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Aboriginal Law Bulletin

Aboriginal Law Bulletin (ALB)
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Moore, Bette --- "Book Review - Report to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the Social Impact of Uranium Mining on the Aborigines of the Northern Territory (for the period 1 October 1980 to 31 March 1981)" [1981] AboriginalLawB 39; (1981) 1(2) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 12


Book Review -

Report to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the Social Impact of Uranium Mining on the Aborigines of the Northern Territory
(for the period 1 October 1980 to 31 March 1981)

A.I.A.S., Canberra, 1981 ($3.70).

Reviewed by Bette Moore

The Northern Territory was the scene of a protracted conflict about the mining of uranium on Aboriginal land which ended with the signing of the Ranger Agreement in 1978. The Ranger Uranium Environmental Enquiry Second Report (1977) documented the traditional landowners' opposition to mining, but concluded that 'their opposition should not be allowed to prevail' (p. 9). Recommendations were made to alleviate this impact: 'There should be deliberate and comprehensive programmes ... to ... minimise adverse social effects ... and to assist them in coping with ... stresses ... and in taking advantage of any benefits accruing to them' (Chapter 13).

In the light of this recommendation, the Hon. Ian Viner (then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs) approached the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies to establish an Uranium Mining Impact Project Steering Committee to undertake ongoing research over 5 years to provide basic information and monitor changes as they occurred. The Committee (chaired by Professor C.M. Tatz) reports to the Government every 6 months and makes recommendations to the Minister. The project itself is claimed to be 'possibly the most significant event in the history of Aboriginal studies because it sets in motion the process of recording and writing a major facet of Aboriginal social history as it is occurring' (p. 1).

The project is complex and incorporates a multi-disciplinary approach. Its overall objective is three-fold: Firstly, to determine the base-line data - the history of the region and its people; a census, relevant laws and their administration from 1900, political philosophies of race; the compilation of a food directory and of agencies concerned with and about uranium; film and photographic records, acquisition of language and the collection of oral history; historical ecology, changing socio-economic patterns and day-to-day diaries of events. Secondly, to identify new elements and their effects - uranium policies, their practice and expectations; the development of political, administrative and legal structures for, and among, Aborigines; the distribution and use of pre-mining and royalty payments, employment, the nature and effect of consultation mechanisms, assessments of social and emotional well-being, educational facilities, the growth and rationale of the out-station movement and the changes of Aboriginal view-points since the advent of mining. Thirdly, to formulate recommendations.

The conclusions reached by this stage of the Project state that Aboriginal opposition to uranium mining has changed to a more general acceptance due to the availability of royalties, but there is criticism of government and mining policy in that several of the Ranger recommendations have not been fulfilled. Aboriginal employment is minimal, the impact of mining royalties has not been offset by structures, mechanisms or educational programmes to assist in the handling of this money, and concern is expressed about the proposed new township of Jabiru.

The Report's final recommendation indicates the tensions apparent in this project and its ambiguous function: on the one hand to provide information and recommendations to government, and on the other to be sensitive to the information needs of the Aboriginal people and their organisations. The final recommendation is that 'all future mining and exploration [should] be subject to appropriate Aboriginal concurrence, and that before any such approval is given, the Aborigines concerned be briefed fully as to all the implications that could possibly be foreseen. In this context, the Committee believes that the statements of concern, on-going results, and conclusions of its monitoring project could well assist Aborigines in appreciating the likely implications of both present and future activities' (pp. 90-91).

The Report suggests that the Project should be more accountable to Aboriginal organisations, in particular the Northern Land Council. This seems to imply that the acceptance of mining activity may be related to the lack of information about long-term effects.

This Project will prove to be important in terms of Aboriginal social history, but it will also reflect politico-economic events affecting such change. In the light of the Commonwealth Government's intention to hand over the administration of mining to the Northern Territory Government which is eager to issue exploration licences and which has recently succumbed to the pastoral lobby's pressure to change the N.T. Land Rights Act, it seems the recommendations of the Project's reports may be totally ignored if they are seen to be antithetical to vested interests.


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