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Houston, Jacqui --- "Recent Happenings" [2005] IndigLawB 67; (2005) 6(15) Indigenous Law Bulletin 24


Recent Happenings November 2005

compiled by Jacqui Houston

2 November

Palm Island in North Queensland is experiencing a severe water shortage which, Australian Red Cross workers report, is causing significant hygiene and subsequent health problems. It is understood that current water supplies may only last the next two months. In light of this, Palm Island Mayor Erykah Kyle asked the State Government to close the Island to visitors. This request was denied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy Minister John Mickel, who says the Government will sell fresh water to the Island.

9 November

Tasmanian Aboriginal lawyer Michael Mansell has expressed grave concerns over the new anti-terror legislation. ‘The specific reference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in section 23CA(4)(a) of the Criminal Code (Anti-terrorism Act) makes it clear that the Indigenous peoples will be targeted by the new anti-terror laws.’ Mansell states that the new laws not only override existing state and territory laws but they also take precedence over any policies, rules or protocols put in place as a result of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

16 November

Centrelink in Western Australia (‘WA’) has ceased operating a program whereby welfare payments were linked to child school attendance. The scheme saw parenting payments ceased if a parent did not attend Centrelink for a scheduled meeting to discuss their child’s truancy.

19 November

Rangers in Maningrida, Northern Territory (‘NT’), have called on the Federal Government to pay fair compensation for enlisting them as sea rangers against illegal fishing. Federal Fisheries Minister Ian MacDonald has said that he will consider the request from the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation whose Chief Executive notes that sea rangers currently receive $230 a week in Community Development Employment Project money.

21 November

The WA Government is considering a report prepared by the Public Advocate: ‘Mistreatment of Older People in Aboriginal Communities: An Investigation into Elder Abuse in Aboriginal Communities in Western Australia’. The report found, among other issues, that many older Aboriginal people are reluctant to report abuse by family or community members due to a sense of familial and cultural obligation. A lack of adequate housing and family support is seen as a contributing factor in the challenging situation faced by many Elders.

21 November

The rebuilt Iris Clay Hostel has opened in Townsville, Queensland, providing short-term accommodation to up to 40 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on any given day. This hostel is one of 123 hostels nationwide operated by Aboriginal Hostels Limited.

22 November

The tendering of Indigenous legal services in the NT has been completed with three existing service providers to be amalgamated into the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (‘NAAJA’). The new organisation is led by Sharon Payne, formerly of the Northern Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. NAAJA will receive almost $1million funding additional to previous years as individual services. Meanwhile the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service (‘CAALAS’) has lost almost 20 per cent of its funding under the new formula. CAALAS is concerned it will have to cut the number of legal staff currently employed. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says that demographics and the location of a prison near CAALAS affected what he says is a fair assessment.

23 November

A Senate Inquiry is hearing evidence in relation to the Federal Government’s plan to establish a nuclear waste dump in the NT. The Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2005 (Cth) is yet to be passed by the Senate but NT Chief Minister Clare Martin has expressed concern at the Commonwealth passing a law to override the NT’s ban on nuclear waste dumps and to do so without adequate consultation. The Northern Land Council however has expressed their belief that the Bill restores to Traditional Owners in NT a capacity to participate in decision making in regard to waste dump location and development.

24 November

The New South Wales (‘NSW’) Government has today launched Tirkandi Inaburra Cultural and Development Centre in Coleambally in rural NSW. Translated from the Wiradjuri language as ‘to learn to dream’, the Centre will offer Aboriginal boys aged between 12 and 15 a facility where they can live for three to six months and undertake educational, vocational and cultural programs. Elders are involved in the program and will provide support to the boys upon their return to their community. The Centre is funded by the State Government and has been assisted through other contributions and support.

24 November

The Indigenous committee on Port Augusta Council in South Australia has resigned over the council’s creation of a dry zone over the city. The committee says that Council did not consult them over the matter and is not respecting the partnership agreement with them as Indigenous community representatives. Chairperson Anna Caponi said the committee was concerned that the ban on public drinking will result in ‘homelessness with a lot of kids; people will not stay in their homes where there is overcrowding and drinking alcohol.’ The committee wants a different approach to the issue.

25 November

The Deaths in Custody Watch Committee in WA is being forced to close due to the withdrawal of Federal funding. Established in 1993, the Committee has expressed their serious concern that many of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody are yet to be addressed.

29 November

The NAAJA has spoken out against the NT Government’s new laws to address antisocial behaviour. The new legislation will force people into rehabilitation if they are regularly apprehended by police for drunken behaviour. Sharon Payne of NAAJA says that forcing a person into rehabilitation does not work and that these new laws will destroy the relationships which have been built through community patrols.

30 November

The Ngarda Ngarli Yarndu Foundation in the Pilbara in WA has formed an alliance with recruitment organisation Hudson to support Indigenous people seeking work. The recruitment company will offer recruitment services with the aim of addressing Indigenous unemployment as well as the skills shortages in the WA mining industry.

30 November

The Federal Government has announced the signing of another 44 Shared Responsibility Agreements throughout Australia. Senator Vanstone also announced a Regional Partnership Agreement (‘RPA’) covering 12 communities on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands in WA.

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