Aboriginal Law Bulletin --- "Update December 1994: New Law Journals; UNSW Indigenous Law Program; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Interpreter Program; 'Focusing Our Resources' Conference; Mining Update" [1994] AboriginalLawB 56; (1994) 3(71) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 2

• Update December 1994
• New Law Journals
• Unsw Indigenous Law Program
• Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Interpreter Program
• Call For Papers-Special Joint Issue, Alj / Alb
• "Focusing Our Resources"
• A National Forum On Resource Development And Management On Traditional First Nations Territories 23-26 April, 1995 Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Mining Update

---

Update

December 1994

New Law Journals

The Law Faculty at the University of Wollongong has recently launched two new journals which may be of interest to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples involved or interested in legal issues. Law/Text/Culture reflects the urgent need for the law to engage more with other disciplines and address contemporary interdisciplinary concerns. Through essays, art work and poetry it will feature work which crosses boundaries and reflects the societies and cultures in which the law operates. The journal will offer opportunities to people who have not usually had access to academic journals and who have traditionally been relegated to 'sub' or 'marginal' cultures.

Australasian Journal o f Natural Resources Law and Policy will publish articles and information on all aspects of natural resources. It is policy orientated and will be useful to scholars, resource developers and their advisers, conservationists, environmental law and natural resources policy makers and indigenous groups.

For further information contact:
Gillian, Curtis, Media Officer
Ph: [phone]; Fax: [phone]

UNSW Indigenous Law Program

The Aboriginal Education Program, in conjunction with UNSW Law School, will be running a Pre Law Program from 9 January to 10 February 1995, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people wishing to study law.

The course is intended to give Aboriginal and Islander people a head-start in their law studies, not to give general academic preparation. For this reason, those accepted into the program will need to be able to demonstrate good literacy skills and academic ability. Places in the program are limited.

Successful completion of this program will be taken into account by the UNSW Law School when assessing applications for entry, but completion of the program will not guarantee a place in any law school.

If you would like to apply for entry into the program, or would like more information, please write to or call:

Carolyn Penfold
Aboriginal Education Program
University of New South Wales
Sydney, NSW, 2052
Ph: [phone]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Interpreter Program

On 4 November at the Southbank Institute of TAFE, South Brisbane Campus, students who had successfully completed the Torres Strait Creole Interpreters Course graduated and received their certificates.

This course is part of a rolling program of courses funded by the federal Attorney-General's Department as a direct response to the recommendations handed down by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC). The RCIADIC found that there were disproportionately high numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples being taken into custody, and that this was the major contributor to the high number of deaths.

The Interpreter Programs have been designed to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have English as a second language, or who have difficulty with English, proper access to justice when required to appear in courts or tribunals or when taken into custody. This access includes the right to be understood and to understand both court procedures and the circumstances under which they have been taken into custody.

The Programs were coordinated by the Indigenous Policy Unit of the Attorney-General's Department, and involved close cooperation with tertiary institutions, in this case the Southbank Institute of TAFE. Successful completion of the course is dependent on each student's ability to qualify as Interpreter Level 2, which is the level required by the National Association of Translators and Interpreters. Accreditation at this level permits a Torres Strait Islander person to act as an interpreter paraprofessional in any Australian court or tribunal.

The course included such subjects as: Techniques of Interpreting; Culture and Society; Community Language; and English for Interpreters. The language and English components covered such areas as Social Security issues, as well as legal and medical terminology and concepts.

It is expected that the Courts Administration in Queensland will utilise the graduates of the course in a professional capacity, particularly in remote or inaccessible areas.

Torres Strait Creole has presented difficulties to casual interpreters because of its proximity to English. Students have had to adopt the traditional techniques of interpreting, as well as adapt the demands of communicative alertness and awareness on the part of the interpreter. These specialised techniques are vital to prevent misunderstandings, particularly in stressful situations such as in the courts, caused, by a perceived similarity of Creole to English.

Helping Torres Strait Islander people to communicate effectively in a situation requiring knowledge of legal terminology and concepts must also be considered in the light of the right of Islanders to communicate in their own languages.

For further information contact:
John Williams Motley
Director, Indigenous Policy and Programs Unit
Attorney-General's Dept.
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Call for Papers - Special Joint Issue, ALJ / AboriginalLB

The February 1995 issue of the Aboriginal Law Bulletin will be produced as a joint issue with the Alternative Law Journal. The AboriginalLB is currently calling for papers to be considered for publication in that issue. Anyone intending to submit a paper should send it to:

The Editors
Aboriginal Law Bulletin
Faculty of Law
University of NSW
Sydney 2052.

Topics already negotiated for inclusion in the February 1995 issue include: native title to inland rivers; Aboriginal fishing rights; native title in Tasmania; customary marriage; and a comparison of the Queensland and Commonwealth legislation on native title. However, authors are invited to submit articles or casenotes on any topic relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the law.

"Focusing Our Resources"

A National Forum on Resource Development and Management on Traditional First Nations Territories
23-26 April, 1995
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

In April 1995, the Tsuu T'ina First Nation west of Calgary, Alberta will be hosting a major conference of interest to resource development and management companies, regulatory agencies, aboriginal communities, environmental groups and governments.

The forum is an attempt to bring "stakeholders" together - oil and gas, forestry, mining and hydro development - in an open environment, to discuss the issues of resource development management. Decision-makers from First Nations involved in resource development will meet directly with industry decision-makers - a "Chief-to-Chief" gathering.

The purpose of the Conference is to provide a forum for open discussion of these issues in an environment where nothing specific is on the table. Beneficial opportunities for exploring the issues, and for learning about the needs of aboriginal and non-aboriginal stakeholders, are important conference objectives. The realities of traditional territories and sacred land will be explored. The Forum is currently calling for papers, and sponsorships are available. Interest has already been expressed by groups and individuals from Australia, New Zealand, Norway and homeland areas in the United States. Registration fees for the three day Forum will be approximately $350.00. For further information contact:

First Nations Conferences Inc
PO Box 1240, Station "M"
Calgary, AB T2P 2L2
Ph: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

Mining Update

Traditional lands were officially returned to the Jawoyn people in the Katherine region on 3 December 1994. The lands comprise Eva Valley Station and Catfish Dreaming, and were handed back as part of the Mt Todd agreement with Zapopan, under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth).

The Mt Todd Agreement short-circuited the normal land claim process, allowing the lands to be returned to the Jawoyn people in exchange for their agreement to the extinguishment of native title to the Mt Todd Mine. The Northern Territory Government transferred other areas of land to the Jawoyn under Territory Freehold Title.

The relationship between the Jawoyn people and Zapopan, owners of the Mount Todd deposit, is graphically illustrated by the higher than average employment of Aboriginal people in the trine, and the 25% stake in a major ore excavation venture being owned the Jawoyn Association.

The Jawoyn Association is also involved in tourism and has signed joint venture exploration agreements with three major companies over 9000 square kilometres of land.

At a recent ceremony in Sutherland, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Robert Tickner, presented the Common Ground Award to the Zapopan mining company for its positive role in dealings with the Jawoyn people.

Meanwhile, CRA are pursuing development of the Century Zinc Mine on lands not relinquished by the Waanji. CRA have begun their bulk-sampling process on the site amid vehement opposition.

Waanji elders are concerned that the size and scope of the mine will deplete the water table and cause environmental damage to the spring-fed Gregory River and Lawn Hills Gorge (National Park area and significant sacred site).

The Queensland Government has refused gazettal of the National Park as claimable land and other avenues for intervention in the project seem closed.