David Weisbrot of the ALRC says that ‘while it is theoretically possible for native title disputes to be settled quickly and cooperatively, the experience has been otherwise. The combination of procedural and evidential complexity, high stakes, multiple parties, uncertainty of outcome, and a winner-takes-all approach means that most cases are heavily litigated, go on for years, cost a fortune in legal and other costs—and often result in crushing disappointment, since claimants bear the onus of proof in difficult circumstances.’

Noel Pearson resigned today as Director of the Cape York Institute and has joined the Cape York Land Council as campaign manager. The move comes after the Queensland Government announced that Archer, Lockhart and Stewart rivers will be subject to State-imposed development restrictions, which will prohibit intensive agriculture, aquaculture, vegetation clearing and animal husbandry within one kilometre of the river. Daniel de Busch Sr of the Kulla Land Trust describes the restrictions as ‘economic apartheid’ and says that they will ‘stop our younger generation getting jobs in the future.’
9/04

Analysis of the 2006 census shows that 52% of Indigenous men and 55% of Indigenous women are married to non-Indigenous Australians. In east coast cities, the rate is well over 70%. In the Northern Territory, far fewer choose partners from a non-Indigenous background.

The WA Government and the Yawuru people have negotiated an in-principle agreement to native title and heritage disputes in Broome that have remained unresolved for 15 years. Under the agreement, the WA Government will provide compensation to the Yawuru people in exchange for the surrender of native title over 100 hectares of land for housing, commercial and infrastructure development. The agreement is expected to be finalised by June, when it will be submitted for registration to the National Native Title Tribunal.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma announced that the independent steering committee on the proposed national Indigenous representative body has reached consensus on several key points: the body ought to be self-determined, independent but not responsible for service-delivery. The body ought to provide equal representation of men and women. Commissioner Calma said that there is strong support for the body to take on an advocacy role and to monitor the Government’s performance in programs, service delivery and policy development. The body would press for constitutional recognition for Indigenous peoples, and for government measures to reduce the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health. Commissioner Calma said participants endorses standards of behaviour for representative body members and employees (known as the Nolan principles), which included selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, leadership and honesty, but that ‘a lot of work still needs to be done to clarify fundamental issues such as how membership of the national representative body will be decided, the body’s structure and how it would engage at the regional and State/Territory levels.’
17/04

Professors Mick Dodson and Marcia Langton have been in Central Australia this week developing a national campaign to improve literacy levels in Aboriginal communities because people with poor literacy 'tend to be unemployed, tend to have poorer health, tend to have poorer life outcomes’.
21/04

Racing and Gaming Minister, Terry Waldron has extended alcohol bans in Wangkatjungka, WA for a further 12 months. Mr Waldron said that the measures had worked a positive impact on the lives of community members, and that there was wide support for their continuation.

20/04
The Queensland Government says ample scientific evidence went into the drafting of its Wild Rivers legislation. Natural Resources Minister, Stephen Robertson says that the State Government is ‘taking a precautionary approach’ and will be guided by emerging science from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources and research from universities. Dr Tim Seelig of the Wilderness Society says that development restrictions are ‘a way of ensuring that some of our last free-flowing pristine rivers are protected, but are protected in a reasonable and an appropriate way.’ Dr Seelig refutes as ‘rubbish’ claims that the Society did not carry out consultation with traditional owners surrounding the rivers.

Samson & Delilah, a film by Warwick Thornton and Kath Shleper, has been selected as an entrant for the Cannes International Film Festival. The film tells the story of two Aboriginal teenagers and is set in the communities in and around Alice Springs. The film, which won the Audience Prize at the Adelaide Film Festival, opens nationally on 7 May.

NT Coroner, Greg Cavanagh has called for more action on child sexual abuse in remote Aboriginal communities in the wake of an inquest into the suicide of 15-year-old Mutitjulu girl in 2006. Coroner Cavanagh said that sexual abuse in remote communities is ‘manifestly and obviously a fact’. In central Australia, the average time for investigating a death is six months; 24 out of 77 deaths from 2008 remain unresolved. The Coroner says that the slow pace of police investigation is unacceptable.