Indigenous Law Bulletin
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compiled by Jacqui Houston
Broome Shire Council in Western Australia (‘WA’) says that the Federal Court’s recent judgment in the Rubibi native title claim has cleared up issues surrounding land tenure. Members of the Indigenous community have supported Justice Merkel’s calls within the judgment for a greater emphasis on mediation in the native title system.
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (‘NAAJA’) says that the limited funds allocated by the Northern Territory (‘NT’) Government for the establishment of an alcohol court will only create a backlog of cases. The Chief Executive of NAAJA, Sharon Payne, says that the court will only have resources to deal with around 80 cases per year, translating to a short-term approach to a significant and widespread abuse problem.
In the north-west of Alice Springs, NT, the Laramba Indigenous community is struggling to maintain its night patrol without adequate funding. Without police in the community, the night patrol is essential as the community’s only ‘law and order’.
The Federal and NT Governments have taken control of town camps in Alice Springs from the Tangentyere Council and said that they will improve living conditions. While the Federal Government has committed $20million to address camp living conditions, it has been revealed that half of this comes from the Aboriginal Benefits Account – a fund which collects and holds mining payments on behalf of Indigenous communities as compensation for mining activities.
The Gulaga and the Biamanga National Parks have now been handed back to Traditional Owners. Both parks, on the South Coast of New South Wales (‘NSW’), will be controlled by the Yuin people but managed by a joint traditional owner-State Government board.
Police in Victoria have extinguished the ceremonial fire in King’s Domain in Melbourne after the Commonwealth declaration which previously protected the fire expired at midnight last night. Spokesman Robbie Thorpe has asked that the Aboriginal remains buried at the site 22 years ago be relocated if the fire cannot remain to protect them.
The NSW Government plans to relocate tenants from the Gordon Estate in Dubbo and redevelop the estate. The NSW Minister for Housing, Cherie Burton, says the cycle of crime and vandalism in the estate will be broken. Critics say that the plan creates social dislocation and will only transfer problems to another area.
Victorian MP Noel Maughan plans to use changes to Victoria’s cultural heritage legislation to challenge the Yorta Yorta peoples’ objection to the proposed western option for the Echuca Moama bridge. Mr Maughan plans to challenge the objection in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Spokesman for the Yorta Yorta Aboriginal Corporation Council of Elders, Henry Atkinson, says that his people have proof that sites of cultural significance exist at the location.
NT’s Central Australian Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers has spoken on ABCs Lateline program about violence and sexual abuse in Indigenous communities, most significant in communities with few or no police officers. Chief Minister Clare Martin says that police numbers are increasing but will always be limited due to diverse community numbers and locations. Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough has called for more action on alcohol problems as well as improved policing.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found that the rights of a 16-year-old Aboriginal boy were violated by the NSW criminal justice system. The boy, who was identified as having a mild intellectual disability, was sent to an adult prison after a riot in a juvenile detention centre. In the prison he was kept in isolation without clothes or blankets and was given anti-psychotic drugs. It is alleged that he was kept in the cell for up to three days at a time. Just over a week after the transfer the boy displayed self-harming behaviour. The Human Rights Committee found that Australia breached Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Australian Government argued that the boy, who was almost completely illiterate, could have complained to the Ombudsman, the Minister for Corrective Services or the Serious Offenders Review Council if he was unhappy with his treatment.
After months of violent feuding between two Aboriginal families in Kununurra, WA, Police have overseen organised, one-on-one fist fights on Aboriginal law ground. Dr Harry Blagg who is currently investigating the incorporation of customary law into WA’s legal system, commended the police for allowing the resolution to take place the traditional way. Dennis Eggington of the WA Aboriginal Legal Service also supported what he says is an example of police and Aboriginal communities working together.
Federal Minister Mal Brough says that Indigenous leaders are not welcome at his summit on violence and abuse in Indigenous communities. ‘Indigenous people have spoken, they have told us what they need. We now, as politicians and as people who run the judicial systems, are the ones who have to step up to the plate.’
The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association has issued a press release on violence and abuse in Indigenous communities. ‘Our culture deeply cherishes our children. Violence against children is NOT and never has been a part of Aboriginal culture.’
Queensland Housing Minister Robert Schwarten says he believes that removing money from Aboriginal councils for housing will help to address violence in communities. Minister Schwarten believes that funding should be directed via the State Government as opposed to allowing councils to direct the design and construction of Indigenous housing.
A delegate representing the United States, Australia and New Zealand has called the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People ‘fundamentally flawed’ and refused to acknowledge a right to self-determination for Indigenous peoples.
The Chief Justice for the NT, Brian Martin, has admitted that he made a mistake when he sentenced a 55-year-old Aboriginal man to a one-month gaol term for the assault and sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl. Chief Justice Martin said ‘I gave ... insufficient weight to the seriousness of the offending.’
WA’s Attorney-General, Jim McGinty, has labelled as bigoted Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough’s assertion that recognition of customary law should be abandoned. Law Council of Australia president John North said that removal of the recognition of customary law could amount to a breach of federal racial discrimination laws.
The suffering of the stolen generation is being commemorated today as part of National Sorry Day. Denise Lovett Dickson, the Sorry Day coordinator, said that ‘an important part of healing and healing relationships between our communities is for us to join together so that the story of the stolen generation is told and retold.’
The Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister, Mal Brough, has today unveiled changes to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act of 1976. The Bill presented to Parliament will allow for changes to land tenure, alter land development processes and amend performance and accountability standards for Aboriginal land councils.
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URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/IndigLawB/2006/35.html