BrisbaneBlacks ISSUE 2 - October 22, 2013
awakening the Black CONSCIENCE | raising Black AWARENESS | articulating the Black RESISTANCE
uproar across the continent as Pearson’s plan to bring back days of the mission manager receives bipartisan support and $5 million kick-start | PAGE 3 & 9
Empowering Communities? the Australian POLICE STATE
ongoing genocide as incarceration rate of First Nations people rises and deaths in custody persist, 26 years on from Bob Hawke announcing Royal Commission | PAGE 8
Mary Graham, Michael Mansell, Bob Weatherall and Lilla Watson - four veterans of the Black rights struggle articulate and discuss the philosophical, legal and political intricacies of First Nations’ sovereignty | PAGE 11
Let’s Talk SOVEREIGNTY
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Constitutional recognition = grand tokenism
“...designed to divert our attention from the real issues...”
historian & veteran activist Dr Gary Foley (Gumbaynggirr) They only ever pump millions of dollars into things that are going to go nowhere – things that are essentially meaningless and that are designed to divert our attention from the real issues. Who gives a damn about whether we’re mentioned in the Australian Constitution. What real difference will it make? It’s a grand token gesture and will mean nothing in the long run, so it’s a waste of time for people to be even talking about it. In the same way that Reconciliation was intended by politicians to be a diversionary tactic, so too is this nonsensical rubbish about Constitutional recognition. People like Marcia Langton are advocates for this campaign. She has no credibility and no standing in such a debate. Constitutional recognition is a joke and people shouldn’t waste more than a minute thinking about it.
The Abbott Government is set to forge ahead with its push for ‘Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples’, with a referendum likely to take place in 2015. Passed into legislation earlier this year, the Act of Recognition has a two year sunset clause “to allow the campaign for change to continue to build momentum”. Despite millions of government dollars being pumped into Recognise, YouMeUnity and Reconciliation Australia, the “grassroots movement” started by John Howard and Noel Pearson in 2007 is copping heavy criticism from the Black community.
Kamilaroi repatriation from QLD institutions After more than two decades of fighting with the bureaucracy of Queensland State institutions, Kamilaroi ancestral remains have been returned to their homelands in St George. Originally held by the University of QLD, John Tonge Centre and QLD Museum, the remains were handed back on September 17 at a ceremony in Brisbane. According to veteran repatriation campaigner Bob Weatherall (Kamilaroi), the repatriation process must be part of a holistic approach to closing the gap in Black communities. “Our people will not heal, and the country won’t heal unless we take back our remains and fulfil our customary obligations to our ancestors,” says Mr Weatherall, Chairman of Brisbane’s Centre for Indigenous Cultural Policy. “We believe that if we put culture first, then we ourselves will be able to establish strong, healthy and sustainable communities. Government have a moral obligation and legal obligation to ensure that Aboriginal people are fully resourced to undertake their customary rights to lay their people to rest. We can see there’s cultures basically being destroyed because of the government’s lack of commitment in legislation to ensure that Aboriginal people’s customs, traditions and belief systems are being maintained, protected and preserved.” Many thousands of ancestral remains are still held by both Australian and overseas institutions.
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Bipartisan support for Pearson to ‘empower’ communities
By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana Along with Labor, the new LNP government have offered candid support for the controversial ‘Empowered Communities’ plan headed by Tony Abbott’s prophet, Noel Pearson. The scheme, somewhat mirroring Cape York’s Welfare Reform Trials as well as provisions of the Northern Territory Intervention, will be administered by 25 handpicked ‘Aboriginal leaders’ including Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Marcia Langton. To start with, these are the regions that will be impacted -
West/East Kimberly, North East Arnhem Land, Cape York, APY/NPY Lands, inner Sydney, Central Coast NSW and Victoria’s Goulburn Murray District. Each region is required to abide by “principles of responsibility” based around “reforming social norms” and “behavioural change”. Income management has been announced as one of the sanctions that will be used to achieve these goals. After promising a $5 million funding commitment to the development stage of ‘Empowered Communities’, Abbott declared that the “first priority of an incoming Coalition government in this area will be to get the kids to school,
parents into work and the ordinary law of the land being observed”. Mayors from councils in far-north Queensland have rejected Noel Pearson and say they do not recognize him as a leader. The eight Cape York councils have questioned the transparency and effectiveness of Pearson’s programs, including his 120 million-dollar welfare reform trials. There has also been general uproar across the continent at the lack of consultation, with a number of Black rights advocates labelling ‘Empowered Communities’ a return to the days of the mission manager. Continued P9
WAYNE WHARTON - Kooma
SOL BELLEAR - Bundjalung
MONICA MORGAN - Yorta Yorta
The Noel Pearson and Marcia Langton approach equates to further erosion of our social structures. It’s a total attempt at annihilating and assimilating our people. Suicide and imprisonment rates have increased wherever the Intervention pilot programs have been. These indicators get worse when there’s a mission manager mentality and when government is hell bent on inflicting trauma on our people. They’re not going to send in the army, but they’ll send in the police, DOCS and everybody else who’s employed by the Aboriginal Industry - they will all come out swinging the government bat at our peoples’ heads.
The COAG trials were the new fad in the early 2000s and ‘Empowered Communities’ looks like a similar sort of thing - the Intervention is coming to Sydney. Pearson and Marcia Langton have a long history of supporting policies that do the opposite of empowering Aboriginal communities. ‘Empowered Communities’ seems more like controlled communities than community control. If we look at the hard facts, Cape York has gone backwards since implementing Pearson’s Welfare Reform Trials. Our communities can become economically independent, but Pearson’s just wants to get into bed with Twiggy Forrest.
This is an absolute back step for Black self-determination. This really smacks of a person who is aspiring to be the messiah for Aboriginal people. Each and every one of us has a voice and if we wish to have these policies, it’s up to our mob to make that decision. Bipartisan support in government is one thing, but that doesn’t mean you have the support of the people. Policies made by government impacting our mob should be made on a local level by asking mob on the ground what it is they want to do. Self-determination and self-reliance need to be implemented from the ground up, not the top down.
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Native Title VS Land Rights
By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana Before delving into how Native Title legislation weighs up against true Land Rights, we must first take a look at how the debate began. The struggle for Land Rights has been raging in this country for almost two and a half centuries now, a fight against theft, genocide and lies.
terra nullius, but only in the context of Australian common law. The notion that this country was a land belonging to no one prior to colonization remains in place as the basis in international law for the Commonwealth’s alleged acquisition of sovereignty over First Nations peoples and our lands. This country’s legal systems and governments are still based on fiction and the idea that we were classed as flora and fauna pre-invasion.
In the course of his first voyage of ‘discovery’ during the late 1700s, James Cook claimed the entire east coast for Britain under the premise of terra nullius, meaning land belonging to no one. Under British law and accepted international conventions held by Western powers, there were three ways for a colonizing nation to legally gain sovereignty over new territories –
According to Pakana Lawyer Michael Mansell, “the Court did not overturn anything of substance, but merely propounded white domination and superiority over Aborigines by recognising such a meagre Aboriginal form of rights over land. The judges did little more than ease their own conscience of the guilt they so correctly feel for maintaining white supremacy”.
1) CONQUEST; the colonizing nation was obliged to negotiate full and just reparations and compensations to the First Nations peoples for all lands alienated
In response to the High Court decision, Keating’s Labor government passed the 1993 Native Title Act. Historian and veteran activist Dr Gary Foley says the passing of this legislation was “the greatest act of dispossession of Aboriginal people in the history of Australia since Captain Cook stuck the Union Jack in the ground”.
2) TREATY; the colonizing nation was obliged to negotiate terms of coexistence with First Nations peoples (e.g. New Zealand, Canada & USA) 3) TERRA NULLIUS; the colonizing nation declares a land terra nullius, meaning the land was devoid of human inhabitation, thereby removing the need to deal with or negotiate with the First Nations peoples Several hundred autonomous tribes, each with unique languages, cultures and laws, ran this continent for thousands of years. British occupation of this country was illegitimate under international law and founded upon a lie, and the same applies to Federation in 1901 and the Australian Constitution. The 1992 Mabo case resulted in Australia’s High Court overturning the legal doctrine of
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Another High Court case in 1996, the Wik decision, deemed that the rights of pastoralists superseded Native Title rights. John Howard’s 10 Point Plan to decimate what little rights Native Title legislation granted to First Nations people was implemented in the Liberal government’s amendment to the Act in 1998. This opened the floodgates for further extinguishment of Native Title rights. In 2002, the High Court ruled that the Native Title rights of the Yorta Yorta people in Victoria were “washed away” by the “tide of history”. Essentially, the colonial judicial system decided that the Yorta Yorta people’s
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rights to their lands, established over millennia, no longer existed. In the case that Native Title rights haven’t already been extinguished by government or the courts, claimants have two choices when it comes to this legislation (not mutually exclusive): a) sign ILUAs (Indigenous Land Use Agreements) which are contracts between claimant groups and interested parties [government/industry/pastoralists/mining] regarding the use and management of lands/waters concerned b) fight through the Federal Court for a Native Title determination which often takes more than 10 years and is a very costly and time consuming process It has been common practice for mining companies and industry to violate ILUAs. Co-founder of the 1972 Aboriginal Embassy Michael Anderson (Euahlayi) labelled ILUAs “nothing but another piece of paper that creates a major theft”. “ILUAs basically get you to acknowledge that the government is in charge, that they own the land and that you’re recognizing them as the sovereigns who have ultimate title over our country.” The following are some of the major limitations of Native Title legislation: Native Title does not provide for veto rights when it comes to claimant groups wanting to block mining/ development. ‘Coexistence’ with mining/farming/industry is the full of extent of Native Title rights. The rights of pastoralists supersede those of Native Title holders when it comes to conflicts of interest. First Nations people can only claim ‘Crown Lands’ and freehold extinguishes Native Title.
editorial
It is the responsibility of First Nations people to prove their ongoing traditional connections with the lands in questions – burden of proof. Fighting through the Federal Court for a Native Title determination can often take more than 10 years and is a very costly and time consuming process. Native Title is automatically extinguished in and around urban areas. Commonwealth & State governments also have power to extinguish Native Title for matters of ‘national interest’ (compulsory acquisition). What’s more, the Federal Government’s Department of Indigenous Affairs dumps millions of dollars into the Native Title system every year, most of which gets spent on lawyers and bureaucratic process. The Black Power movement that emerged out of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne during the late 60s followed by the landmark Aboriginal Embassy in 1972 pressured both major Australian political parties to make policy statements on the Land Rights issue. Liberal Prime Minister Billy McMahon effectively said that his government would never recognize Aboriginal Land Rights. On the other hand, Gough Whitlam’s Labor Party entered the ’72 election with the promise of national uniform Land Rights legislation. Unfortunately, promises can disappear just like writing in the sand. Between 1983 and 1996, the Hawke-Keating Labor government went a step further and “killed off the move for national Land Rights”. First Nations peoples have been left with the fraud that is Native Title along with the shambles of inconsistent and rather feeble ‘Land Rights’ regimes in each State and Territory (except Western Australia). But the fight for true Land Rights and selfdetermination persists. So what does true LAND RIGHTS mean for First Nations peoples? Dr GARY FOLEY (Gumbaynggirr historian): In the 60s and 70s, we were talking about real LAND OWNERSHIP; land that we could have control over, so we could say “no, you can’t come in here” or “we want to do this with our land”. That’s what self-determination is, the power to control your own affairs. Ownership of land is fundamental to this in terms of creating the basis for people to survive the attack of colonialism. Land Rights is important because it
would provide the means by which the Aboriginal community could go through the process of reconstruction and recuperation. Until Koori communities have got economic independence, we will have no freedom. MICHAEL MANSELL (Pakana lawyer): The rights that we held over our lands/territories before White people came here are the rights that should go back to Aboriginal people. ROSS WATSON (Dawson River Murri): Land Rights means a spiritual and economic base (not in a profit and loss way) and the opportunity to once again become a self-determining people. We are not asking for Land Rights to be given or granted – we are demanding recognition of our rights to our own land. Land Rights include religious, fishing, hunting and camping rights if currently forbidden on all relevant ‘crown’ land. Land Rights includes our right to refuse mining on any part of our land [Black Nation, 1982]. Native Title legislation is not even halfway to achieving true LAND RIGHTS for First Nations peoples and is deeply flawed. Yorta Yorta woman MONICA MORGAN (Amnesty International) – Native Title falls into the trap of colonization – us having to fit within the confines of a doctrine that has been transplanted from England. It’s not Land Rights and it’s not dealing with sovereignty or Treaty. One of the fundamental flaws in colonial governments attempting to make laws and decisions on behalf of First Nations peoples is that the Western interpretation of what is best for Black people is based on Western ideals/ values and so called modern progress. Politicians along with handpicked ‘Aboriginal leaders’ continue to discharge rhetoric about how important mining, industry and Native Title is for economic development in Black communities. Economic ‘development’ implies exploitation. On the other hand, economic independence involves selfdetermination on OUR TERMS. Native Title ignores this outright. Ngemba man JACK BEETSON (Wilcannia Land Council) – You can get all the elders you like to talk about the historical association to country and the culture that it revolves around, but until you get an archaeologist or anthropologist to support what they’re saying, the courts
don’t even consider it. Our story doesn’t exist unless someone comes with a Western concept of what you’re talking about and verifies what you’re saying is the truth. That’s fourth-worldness. Gamilaraay/Yiman man MARSHALL BELL (First Nations artist) – Native Title feeds the myth of exclusive rights and isolation, the myth that we didn’t move out of our own tribal areas. Tribal boundaries/borders were never 100% certain, often the subject of dispute between clan groups in terms of who had custodial rights over a particular area (e.g. hunting grounds). The ever changing landscape presents another element of flux, as boundaries were primarily based around terrain features (e.g. rivers, mountains). Therefore, climate change and sea levels continue to play a role in this. The Native Title Act is far too restrictive and static to accommodate these crucial factors. Wiradjuri woman JENNY MUNRO (veteran activist, poet and Koori Radio producer) – Their intention has been genocide. They wouldn’t have written it into legislation if it wasn’t their intention to extinguish our title, and that has become the business of Native Title. It’s all about extinguishment, not recognition of our Land Rights. Synonyms for extinguish include DESTROY, TERMINATE, SMOTHER, SNUFF, END & STIFLE. Gunnai man ROBBIE THORPE (veteran activist and 3CR Melbourne producer) – Native Title is a way for government to legitimize their occupation. The only thing that has come out of Native Title is a mining boom for non-Aboriginal people. There’s nothing common about the wealth here. It’s the STOLENWEALTH of Australia. They’ve divided our families, our communities and our nations. We’re not going to get justice when it’s the thief who is the judge. When it comes to Native Title or any other government imposed piece of legislation, we as First Nations people must never forget that we are entitled to true Land Rights and full sovereignty OUR BIRTHRIGHTS. But we mustn’t hesitate to use whatever weapons we can against the colonizers in this war of attrition. The real danger is becoming complacent, comfortable and too familiar with what the invader society is offering us at any given time.
#NativeTitleIsNOTLandRights
Scottish independence vote confronts colonialism
rally/march for Scottish independence in Edinburgh attracted 30,000 people (September 21) By Hamish Chitts Fraser & MacGregor (Scottish clans) In September 2014, the people of Scotland will have a referendum on the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?” A ‘Yes’ vote would mean Scotland would cease to part of the United Kingdom (UK) and if successful will provide a strong example for nations around the world who are striving to gain selfdetermination and assert their own sovereignty. This includes the First Nations under British occupation of what is widely known as ‘Australia’. But a Scottish ‘Yes’ also has the potential to shake up the dominant culture that currently infects this continent. In 1997, after years of pressure from Scots seeking independence, the UK government allowed a referendum asking if Scots wanted their own ‘devolved’ parliament – a separate parliament with limited autonomy but ultimate control still with the UK Government in Westminster. The referendum was successful leading to the creation of a devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999. While better than nothing, partial autonomy has left many Scots hungry for total control over their own affairs and Scotland’s resources. Scotland’s people have continually been neglected by UK governments (regardless of political party) because Scottish votes have little impact on UK election results. One in five of
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Scotland’s children are officially recognised as living in poverty. In some areas over one in three children grow up in poverty. According to the Breadline Britain Poverty and Social Exclusion Report, levels of poverty in Scotland are worse than they have been for 30 years, with 29% of Scots lacking three or more of the necessities for basic living. In the name of managing the economy, meaning keeping profits flowing into the pockets of the rich, the UK Government is hitting those already suffering; health and education cuts, privatisations and a massive reduction in welfare benefits. Scotland has oil and gas reserves in the North Sea but all the revenue goes to London. In 2008 alone this revenue was worth over $20 billion AUD. Scotland is also the world’s leading producer of wind energy and this energy has the potential to bring in more revenue and development opportunities than oil and gas. This potential and its benefits to Scots is also being stifled by the UK Government in London. Another issue Scots are angry about is the fact that all of UK’s nuclear weapons are kept in Scotland, so if there is an accident or targeted strike by another country on these weapons the politicians who want to keep these weapons of mass destruction are safely in London. Scotland’s aspirations were summed up by 15 year old Saffron Dickson in early September during a debate on Radio 5 - “No one can ever be sure of anything in the world, but we are currently part
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of a failing system, and we shouldn’t be settling for it just because it isn’t failing as badly as some other countries are. We should not be sitting idle watching our education, our housing and our country deteriorate under a government we didn’t vote for, that many don’t want and that is wasting our wealth.” Saffron along with other 16 and 17 year old Scotts will be eligible to vote in next year’s referendum. Many of these issues have a sense of familiarity for First Nations people on this continent. Those struggling for the sovereignty of their own nations here will naturally feel a sense of solidarity for what the Scots are trying to achieve and for all peoples around the world seeking sovereignty and self-determination in order to raise themselves culturally, spiritually and materially. Scottish independence will also force people to confront the Australian flag of occupation which incorporates the ‘Union Jack’ in its top left corner. Currently the Union Jack includes the flag of Scotland, which is a white diagonal St Andrews Cross on a blue background. If Scotland leaves the union it would be an insult to keep flying the current Union Jack on any flag, forcing the people here to deeply consider their ties to the British Crown and to face the fact that First Nations have never ceded their sovereignty.
SAOR ALBA ‘free Scotland’ in Scottish Gaelic
international perspective
Don’t be hoodwinked by CONstitutional reform By Michael Mansell, pakana If there is a Treaty between Aborigines and Australia, it must deal with land and political authority. They go hand in hand; Aboriginal people need an Assembly with powers of state governments, but without land there is no territory to apply its decisions to. A land settlement should at least include those lands already owned under Land Rights laws and Native Title areas. ILUAs and some non-exclusive native title areas are not the same as ownership, but for the purposes of this discussion such areas should also be included in a land settlement. Reconciliation Australia says Aborigines currently own about 20% of Australia’s 7,692,024 square kilometres. That is hardly fair. Add unsuccessful Native Title claimed areas and other Crown lands to the tally and the coloured areas should result in return of about 60% of lost lands – a lot fairer. If those lands were to be managed by a national Aboriginal body, that body would need to have the powers of State governments to look after it. Regulating conduct on Aboriginal land including where customary laws would apply and how they might interact with white law, managing cultural, economic and social activities for the benefit of Aboriginal people, who could reside there, what overall rules applied to the lands and the people in it, and raising revenue from the lands are just some of the business to be addressed.
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No Australian Constitutional difficulties arise. Under the Lands Acquisition Act 1989, the Commonwealth can acquire crown lands from the States without requiring Aborigines to have to prove anything to the thief. And under the same power used to create ATSIC, the Commonwealth can establish an Aboriginal Assembly elected by Aboriginal people. Aborigines would need to have a constitution already drawn up for the establishment of the Assembly. All this could all be achieved step by step over the next decade. Why then worry about constitutional reform? It brings no land and confers no rights. The so called expert panel took two years to propose four key changes: 1) English to be the official language of the country In New Zealand, Maori is the official language but the panel agreed with the Cape York proposal to put English above indigenous languages.
2) repeal of a never used and never likely to be used Section 25 Section 25 allows States to prevent members of a race from voting. Such a move would embarrass Australia internationally prompting Canberra to pass a law overriding the State law. In such a case the Commonwealth law would prevail because of section 109 of the Constitution.
3) taking away the race power from the Commonwealth The panel has recommended giving it back to them under a different section, which defies logic.
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4) attempted the legally impossibility of asking parliament only to pass ‘positive’ discriminatory laws The courts have said on numerous occasions that whether a law is ‘good’ is a political, not legal question, and so it is left to the parliament that creates a law to decide this. An example is the NT intervention case where John Howard took land from Aborigines and installed a regime of humiliation on communities subject to his law (which Macklin, Gillard and the ALP extended for 10 years). Howard claimed the law was not racist but beneficial. The High Court said it was not its role to make a different political conclusion.
The panel selected by Gillard did not quibble with being described as ‘experts’. They said any recommendations must benefit indigenous peoples. How any of these ideas were meant to benefit Aborigines or Torres Strait Islanders is hard to see. During those two years of public and media focus on Constitutional recognition, nothing beneficial happened for Aborigines. It allowed politicians to get on with business as usual without having to deal with real and important Aboriginal issues. When asked what he thought of Constitutional reform, Gary Foley answered, “Who gives a damn!” and said it was just a diversion. In that one short statement, Foley showed more intellect and foresight than the so called ‘expert’ panel combined. veteran Black activist and lawyer Michael Mansell is National Secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government (APG)
opinion
The Australian Police State
WHAT IS A POLICE STATE? A police state is a system of ‘government’ by which the ruling class control and pacify the populace through use of a police force. Does Australia fit the criteria of a police state when it comes to its approach to First Nations peoples? In 2007, the Commonwealth declared martial law in the Northern Territory with the Intervention. On two separate occasions in 2012, hundreds of state and federal cops converged on Brisbane’s Musgrave Park in an attempt to evict the resident Sovereign Embassy. What has changed since Queensland’s Joh BjelkePetersen era? What has changed since the colonial powers first stepped foot on our lands and decided they could deny us our rights at the point of a rifle? On August 1987, Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke announced the ‘Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody’. 26 years later, the
incarceration rate of Black males in this country is almost six times higher than apartheid South Africa and Black deaths in custody are on the rise. The number of First Nations people in Australian prisons has almost doubled since the Commission. Since 1992, the rate of Black incarceration has grown 14 times faster than that of mainstream Australia. Black youth are incarcerated at the highest rate in the world. Between 1980 and 2011, there were just over 2300 deaths in custody across the continent and 450 of these have been Black deaths. This means 20% of deaths in custody over the past three decades have been Black deaths in custody. In 2010-2011, 25% (21) of the total 85 deaths in custody were Black deaths.
Consecutive Australian governments have opted for the punitive and reactionary approach to addressing social issues in Black communities. They throw millions of dollars into expanding the prison system, employing more police and enforcing discriminatory policies like alcohol bans and income management. Why doesn’t government put effort and money behind proactive, productive and uplifting programs enabling cultural/language revival, economic independence and genuine self-determination? Is it ignorance, or is there a hidden agenda, a covert motive? Is incarceration yet another form of institutionalised assimilation?
Rallies & marches took place across the country in late September to mark 30 years since 16-year-old John Pat was killed by police in Western Australia. [PICTURED: march through Brisbane City]
photo by BRENDON QU
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Eugenics, Black mission managers & assimilation for this program without either their knowledge or consent. How do unelected, unaccountable people get to decide what will happen in the affected communities?
By Jenny Munro, WIRADJURI Noel Pearson’s Empowered Communities plan immediately reminded me of the language of eugenics and social engineering in Nazi Germany, with talk of re establishing norms, combating dysfunction and behavioural change. Bipartisan support from the two major political parties, each with their funding commitment of $5 million, meant that this Intervention onslaught would take place regardless of the election outcome. The eight communities have been nominated
Trying to force our people to change via ‘sanctions’ like income management and other punitive measures breaches our human, civil, economic and political rights. It is also extremely racist by targeting one group – First Nations people. This is a return to the days of mission managers, only now they are Black. My final thoughts rest with those families who need to brace themselves for the battles to come. Now other Aboriginal people will control their welfare payments, decide their tenancies and force them into work/training. Abbott’s prophet Noel Pearson thinks it’s alright to experiment with and punish Aboriginal people because they are not assimilationists like him, because
they don’t seek the White man’s favour or trust his world. A new generation of our people are going to be brutally reintroduced to the ‘protection’ era policies. Crime will go through the roof, suicide and imprisonment rates will skyrocket and even more children will be forcibly removed from their families. Unelected and unaccountable Aboriginal people will perpetrate this. Watch the anger explode. We are entitled to determine our future for and by ourselves. The problem with this so-called democratic system is that they will never allow us to exercise that right. Their weight of numbers means they will always think they have the right to treat us like children. I am happy to remain forever in the ‘Bad Blacks’ camp. I don’t want to be White or aspire to their trappings of supposed success, because that takes me away from who and what I am – BLACK ALL OVER!
If you don’t talk with us, then don’t talk for us! It’s the same old story of us having to read about proposed policies on indigenous affairs in the newspapers.
By Wayne Butcher Kuku Yau & Uutaalnganu The first time we ever heard of ‘Empowered Communities’ was in The Australian, so it came as quite a shock, especially when it is actually targeted at our region of Cape York.
Government doesn’t have the decency to ask us whether it’s a good idea or not. They haven’t considered the diversity in communities. Another thing they’ve failed to do is to get us involved and there was no consultation whatsoever. Government is still thinking for us. It’s the 21st century and here we are still reading about policies in the papers, which is a big disrespect to leadership
on the ground. What is needed is more community input and engagement with these policies being developed, whether it’s at a local, state or national level. Once we gain ownership on the ground, we would get more success in addressing social disadvantage. The top down approach taken by Abbott and Pearson will simply not have a positive impact. It’s nothing new. If they don’t talk with us, then they shouldn’t be talking for us. Wayne Butcher is Mayor of Cape York’s Lockhart River district
Black activists gear up for Brisbane G20 protests
By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana Thousands of First Nations people are expected to converge on Brisbane next November to protest the G20 summit. Leaders from 20 major economies including the USA, China, Brazil, India and the European Union will be in attendance. The summit will take place from November 15-16 at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in South Bank, just 200 meters down the road from Musgrave Park. The Queensland Government declared a State of Emergency during the landmark 1982 Commonwealth Games protests, introducing legislation to enforce suppressive security measures. Under the Commonwealth Games Act, Police were granted special powers to
search and arrest. Police will be given an even more rigorous set of special powers under the G20 Safety and Security Bill 2013. Within the “declared area” covering South Bank and stretching to Kelvin Grove, Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley and Wooloongabba, Police will be able to arrest and detain people for up to three days without bail for “disrupting” the event. The Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy’s Wayne Wharton says “the general feeling with the young people is they will defy the orders and defy the exclusion zones to make their voices heard”. “The main issue that Aboriginal people are facing today, that the Australian community is facing today, is the unanswered question of occupation on this continent,” says Mr Wharton, a veteran Kooma activist.
Commonwealth Games Act 1982
Mr Wharton believes sovereignty, Land Rights and the return of Black community control will be the core issues that demonstrators will be advocating for. According to Gamilaraay activist Boe Spearim, the G20 will be an ideal platform for bringing attention to the ongoing human rights abuses against First Nations peoples by consecutive Australian governments. “Just like back in ’82, the whole world will be watching. It’s our turn to get back out there like our forefathers did in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Our old people weren’t just willing to get locked up, to get beaten. They lost their lives so we can be here today. Our old people would be the first ones to say don’t thank us, just get out there and do your part for your people.”
G20 Safety and Security Act 2013
Let’s Talk SOVEREIGNTY
On October 4, Brisbane’s 989fm Murri Radio hosted a panel discussion articulating the POLITICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL & LEGAL intricacies of First Nations’ sovereignty. Tiga Bayles (centre) facilitated the panel. The next question for us is how does Aboriginal sovereignty manifest itself in some meaningful way for Aboriginal people. What we’ve got to look at is representation of Aboriginal people internally, within the Aboriginal community, and within the powerful institutions of Australia like the Federal Parliament.
Michael Mansell Pakana
We need political representation, so that we make the decisions about our own destiny. The acknowledgement of our right to make those decisions must dignify our history, our status and our right to self-determination. But there’s a big difference between just having Aboriginal people in Parliament compared to having Aboriginal people in Parliament who can represent Aboriginal people.
There were at least 300 different Aboriginal nation states on this great south island home of ours. They’re still here. They haven’t gone away. This whole country still belongs to us. This needs to be recognized and understood. There has got to be a Treaty, a bilateral agreement to work out how we’re going to all live in this country together. The advent of colonialism has interfered so much in our lives, that lots of people have taken up White terms of reference to live by. Aboriginal terms of reference will guide us to what a Treaty is. We need to arm our young people with cultural knowledge in order to see that we can work towards a positive future and that we can have a Treaty.
LILLA WATSON Kungulu & Birrigubba
Sovereignty is our autonomy. We ran this country. But power was diffused, with no hierarchy, no chieftainship system. That system had been in place for thousands of years. We not only had multi polarity, with all these countries independent of each other, but we also had strategic cooperation between all of these autonomous interdependent groups.
Mary Graham Kombumerri & Waka Waka
We have to talk about what kind of a country we want to live in, and that’s where the idea of a Treaty comes in. Through the Treaty process, that’s how we’ll build a good relationship with mainstream Australia. There’s got be some sort of setup, some sort of Aboriginal assembly, but it can’t be hierarchical, otherwise it will take on all the attributes of the Western system.
Government can recognize our sovereignty and help to restore it, but they cannot interfere with it. We must be continuously independent, self-governing and in control of our lands, waters and peoples. Australia is still the only former British colony which hasn’t come to any sort of agreement or treaty with Aboriginal nation states. We’re at the point now where we have to basically put to government the bundle of rights that has been denied us for far too long and make it clear that Aboriginal people have always looked beyond the Acts that suppress our rights, our fundamental freedoms. We need to have some kind of government accountable to Aboriginal people, some kind of assembly that could spearhead our interests and rights.
BOB WEATHERALL Gamilaraay
First Nations culture demystified BUWADJARR and the Creation Story PART 1
here’s an insight into the traditional belief systems of the GAMILARAAY nation this continent is home to hundreds of autonomous nation states with unique cultures, languages and traditions By Paul Spearim, GAMILARAAY The story begins with BUWADJARR travelling throughout and within creation. BUWADJARR came from a place that was called GAMILUBIDI WII (before the big light or the centre of the universe). BUWADJARR had also passed on to us that traditionally in Gamilaraay we are not allowed to mention him by name (BAAYAMI). So we have to call him BUWADJARR which means creator, supreme father or fathers’ fathers’ father. The only time that you are allowed to mention his name is when you have been fully initiated.
BUWADJARR, is how we as descendants of OLD GAMIL have always maintained a spiritual connection to our creation. OLD GAMIL is a word used along with BURRUGUU to describe when creation happened. The first thing he did after travelling through the universe was that he created BIRRAYBIRRAAY (Orion’s Belt). This was a resting place within the centre of it for the lost spirits of any young boys and men.
Gamilaraay was created in a time when there was nothing, it was completely empty. Then BUWADJARR created our nation and now we have GAMILARAAY. If we break it down, we have GAMIL which means no/not and ARAAY which means having. Because now we have something and that is Gamilaraay.
BUWADJARR’s five wives also travelled with him and they were also very powerful. His five wives came from BARIYAN NGAMA, the Pleiades Constellation. Of BUWADJARR’s five wives, BIRRANGULU was the oldest and the carrier of all women’s knowledge. GANHANBILI, who was a few years younger, was the carrier of all women’s business and law. They were the older and wiser of the wives, and they had all the power and control.
He also passed onto us that storytelling, or more importantly BINANGGAL GAAYAA WANAGI, listening too law and throwing words from the almighty father
The three younger wives were NGALIIR who was the holder of all umbilical cords, MUBALYAAL who was the carrier of all births, and finally the youngest of his wives NGAMU
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who was the carrier of all breast milk, nourishment and food. They all listened and learnt about creation from BIRRANGULU, GANHANBILI and more importantly from BUWADJARR. These five wives also created a resting place called MIYAYMIYAAY, which was in the centre of the Pleiades Constellation. This was also a resting place that the young girls and women’s spirits could go. After BUWADJARR had found a place that was suitable, he began creating us, the animals, plants, rivers, mountains and everything else that is found within Gamilaraay. This allows all living things in Gamilaraay to live as sentient organisms in OLD GAMIL. Then BUWADJAAR placed all of the Gamilaraay people into two main blood groups, the first being GUWAYMADHAN, the dark blood group, created from the ground low down and high up. Then we have GUWAYGALIYARR which is the light blood group that had among other things, the YARUDHAGAA, the matrilineal line of descent which all of Gamilaraay have to follow. YARUDHAGAA was created by BUWADJARR’s five wives.
culture first
Looking after Kin, Looking after Others
an excerpt from The Concept of Ethics in Australian Aboriginal Systems of Thought BY MARY GRAHAM (Kombumerri & Waka Waka) Aboriginal Australia is a unique civilizational culture in existence for many thousands of years, with its own logic, philosophy, values and notions of social development. This perspective brings a collective responsibility and obligation to look after Land, family and community, which is vital in transcending the persuasion of advantage at the expense of others. This approach is centred in the significance of Place, a particular locality (or localities) of Land within a particular region. ‘Land’ includes the landscape and all living things within it, humans, spirits, animals, air, sea, rivers, moon, stars, birds, insects, the wind, language, dreams etc.; with Place the core interest, conscience and spirit of culture. These collective values are the template for looking after the whole society, that is, part of the organising principle of society. For example, each Place or Region is autonomous. In principle no one group dominates another; there is no hierarchy of Places/Regions, or of the people within the localities. It is a system of equality between the Regions, with no centralising power to enforce decisions or agreements; and is without police or armies. In terms of values, the aim of the organising principle is to respect and protect the integrity of Regional, Clan/ group and individual values and rights. Such a holistic tradition, derived from the Land/Human relationship, is part of a custodial ethic; and, in promoting the wellbeing and safety of the whole society, is converse to an individualistic ethic. Historically the Australian Aboriginal social and political structures are not hierarchical (as in leadership) but
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lateral, where men and women have their own social, political, spiritual and psychological place. Elders constitute a soft hierarchy wherein they are an authority but they don’t rule like monarchies. Consensus decision making practices means no individual prevails if he/she deviates too much from the group consensus.
of nature worshipping religion with competitive elements. Despite its nonjudgemental quality the second principle on its own could still lead to a multipolar world of suspicion and rivalry. Either of the two principles alone does not lead to a non-ego based society. It is the conjoining of these principles that starts the process of a Custodial Ethic.
Relationship with Land combined with the way society is organised, creates very sound ethical strategy that works towards long-term stability, in social praxis and environmental regard and safeguards. The organising principle that underpins a social system includes the approach to achieving an outcome; that is, the means to achieve a particular desired end. A great deal of thoughtful consideration and effort goes into choosing the means to an end, because experience has shown that measured well thought-out processes, along with good management of difference, leads to stability.
The philosophy underlying the first principle is we are not alone in the world. Land invented humans; whether we see it in maternal terms or not, it looks after us, we’re obliged to look after it; spiritual significance and meaning arises, and more obligations develop with particularised responsibilities according to place/locality. Ethics grows in a natural organic way with the deepening of feeling coalesced with stewardship practices.
Instead of the short-term tactical approach of competition, warring over resources and territorial power and control, the long view looks after the interests of the young and the future generations, achieving stability and harmony rather than advantage over others. This is accomplished by the formation and combination of two Principles forming the Custodial Ethic: 1. the ethical principle of maintaining a respectful, nurturing relationship with Land, Place and Community 2. the organising principle based on autonomy and identity of Place Difficult as it is to make such assumptions, if the first principle stands alone the outcome might be a kind
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The narrative underlying the second principle is that hierarchy is not the only natural structure of all living organisms. Lateral structures more akin to the collaborative, cooperative building of authentic relationships avoid the confines of the “prisoners’ dilemma” argument. While the natural environment may have moments of uncertainty (earthquakes, ice ages etc.) the human environment cannot become fraught with uncertainty. It must retain stability throughout changing natural conditions. Sustainable social and political structures put in place a stable world essential for young people and future generations. Compare this view to the current situation in communities where administrative systems in place are generally not controlled by Aboriginal terms of reference and chosen/imposed solutions to social problems are nearly always non-Aboriginal.
insight
from the 11th-13th of October, Brisbane’s First Nations community commemorated the landmark 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games protests
31st Anniversary of ‘82 Games protests
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events/history
CONSCIOUS BLACK POETRY SISTERS AND BROTHERS Truth is we are sisters and brothers this land where we stand is our mother providing all we need, for she gives us each other. I see the negative interpretations have a large impact on our every generation. The struggles we take on call for strong good willed relations and a bond with creation, supporting our very own foundation. So my sisters rise above the competition and shine with me brothers learn respect for our place in society because what they do unto this land is what they do to me. So be true to me and stand tall remember the reasons our elders cried this land is bleeding, it’s called ecocide. Don’t be confused by these city lights no more our mamma’s bleeding inside in need of freedom while she’s grieving. Spirits plead at my side we need all people to rise up against the lonesome pain. Talk about evolution’s ancient meanings of life sit down and paint again because my people did more than survive elders tell me still that all are equal, the air we breathe gives us right. First Nations, we know we’re in this together and if your people haven’t been here forever take a second to understand our society because what we do unto this land is what we do unto you and me to our babies’, babies’, babies’ see they too will need fresh air to breath so when will change come? Mamma said make it a mission connect in a way that prevents this division. The effect could be a wave of a proper way of living because I don’t want to be a slave and I’m so sick of giving. But I will fight for the life of generations far ahead of me the most important things in life could be humanity’s dependency air water land, that puts every single celebrity, the king, queen and every one of their baby’s right here next you and next to me. We don’t need this occupation we need truth, mutual respect and congenial relations. We need to find an end to the neglect and decimation of what’s sacred, creation for the air that we breathe and the water we take in.
by teila watson
The Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy (BASE) is a core platform for organizing Black political/protest action and engaging with Brisbane’s First Nations community. BASE holds meetings around the sacred fire in Musgrave Park every Wednesday @ 6pm and runs a program which provides food parcels to families in Inala, Acacia Ridge and Stafford. For more information on BASE or to assist/ donate to the Community Food Program, call 0424 610 492 or 0408 064 900
Tune in at 9AM every weekday for Let’s Talk with Tiga Bayles on Brisbane’s 989fm. Let’s Talk is a one hour First Nations current affairs show and offers listeners in both the Black and broader community a conscious alternative to the sensationalism of mainstream media. The program is repeated each day from 6-7pm and live streamed. Tiga Bayles (Birrigubba) is a pioneer of Black radio, having co-founded Radio Redfern in the 80s, and a veteran campaigner for the rights of First Nations peoples. The BlackCard Course is the path to acquiring a licence that demonstrates the expertise of the holder in working with Aboriginal people. The underlying themes of the BlackCard Course are based on Aboriginal Terms of Reference that provide direction to the age-old Aboriginal civilizational culture, values and worldview. The BlackCard Course is based on the tertiary level subjects, Aboriginal Perspectives and Aboriginal Approaches to Knowledge, developed by Lilla Watson and Mary Graham. To find out more, call (07) 3398 9921 or email blackcardcourse@bigpond.com
Brisbane’s BLACK HISTORY 1982 Commonwealth Games protests The year was 1982 - Queensland was the last Australian State to still have the oppressive Aboriginal Protection Act, the Land Rights movement had become a powerful grassroots political force and Brisbane was set to host the Commonwealth Games. In the run up to the ’82 Games, Black activists threatened to disrupt proceedings, determined to use this international spectacle as a forum for justice to highlight the unjust and discriminatory treatment of First Nations peoples. Thousands of Blacks and their supporters from across the continent converged on Brisbane to show the Australian nation and the rest of the world that their voices would not be silenced, demanding recognition of Land Rights and the repeal of the Protection Act. Musgrave Park was central to the protests, becoming home to a tent city. QLD Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson responded by declaring a State of Emergency, outlawing street protests/marches. The demonstrations went ahead regardless with the Premier’s threats of mass arrests carried out by an army of police and riot squads; hundreds of protesters were arrested. Many First Nations people who had paid for tickets to events were even refused entry to the Games. The protests reached international headlines, putting the rights of First Nations peoples on the world stage.
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history
proBLACKtivity Australia’s education institutions try to tell us how we should think about our own culture, identity and history. By insisting on using Black terms of reference, we can fight this assimilation process. Develop your own interpretations and understandings of what we are entitled to in context of your mob’s historical experiences and measure Western society in the context of Black values and beliefs. We must reclaim our own history. Most documentation has been written by White people and interpreted in a White man’s way. They believed they were watching the dying embers of an almost extinct culture. They did not have an intimate knowledge of our ancestors and relied on hearsay evidence and this raises doubts about their accuracy. Probably the early European settlers believed all dark-skinned people were likely to practise cannibalism and an erroneous belief became an accepted truth. In an age when White men believed they were superior to the Black men, early writers viewed our people with jaundiced eyes. They misinterpreted our behaviour and ignored our spiritual life. In doing so,
they missed the whole foundation of our culture. They tended to record what they found interesting and ignored other aspects of traditional life. More recently, there have been a number of Koori writers, writing about their own people. They are now interpreting Koori lifestyle, both past and present, through their own eyes. When we try to interpret history from the point of view of our ancestors, this involves the difficult process of reading behind the lines of countless documents written by Whites.
they can be justly proud. For the story of the survival of their people as a culturally significant minority in Australian society in the face of enormous oppression is a story of triumph. Hopefully other Kooris will trace their roots, for it is in the past that we can find the strength to fight the battles of the future. adapted from KOORI: A Will To Win (1985) by Black historian & academic James Miller
It is essential to reclaim our history using our own Black terms of reference so we can provide our future generations with a rich and permanent written heritage of which
Brisbane Blacks is an independent non-profit First Nations publication with the sole purpose of awakening the Black CONSCIENCE, raising Black AWARENESS and articulating the Black RESISTANCE. We thank all interviewees, contributors, distributors and the National Tertiary Education Union [printing] for helping to make Brisbane Blacks a reality. If you would like to subscribe, have any questions about Brisbane Blacks or would like to contribute content, call 0428 152 777 and send an email to brisbaneblacksmedia@ gmail.com #CirculateToEducate
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proBLACKtivity
THE WAR ON TERRA
Despite their best efforts, from oil spills to nuclear meltdowns, the Western colonial empire was not successful in bringing about the apocalypse in 2012. But don’t lose faith, as they may yet be able to make it happen. Here we’re aiming to establish where the best progress is being made in shattering what’s left of humanity’s relationship with this planet. What better place to start with than Australia? We can assess the results of ‘civilization’ after two hundred years of colonization. We’ve got the worst polluting power station in the world. Victoria’s Hazelwood, established in the 60s, is a brown-coal fuelled power station which will continue operating until 2031. Mining operations are expanding across the country, from coal and gold to uranium and iron. Industry is carving channels through the Great Barrier
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Reef with mass dredging, ravaging the Kimberly, thieving tonnes of sand from North Stradbroke Island and planning big to exploit South Australia’s recently discovered oil stockpile – all in the name of profit and economic development. To top it all off, they’ve unlocked the gates of hell with coal seam gas mining. Alongside the USA and Canada, Australia is also the world’s biggest polluter per capita. “It’s true we’ve invaded and taken the land away, but the natives weren’t even using it. Sounds like fair game. They barely scratched the terrain, and now we’ve got all this to our name!”
Since the advent of colonization, Australia’s government and industries have provided ground-breaking progress towards wholesale environmental catastrophe. So what’s their secret? How have they accomplished this?
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“Be civilized, like you’re above, not part of everything. Whatever you do, don’t learn from history. Wage war on mother Earth – the WAR ON TERRA!”
Politicians, along with handpicked ‘Aboriginal leaders’, continue to discharge rhetoric about how important mining and industry is for economic development in First Nations communities. Economic ‘development’ implies exploitation and the need for so-called progress. On the other hand, economic independence involves selfdetermination on OUR TERMS. Editor of Black Nation Ross Watson (Kungulu/Birrigubba) talked about Land Rights being “a spiritual and economic base” but “not in a profit and loss way”. He deemed it to be “the opportunity to once again become a self-determining people” and believed it is “our right to refuse mining on any part of our land”.
the WAR ON TERRA
BrisbaneBlacks ISSUE 2 - October 22, 2013
awakening the Black CONSCIENCE | raising Black AWARENESS | articulating the Black RESISTANCE