Newsletter date: 19 July 2013
Contents:
* Murrawarri Republic: Inaugural Meeting of the Peoples Council of the Murrawarri Republic
* Background to the Murrawarri Republic declaration
* Michael Anderson, Sovereign Union: ILUA (Indigenous Land Use Agreement) = Indigenous Land Under Attack
* Michael Anderson: Gomeroi Protest against Whitehaven Coal
* Maules Creek Community Council: Aboriginal workers walk off the job - Whitehaven in protest at Maules Creek coal mine
* Brisbane Blacks Monthly: Mabo Lawyer - Native Title Agreements Affirm the Sovereignty of the British Crown
* Callum Clayton-Dixon, Brisbane Blacks Monthly: Demonstration against Native Title summit
* Brisbane Blacks Monthly: PM Rudd pursues embassy peaceful protest
* Jeff McMullen, The Stringer: A New Democracy "Imagine a country where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are recognised as the sovereign owners of lands ... "
* Michael Anderson: A Sovereign Treaty is the only constitutional reform with the potential of justice for Aboriginal Nations and Peoples
* Michael Anderson: Proposed constitutional reforms are treasonous and fraudulent
* Celeste Liddle, The Guardian UK: Indigenous recognition debate deserves better than this political jostling
* Katharine Murphy, The Guardian UK: Indigenous Australians deserve recognition, not posturing
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement and the Aboriginal tent embassies
* Background to Mabo and Native Title
* MURRAWARRI REPUBLIC: INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE PEOPLES COUNCIL OF THE MURRAWARRI REPUBLIC
- Media Release
Murrawarri Republic: Inaugural Meeting of the Peoples Council of the Murrawarri Republic
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/inaugural-meeting-peoples-cou...
14 Jul 13: "The first meeting of the Peoples Council of the Murrawarri Republic was held at Weilmoringle on Saturday 13 July 2013 where the Murrawarri Peoples have maintained continuous occupation, presence and possession of their Ancient Murrawarri Land, Subsurface, Waters, Natural Resources and Airspace.
The Peoples Council formally passed a unanimous resolution to establish the Provisional Council of State.
The newly formed Provisional Council of State is: Fred Hooper, Kevin Hooper, Phyllis Cubby, Evelyn Barker, Sam Jefferies, Desmond Jones, Phillip Sullivan, Julie Johnston, Gloria Johnston, Sharni Hooper, and Alison Salt. The Council of State also left positions vacant for other citizens to be appointed in the future.
The Peoples Council formally elected Fred Hooper as the Chairman of the Provisional Council of State of the Murrawarri Republic.
The Peoples Council also bestowed powers, similar to that of the President, under the draft Constitution upon the Chairman to lead the Murrawarri Republic into a new era of self-government and self-determination. ... "
Click here for links to other articles and media on the Murrawarri Republic:
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/inaugural-meeting-peoples-cou...
"Murrawarri Republic Articles:
* Queen Recognises Republic
* Murrawarri Republic Declaration
* Claim renews campaign"
"International Press:
* A Bold Legal Push: 'Time' Magazine
* Canada: 21 days to respond
* Canada: Murrawarri declaration
* Italy: Birth of Republic
* Italy: New state - Old problem"
"Multi-Media:
* Audio - Murrawarri Republic
* Murrawarri Republic Image Gallery
* Video - YouTube Reports"
See:
The Murrawarri Republic Website:
http://kyliegibbon4.wix.com/murrawarri-republic
Murrawarri Republic - Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/MurrawarriRepublic
* BACKGROUND TO THE MURRAWARRI REPUBLIC DECLARATION:
Last updated: 3 June 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/04/20/the-murrawarri-republic-declaration
* MICHAEL ANDERSON, SOVEREIGN UNION: ILUA (INDIGENOUS LAND USE AGREEMENT) = INDIGENOUS LAND UNDER ATTACK
- Analysis / Opinion
Sovereign Union: ILUA (Indigenous Land Use Agreement) = Indigenous Land Under Attack
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/ilua-indigenous-land-use-agre...
2 Jul 13: "Native Title lawyers and anthropologists are deceiving claimants of their true Native Title rights and interests ... Native Title in Australia serves only to legally divest First Nations Peoples of their true inherent rights. These denials have serious ramifications for our people, economically, socially, culturally, politically. ... As sure as day follows night, if our own legal strategy leads to a class action against Native Title lawyers and anthropologists, then we will prosecute it in the most vigorous manner. Enough is enough and when you have legal firms from within the country deceiving the people who trust in their advice, then every effort must be made to correct this modern day crime against humanity." Michael Ghillar Anderson, Convenor, Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia
* MICHAEL ANDERSON: GOMEROI PROTEST AGAINST WHITEHAVEN COAL
- Media Release
Gomeroi Protest against Whitehaven Coal
Sovereign Union: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/gomeroi-protest-against-white...
9 Jul 13: "Michael Anderson from Bundaberg, Qld ...
"I have been talking with our Gomeroi people for the last four days over their grave concerns that Whitehaven Coal mining company is about to begin destroying 7000 hectares of Leard State Forest, 25 km northeast of Gunnedah
The Gomeroi community of Gunnedah and surrounding areas have been shocked that Whitehaven Coal are commencing mining activities on land that is especially culturally significant to the Gomeroi People, despite a recent Gomeroi nation meeting calling on a mining freeze and instructing NSW Native Title Services Corp (NSW NTS Corp) to apply for an interlocutory injunction to be placed on any and all development in the Gomeroi Nation until Native Title is determined. ...
It is evident that the NSW NTSCorp has failed to have any significant impact in protecting the Gomeroi Nation's Native Title interests against this multinational coal mining corporation. ... "
* MAULES CREEK COMMUNITY COUNCIL: ABORIGINAL WORKERS WALK OFF THE JOB - WHITEHAVEN IN PROTEST AT MAULES CREEK COAL MINE
- Media Release
Maules Creek Community Council ...
Aboriginal workers walk off the job - Whitehaven in protest at Maules Creek coal mine
Sovereign Union: [scroll down page] http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/gomeroi-protest-against-white...
8 Jul 13: "Over fifty Gomeroi Traditional Owners, Senior Elders, Elders, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community members and families have formed a picket line at Whitehaven Coal near Gunnedah in north-west NSW this morning amid a stop work action in protest of the Maules Creek Coal Mine and the incomplete and disrespectful cultural heritage process.
Whitehaven announced last week that they had obtained all extra approvals needed to commence construction on the Maules Creek Coal Mine. Traditional Owners are unhappy at the failure of Whitehaven to conduct rigorous cultural heritage surveys or to properly consult them about the mine plans, joining local farmers and environmentalists in opposing the mine.
"Our people who were working for Whitehaven Coal have walked off the job and we are determined to fight this Maules Creek mine until they show respect to the Gomeroi people and our culture,” said Gomeroi Traditional Owner Stephen Talbot. ... "
See:
Sovereign Union: Protesters: Maules Creek mining activites threatens local indigenous culture and history
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/623
Sovereign Union: Goomeroi People call for a mining freeze on sacred lands
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/goomeroi-people-call-mining-f...
* BRISBANE BLACKS MONTHLY: MABO LAWYER - NATIVE TITLE AGREEMENTS AFFIRM THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE BRITISH CROWN
- Interview
Brisbane Blacks Monthly: Mabo Lawyer - Native Title Agreements Affirm the Sovereignty of the British Crown
http://brisbaneblacksmonthly.weebly.com/mabo-lawyer---native-title-agree...
1 Jul 13: "First Nations Telegraph talked to Greg McIntyre QC at the 5th Annual Native Title Law Summit in Brisbane on June 17 about Aboriginal sovereignty in action. Mr McIntyre assisted Eddie Mabo in his High Court case which overturned the legal doctrine of Terra Nullius.
FNT: How do you think the sovereignty argument and push for a Treaty fits with Native Title?
McIntyre: Not at all really - Native Title is based on the assumption of the sovereignty of the British Crown. Aboriginal people, if they’re claiming sovereignty, have to front up to the Australian Government and say 'we are a competing sovereign with you. ... "
* CALLUM CLAYTON-DIXON, BRISBANE BLACKS MONTHLY: DEMONSTRATION AGAINST NATIVE TITLE SUMMIT
- Analysis / Opinion
Brisbane Blacks Monthly: Demonstration against Native Title summit
http://brisbaneblacksmonthly.weebly.com/demonstration-against-native-tit...
1 Jul 13: "Members and supporters of the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy protested outside a Native Title meeting in Brisbane yesterday. The 5th Annual Native Title Law Summit was held at the Stamford Plaza over June 17 & 18. Embassy spokesperson and Gamilaraay man Boe Spearim, said the group was "showing our disgust in Native Title". "They’re trying to legitimise their legal standing on Aboriginal country. When the Mabo decision (1992) was handed down, we all know the myth of Terra Nullius was busted. ... " Callum Clayton-Dixon, Nganyaywana
* BRISBANE BLACKS MONTHLY: PM RUDD PURSUES EMBASSY PEACEFUL PROTEST
- Analysis / Opinion
Brisbane Blacks Monthly: PM Rudd pursues embassy peaceful protest
http://brisbaneblacksmonthly.weebly.com/pm-rudd-pursues-embassy-peaceful...
1 Jul 13: "On again - off again Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is pursuing members of the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy (BASE) after they conducted a peaceful sit-in at his office in February this year. In one case the Queensland Police prosecution have been instructed to appeal the 'not guilty' decision for one of the embassy protesters and in another case they are using racist stereotypes to target a nationally recognised leader of the First Nations Sovereignty movement with a bogus assault charge."
* JEFF MCMULLEN, THE STRINGER: A NEW DEMOCRACY
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: A New Democracy
http://thestringer.com.au/a-new-democracy/
10 Jul 13: "Imagine a country where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are recognised as the sovereign owners of lands they have lived on for sixty thousand years or more. Imagine the freedom to be yourself, culturally, spiritually, linguistically, regardless of your age, gender, colour or ethnic origin. Imagine a Constitution that enshrines these human rights and upholds all of our
international legal obligations. Imagine a constitutional prohibition on discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, ethnic or national origin. Imagine a positive mandate in that Constitution ... " By Jeff McMullen
Jeff McMullen
Reporter. Author. Speaker.
Advocate for Human Rights, Education & Health.
http://www.jeffmcmullen.com.au/
"Jeff McMullen has been a journalist, author and filmmaker for the last 45 years, including long-running positions as ABC Foreign Correspondent and reporter for Four Corners and Sixty Minutes. Throughout his professional life, Jeff has written, filmed and campaigned around the world to improve the health, education and human rights of Indigenous people."
* MICHAEL ANDERSON: A SOVEREIGN TREATY IS THE ONLY CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM WITH THE POTENTIAL OF JUSTICE FOR ABORIGINAL NATIONS AND PEOPLES
- Statement
Michael Anderson: A Sovereign Treaty is the only constitutional reform with the potential of justice for Aboriginal Nations and Peoples
Sovereign Union: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/sovereign-treaty-only-constit...
23 Jun 12: "Tinkering at the edges of a profoundly racist constitution is no solution for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations and Peoples. A Sovereign Treaty negotiated under international supervision is the only constitutional reform with the potential of justice for Aboriginal Nations and Peoples. ...
Aboriginal Nations and Peoples are now uniting across this continent in an organic movement under the banner of our continuing sovereignty. We have created an Interim National Unity Government, which is designing a program to travel throughout Australia and have meetings with our grassroots communities, educating them about our sovereign position and what it means to assert sovereignty as nations and Peoples."
* MICHAEL ANDERSON: PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS ARE TREASONOUS AND FRAUDULENT
- Media Release
Michael Anderson: Proposed constitutional reforms are treasonous and fraudulent
Sovereign Union: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/proposed-constitutional-refor...
20 Jan 12: "This is a treasonous act and proposal against Aboriginal peoples, because it is not representative of Aboriginal interests across the nation. It fails to deal with the central and substantive issue of sovereignty and true land rights. ...
We have a right to be self-determining as sovereign nations and the governments around this country will hear this in 2012. We need to stop the Labor party and the National Liberal party coalition from being tyrannical towards Aboriginal peoples.
Our lives, our identity as a distinct race of people and the oldest living culture in the world are at risk right now. No type of constitutional reform can change who we are. We have a right to exist as distinct, identifiable peoples within Australia and the world and no amount of constitutional reform will take away our sovereignty and our dominion over our lands, waters, natural resources and biodiversity."
* CELESTE LIDDLE, THE GUARDIAN UK: INDIGENOUS RECOGNITION DEBATE DESERVES BETTER THAN THIS POLITICAL JOSTLING
- Analysis / Opinion
The Guardian UK: Indigenous recognition debate deserves better than this political jostling
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/11/indigenous-recogniti...
11 Jul 13: "In short, whilst the treaty would be a negotiated and agreed upon document between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia, the current constitution is not. ... It is rather significant that this political battle between Rudd and Abbott has happened during a NAIDOC Week, which has chosen to honour the 50th anniversary of the Yirrkala Bark petitions. The cause contained within those petitions - land rights - has already been struck off the list of things that could be recognised within the constitution. This in itself poses questions regarding the limitations of recognition to a number of people." Celeste Liddle, an Arrernte Australian woman living in Melbourne, current National Indigenous Organiser for the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU)
See:
WGAR News: Land rights are empty, Yolngu elder tells Rudd on bark petition anniversary: Oliver Laughland, The Guardian UK (14 Jul 13 NAIDOC Week)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/07/14/wgar-news-land-rights-are-empty-yolng...
* KATHARINE MURPHY, THE GUARDIAN UK: INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS DESERVE RECOGNITION, NOT POSTURING
- Analysis / Opinion
The Guardian UK: Indigenous Australians deserve recognition, not posturing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/indigenous-australians-const...
10 Jul 13: "Indigenous people deserve a simple clean outcome: recognition in Australia’s foundation legal document.
They do not deserve more posturing and brinkmanship. God knows, there’s been enough of that." Katharine Murphy, deputy political editor for Guardian Australia, 2008 Paul Lyneham award for excellence in press gallery journalism, 2012 Walkley award finalist in the best digital journalism category
The Guardian UK: Kevin Rudd questions Tony Abbott's intentions on Indigenous recognition
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/10/kevin-rudd-abbott-indigenous...
10 Jul 13: "PM infuriates opposition leader by seeming to doubt his support for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians ... But despite facing criticism from conservative commentators and from some players on his own side about the issue of recognition of Indigenous Australians, Abbott has shown no sign whatsoever of retreating from his public support for that proposed reform. Up until Wednesday morning, the substantive and political debate on Indigenous recognition has been solidly bipartisan." Katharine Murphy, deputy political editor for Guardian Australia, 2008 Paul Lyneham award for excellence in press gallery journalism, 2012 Walkley award finalist in the best digital journalism category
See:
WGAR News: Rudd hails 'Aboriginal Magna Carta': Kathy Marks, The New Zealand Herald (15 Jul 13)
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/07/14/wgar-news-rudd-hails-aboriginal-magna...
* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT AND THE ABORIGINAL TENT EMBASSIES:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
* BACKGROUND TO MABO AND NATIVE TITLE:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/07/02/background-to-mabo-and-native-title
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