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Biaggini, Dianne; Carney, Gaby; Schullman, Joanna; Schulman, Lauren; Schummel, Julian; Storry, Kirsten --- "Recent Happenings" [1999] IndigLawB 76; (1999) 4(23) Indigenous Law Bulletin 32


Recent Happenings

Compiled by Gaby Carney, Joanna Schullman, Kirsten Storry, Diane Biaggini, Lauren Schulman, Julian Schummel.

31 May

The Qld Cabinet said it would compensate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers who were paid below award rates by Qld governments between 1975 and 1986. 3,500 Aboriginal and Islander people will be offered $7,000 compensation each, along with an official apology.

3 June

Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Chairperson Evelyn Scott launched the Draft Document of Reconciliation at the Sydney Opera House.

4 June

Qld Environment Minister Rod Welford launched the Cape York Plan 2010, which incorporates the Cape York Heads of Agreement signed by the Cattlemen’s Union and several environmental and Indigenous groups in 1996.

4 June

An Aboriginal Court was launched at Port Adelaide Magistrates’ Court. The Court is to be held fortnightly, will hear only guilty pleas and is designed to encourage court attendance by changing court procedure to recognise the integral role of family and community in the lives of Aboriginal people.

7 June

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced the Federal Government’s nomination of former Labor Foreign Minister Gareth Evans for the position of Director General of the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organisation.

22 June

An agreement between Adelong Consolidated Gold Mines, NSW Aboriginal Land Council and representatives of the Walgalu and Wiradjuri peoples became the first Indigenous Land Use Agreement to be registered with the National Native Title Tribunal. [See 1999 4 (21) ILB 21].

23 June

The majority of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of WA upheld an appeal by an Aboriginal person against a magistrate's decision that evidence of native title rights was irrelevant to his defence against a charge under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (WA). The case was remitted to the Magistrate’s Court.

30 June

A report by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption found 11 people employed by NSW Aboriginal Land Councils were corrupt and the criminal prosecution of four of them is being considered.

31 June

Batchelor College became the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education when ownership was passed from the Northern Territory Government to the college council. It is the first Indigenous owned and governed institution to offer accredited higher education and vocational courses.

July 4-11 NAIDOC Week

6 July

The NSW government’s sixth report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody revealed that 13.5% of adult men, 20.5% of adult women in NSW prisons and 32% of juveniles in detention are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples account for 1.7% of the overall population. The report also reveals that while police referred 46% of non-Indigenous juveniles to youth justice conferencing only 19% of Indigenous youths were similarly referred. [See 1999 4 (18) ILB 4]

12 July

In the second Indigenous Land Use Agreement to be registered with the NNTT, the Jawoyn people of the Northern Territory surrendered their native title in 1000 acres of traditional land in exchange for freehold title to 16 acres nearby, which will be used for a Commonwealth-funded alcohol rehabilitation centre.

13 July

UNESCO World Heritage Committee refused to place Kakadu National Park on its ‘in danger’ list. However, it requires the Federal Government to provide a $6 million package of social and welfare benefits, and to submit a report to the Committee next April detailing how ERA’s Jabiluka uranium mine will not affect cultural values of the area. Meanwhile, the first stage of work on the mine was completed ahead of schedule on 4 July.

18 July

The Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, made a personal apology to Indigenous Australians for past injustices when he announced his resignation from the federal cabinet.

20 July

James Muirhead, former Justice of the Federal Court, the NT Supreme Court and the Royal Commissioner into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody from 1987 to 1989, died at the age of 74.

21 July

In the NSW Supreme Court, Justice Morris Ireland upheld a defamation ruling against Nornews Pty Ltd, owners of the Armidale Express. Former NSW Aboriginal Land Council member Raymond Keith Craigie sued the company for implying in a article that he had misappropriated Council funds. Craigie was awarded $4,415 interest on the original award of $25,000 and the newspaper has been ordered to pay his legal costs.

21 July

Mirrar woman Jacqui Katona resigned from her position as a councillor of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Ms Katona, who represents the Mirrar clan, was the only Indigenous person on the 35 member council.

26 July

The 17th Session of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations

opened in Geneva.

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