Recreation, Conservation, Reconcilion – Towards a Reconciliation Action Plan for the Royal National Park (RNP) Sydney
Talking point notes – talk to Friends of the RNP
https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AbhlnzCCcXHfZGQzNjJyMjVfNzNkazRyYmpmdA&hl=en
Please note that the Friends of the Royal National Park has been out of action of a couple of months and is expected to be back up in mid August.
Interesting long podcast about a process refreshing indigenous dimensions in the Wollemi National Park in the Blue Mountains. Way to go.
ABC RN Saturday 3 July 2010 Awaye – Rock of the ages
Deep in the most inhospitable reaches of the Wollemi National Park north-west of Sydney archaeological survey teams and Aboriginal community members have joined together to map cultural heritage sites in a place described as a world that time forgot. In a secret location, hundreds of spectacular examples of engravings, stencils and rock art have been found.
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2010/07/aye_20100703.mp3 (right click to “save target file as’ if you want to download and listen later)
Foreshore and seabed legislation to be repealed
Watch One TV video report
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3808252/Foreshore-and-seabed-legislation-to-be-repealed
See also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_foreshore_and_seabed_controversy
WAITANGI TRIBUNAL RELEASES ITS REPORT ON WAIRAPAPA KI TARARUA CLAIMS (Media release – 26 June 2010)
The Waitangi Tribunal has today released its report on the Treaty claims of iwi and hapū of the Wairarapa ki Tararua district, which extends up the eastern side of the North Island from Cape Palliser to southern Hawke’s Bay. The principal iwi are Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne.
The Tribunal inquiry panel comprised Judge Carrie Wainwright (Presiding Officer), Professor Wharehuia Milroy, Dame Margaret Bazley and Professor Ranginui Walker, assisted as consulting historian by Tribunal member Dr Robyn Anderson.
In its report, the Tribunal finds that Crown acts and omissions in this district constituted serious breaches of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. In the nineteenth century the Crown purchased too much Māori land too quickly and without regard to the inevitable plight of a Māori population left virtually landless in a part of the country where agricultural enterprise was the principal route to a good livelihood. The Tribunal further urges that Māori rights in and around Wairarapa Moana be recognised and given effect.
The Tribunal considers that there is not enough muscle in the legislation governing the relationship between tangata whenua and local and central authorities to enable Māori here to make their views count to an extent that is at all appropriate in Treaty terms. As a result, Māori find it difficult to exercise any meaningful influence over what goes on in their own locality.
The Tribunal is concerned that many important Māori heritage sites, some of international significance, are vulnerable and that the current regime for their recognition and protection is inadequate.
The Tribunal notes that it has not observed any Government response to its recommendations, first released in July 2009, for changes to the public works regime removing the legislative power to acquire Māori land compulsorily for public works. It expresses the hope that this area of policy will soon get the attention it has so long been denied.
The Tribunal considers that Māori of this region have been sorely tested over a long period. Their small population and early colonisation left them struggling to assert their mana and identity in the face of a Pākehā majority that soon owned most of the land, made all of the decisions, and did not value Māori culture or language.
The Tribunal is concerned that te reo Māori has reached a very low ebb in this area. Māori language tuition is not easily accessible to most and is not even available to all Māori children. Improved access and more resources are necessary if the Crown is to make amends for the wrongs of the past.
The Tribunal records its strong impression of an improvement in the historically difficult relationship between the two tribes of this region, Ngāti Kahungunu and Rangitāne, during the course of the inquiry. It expresses the hope that this will set the scene for a successful negotiated resolution of the Treaty breaches documented in its report.
More info
http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/news/media/wairarapa.asp
Download chapter 15 (findings and recommendations) 23 pages pdf from:
http://www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz/doclibrary/public/reports/nieast/Wai0863/Chapt15W.pdf
Indigenous candidate – there are no indigenous people in the present Australian Parliament (not that that worries any of the major parties – whose leaders and members see no problem with that – business as normal).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbZbH5FhtNQ&sns=em
The racist NT Intervention policies have been supported by both major parties – and have been formed without real indigenous participation as cultural partners. And, of course, there is the national disgrace of the situation at Muckaty with both major parties engaging in unconscionable behaviour to solve their problem of where to dump radioactive waste.
We really need good indigenous representatives in the Australian Senate.
See also http://greens.org.au/press/state/northern-territory
“Dear all,
I am writing from the Yellowcake Road collective to invite you to an event we are holding at the end of July. Yellowcake Road is a community-based collective campaigning alongside Traditional Owners to stop the proposed national nuclear waste dump being forced on Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory. We are focusing the campaign on social justice issues, health concerns and the risk of accidents on local roads from Lucas Heights nuclear facility in Sydney all the way to Muckaty. Yellowcake Road is going on a Nuclear Freeways Tour to visit communities along the proposed waste transport route, work with Traditional Owners and other community leaders to help build local campaigns against the dump.
We are organising two forums, in Sydney and Wollongong on the 27th and 28th July respectively, to hear from Muckaty Traditional Owners who are travelling a long way to share the story of what they are facing on their
country. We will also hear from local unionists and provide the opportunity for questions and discussion. The details of the events are on the posters attached {not on copy which came to songlines – contact Angela for more info) please come along and invite your friends and colleagues. If you have an events e-list, we’d love a mention!
An RSVP to yellowcakeroad@gmail.com would be appreciated for catering purposes, and please let us know if you would like any more information on the project, the events or the collective.
We hope to see you there!
Angela Rozali
Yellowcake Road Collective
Friends of the Earth, Sydney
Wollongong:
The Wollongong forum is Wednesday 28 July at 6.30pm, Illawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre, 22 Kenny St Wollongong.
Speakers will be four Muckaty Traditional owners, Dootch Kennedy: Arthur Rorris (South Coast Labour Council) and the Maritime Union.
From WGAR news:
NT News: Gillard dumps Muckaty in it after refusing to reconsider http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/07/08/162181_ntnews.html
8 Jul 10: “PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has told
Territorians she won’t be revisiting the decision to dump Australia’s radioactive waste in the NT outback. In Darwin yesterday, Ms Gillard said she wanted a process led by science to choose the best site for the facility.”
ABC: Labor missed chance on nuclear dump: CLP http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/08/2947846.htm
8 Jul 10: “The Northern Territory Opposition says the Henderson Government missed a golden opportunity during the Prime Minister’s visit to take a stance against a nuclear waste dump being built in the Territory.”
ABC: No change on NT nuclear waste dump: PM http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/07/2947331.htm
7 Jul 10: “The Prime Minister says the Federal Government’s position on building a nuclear waste facility in the Northern Territory remains unchanged. … During a visit to Darwin today, Julia Gillard said the arrangements made under Kevin Rudd’s leadership will remain in place.”
Yahoo!7: Gillard OK with nuclear dump process http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/7539514/gillard-ok-with-nuclear-dump-process/
7 Jul 10: “A process that will see Australia get its first nuclear waste dump against the wishes of the site’s traditional owners will not change under Prime Minister Julia Gillard.”
Papuans seek referendum from Jakarta
Sydney Morning Herald July 10, 2010
JAYAPURA: Hundreds of protesters camped outside Parliament in Papua last night as part of a rally calling for a referendum on self-determination for the Indonesian province.
Tribesmen painted their faces in the colours of the banned separatist flag and called on elders to demand the referendum. The protesters are adamant they will not leave until the Indonesian government hears their calls.
Tribal leaders voted last month to reject the autonomy status of Indonesia’s most remote and least developed province. The status was introduced in 2001 after the fall of the Suharto military dictatorship in Jakarta.
Human rights advocates and protesters say it had failed to raise the standards of living in the region, in spite of its extensive natural resources.
Police said yesterday they were preparing to disperse the protesters – who had started their rally with a permit – using force and could use live ammunition if all else failed.
source and good picture (take a look):
http://www.smh.com.au/world/papuans-seek-referendum-from-jakarta-20100709-1042v.html
Indigenous inclusion is good for our constitution
MICK GOODA
July 9, 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
(Extract only)
On this day 110 years ago Queen Victoria gave the royal assent to the Australian constitution. It remains a living document today – at various times relied on, argued about and revered. It can be divisive and cohesive.
Many things about Australia have changed since July 9, 1900: two world wars have been fought; humans have walked on the moon; our population has grown from fewer than 4 million to about 22 million. But one thing that has not changed is the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as Australia’s first peoples.
This fact remains unrecognised in Australia’s founding document. It may seem insignificant to some but it upsets me, both as an Aboriginal man, and as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner.
…
Constitutional reform is more than just symbolism. The positive effect on our self-esteem, the value of our culture and history, and the respect it marshals from others can make real differences to the lives of indigenous Australians everywhere.
To achieve it, in the lead-up to the federal election let’s get the major parties and independents to support constitutional recognition, at least in general terms. Then let’s harness the strong public support for full reconciliation to build widespread and bipartisan support for constitutional reform. And once we have the political commitment and public support, we can sit down and work out what the constitutional words might be.
The constitution is a living document and the time is right to finally breathe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life into it.
Mick Gooda is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner.
full story – and note comments – at
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/indigenous-inclusion-is-good-for-our-constitution-20100708-10275.html
Read also Australian Human Rights Commission media release:
Calls for Constitutional recognition on National Aboriginal and Islanders Day
Hi,
I just signed a tribute to the Dalai Lama for his 75th birthday and I thought you would want to take part!
It will be delivered to him personally outside the main temple in Dharamsala and numbers of signers and personal messages will be broadcast across the region.
Let’s together send a massive wave of support for the Dalai Lama — click below to take action:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/dalai_lamas_birthday/98.php?CLICKTF
Thanks!
Bruce R
6 July 2010
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Here’s the original email from Avaaz:
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