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162 Traditional Owners apply to join Cape York Claim 1
by Don De Busch 5 December 2015
A
n application on behalf of 162 traditional owners to be joined as parties to the Cape York Claim 1 was made to the Federal Court this week. The application filed on behalf of the newly formed Cape York Alliance follows months of complaints that the Cape York Land Council has failed to meet its obligations and responsibility to ensure all people impacted by the claim were consulted. Cape York Claim 1 was lodged a year ago by the Cape York Land
Council over 14.6 million hectares of Cape York and is the largest of its type in the history of the Cape. Don De Busch the chair of the Alliance said “Not only has the publicly funded Land Council not met its statutory requirements it has broken customary law by failing to talk to the right traditional owners and in particular the elders for the country. This is very disappointing and has caused a lot of hurt and confusion.” Mr De Busch said that “Because the claim was not widely discussed the Cape York community was confused and there was potential for misunderstanding amongst its
residents. One of the main goals of the alliance is unity between all people in Cape York. We have been very successful in this endeavour with over 200 people gathering at Laura recently showing support.” Larry Woosup an Ankamuthi elder said “I have suffered for 20 years at the hands of this Land Council and my peoples claim has not progressed. In fact my claim has been blocked at every turn by the CYLC. I want to make sure the Cape York Claim 1 does not go down the same path.” “Since the Alliance was formed a few months ago there have been a flood of letters from lawyers
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engaged by the Cape York Land Council threatening defamation, complaints to police and a concerted effort to denigrate anyone who supports us” Woosup said “I have received lawyers letters and calls from the police myself, but we are not going away.” Don De Busch said “The purpose
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of the application is to ensure the right people according to customary law speak for the land and that the rights and interest accruing to those people come direct to them and not through a Land Council who is controlled by a maze of corporations.” “We are a united voice and we
are tired of being ignored by the Land Council and its subsidiary organizations and by Government who have played their tune for years. It’s time for a change” De Busch said. A date will be fixed in the new year for the hearing of the application.