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QUEERS STICK WITH WIK
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What is it all about?
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You may have heard so much about Mabo, Wik, Native Title and Pastoral Leases by now that you have turned off. The Howard Government , pastoralists and mining interests talk about 'certainty', 'extinguishment' and 'exclusive possession'. Indigenous people talk about 'reconciliation', 'co-existence and 'negotiation'. The two sides are mile apart yet they are talking
about the same country. We are at a crucial point in Australia's history. As Australians we must not miss our chance for reconciliation and land justice with the original inhabitants of this continent. |
Why we care |
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We are a group of lesbians and gay men who want to come to grips with our past and create an inclusive future which recognises the benefits of cultural, racial and sexual diversity. For Indigenous Australians, discriminatory laws and social attitudes have contributed to unequal life outcomes: higher infant mortality rate, higher representation in correctional institutions and lower life expectancy ages (just to mention a few). We do not support the continuation of this and believe that land rights are fundamental to these human rights. Indigenous Australians have been harassed, imprisoned and murdered because of prejudice. They have been subject to stereotyped and inaccurate portrayals of culture in the press, in books and films. They have been excluded from mainstream "Australian family values" given that the popular perception of the family is white, nuclear and heterosexual. There are links between the type of thinking that discriminates on the basis or race or sexuality - ignorance and bigotry affect us all. As Australians, we are all diminished by our Federal government's willingness to put aside the fundamental rights of Indigenous Australians in favour of a small group of powerful vested interests. |
| What we want |
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Reconciliation is a chance to come to terms with our colonial past and what it means to be Australian - we want to take up this opportunity fully. Lesbian and gay Indigenous Australians are facing the possibility of having some of their most basic rights removed - we want to support each other. Howard's 10 point-plan is in violation of the Racial Discrimination Act, as well as international treaties - this is simply not on. The current government must show respect for difference and diversity - such respect is central to the cultural survival of minority groups. |
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The Issues
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Eddie Mabo was the traditional owner of Murray Island. In 1992 the High Court acknowledged Mabo's claim and reversed a long -standing legal fiction that Australia didn't belong to anyone. For the first time the land right's of Australia's Indigenous people were recognised.
The Mabo decision said that Native Title may exist on Crown or public land, national parks and water. Native Title meant that the local Indigenous people could continue to hunt, fish, camp, conduct ceremony on and negotiate use of land over which they had title.
A pastoral lease is a license issued by State Governments to pastoralists to graze sheep or cattle for a certain time on Crown or publicly owned land. It had is origins in the 1820's as a device to provide temporary recognition to British squatters and to ensure continued access to the land for Aboriginal people. Pastoralists pay minimal rent to the Crown to use the land for pastoral purposes. Forty-two percent of Australia's land area is currently under lease to a few thousand people - including Federal MP's - and even several large companies.
The Wik decision ruled that Native Title could also co-exist with pastoral leases; although where there is a conflict pastoral interests will prevail. The government, mining and pastoral interests argued that the High Court's decision introduced uncertainty for leaseholders.
The Prime Minister, John Howard has developed a 10 Point Plan to amend the Native Title Act. These amendments would remove the rights conferred by the High Court on Indigenous people including:
Because taking away these rights only applies to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people Howard's plan is racially discriminatory. For this reason it is a breach of the Racial Discrimination Act (1975) as well as Australia's obligations under the International Covenant on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. |
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What you can do
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