Press Release by the Aboriginal Provisional Government
Aborigines will seek an early meeting with Prime Minister elect Tony Abbott to discuss a better way to return parcels of land to traditional owners, Secretary Michael Mansell said today.
Mr Mansell said, “In the last year alone, an estimated 100 million dollars have been spent on the Native Title Tribunal, representative bodies and lawyers, resulting in return of lands valued at no more than 5 milion dollars. The time and money would be better spent on infrastructure and employment of Aborigines on lands returned instead of paying for the costs of trying to win fruitless Native Title claims. We will propose to Mr Abbott that a new tribunal made up of former Prime Ministers and eminent persons, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, be established to approve return of crown lands.”
Mr Mansell expects people such as Lowitja O’Donoghue, Pat Dodson, Tracker Tilmouth, Maurie Ryan and Barbara Shaw to lead the delegation.
Mr Mansell said “As for the new ALP leader, it is less a matter of who should be the leader than of who should not be. Faithful voters turned away in droves from a party that mirrored the Coalition in policy and practice and were effectively Coalition no. 2. In electing a new leader, those PLP members who followed the Coalition on asylum seekers and extension of the NT intervention should be ruled out.
"The electorate are looking for a return to decent Labor party principles and not for more of the same as we have been served up over the last decade from the ALP.”
Michael Mansell
Secretary
Aboriginal Provisional Government
8 September 2013