Newsletter date: 26 January 2014
Contents:
* The Petition Site: Halt Rocla Sand Mine's Proposed Destruction of Aboriginal Women's Fertility Site & Cultural History
* Marc Tong, SBS Living Black Radio: Secrets of the Dendroglyph
* Tracker: Protesters fight Maules Creek mine
* NIRS: 'Marginalised and disrespected': Gomeroi slam Whitehaven Coal
* Prof Jon Altman, Tracker: Evidently: Scullion peddles pipe dream reforms [Land tenure reforms in the Northern Territory]
* The Socialist Alliance: Fight for land rights and justice for Aboriginal people
* 3CR Community Radio: Radioactive Show [Focusing on the Walkatjurra Walkabout; featuring Scott Ludlam, Kado Muir, Mia Pepper & Dave Sweeney]
* Western Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA) [Featuring the Walkatjurra Walkabout]
* Save the Kimberley: What Compulsory Acquisition Really Means
* Background to the Save The Kimberley Campaign - James Price Point, north of Broome, WA
* THE PETITION SITE: HALT ROCLA SAND MINE'S PROPOSED DESTRUCTION OF ABORIGINAL WOMEN'S FERTILITY SITE & CULTURAL HISTORY
- Petition
The Petition Site: Halt Rocla Sand Mine's Proposed Destruction of Aboriginal Women's Fertility Site & Cultural History
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/597/690/556/halt-rocla-sand-mines-propose...
"author: Phila Hoopes
target: Robyn Parker NSW Minister for the Environment & Minister for Heritage, and Victor Dominello NSW Minister for Citizenship & Communities, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs ...
"Auntie Beve" Spiers writes to protect her people's living Tribal culture and history: ...
A New Zealand company ‘Rocla Sandmining’ is planning to build a mine on an Aboriginal Women’s Fertility Rites Songline and Teaching Place. This Songline is part of the Sacred Dreaming Track, and its destruction would destroy with it tens of thousands of years of Aboriginal heritage. Her Majesty’s NSW Government has approved the company to go ahead with their stage 4 extension, which comprises a massive 30 metre deep hole gouged out of the ground that will take our Sacred Sites out completely. ...Black history and culture is recorded and taught in ways that are different from the White Fellas ways, but are no less important to its people... "
* MARC TONG, SBS LIVING BLACK RADIO: SECRETS OF THE DENDROGLYPH
- Audio Interview
SBS Living Black Radio: Secrets of the Dendroglyph
By Marc Tong
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/313410/t...
22 Jan 14: "These rare cultural objects are thought to mark the burial sites of important Aboriginal community members. ... One of the rarest forms of cultural objects in New South Wales is now on display in Dubbo. Known as Dendroglyphs, the carvings on these tree trunks have mystified researchers and are still keeping some of its secrets. ... Manager of the Centre, Andrew Glassop says despite previous calls for traditional owners to identify them, very little is known about the true identity of the Dendroglyphs." By Marc Tong
* TRACKER: PROTESTERS FIGHT MAULES CREEK MINE
- News
newsTracker: Protesters fight Maules Creek mine
http://tracker.org.au/2014/01/protesters-fight-maules-creek-mine/
14 Jan 14: "NSW: Protesters have locked themselves onto bulldozers as they fight against the development of the controversial Maules Creek coal mine in northwest NSW. About 30 activists, including local Aboriginal community members, on Monday blockaded heavy vehicles which are at the Boggabri site to build roads and a rail line, Georgina Woods from the Leard Forest Alliance told AAP. If the road to Whitehaven Coal’s proposed $767 million open-cut mine is cut through the forest then animals, plants and sacred Aboriginal sites would be lost, she said." By Tracker
* NIRS: 'MARGINALISED AND DISRESPECTED': GOMEROI SLAM WHITEHAVEN COAL
- News
NIRS: 'Marginalised and disrespected': Gomeroi slam Whitehaven Coal
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/32010/%27Marginalised-and-disre...
21 Jan 14: "New South Wales - Gomeroi Elders have called on the Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt to intervene to put an emergency stay of works on Whitehaven Coal's Maules Creek project. In a statement by elders, they say Gomeroi people have been marginalised and disrespected in their attempts to protect burial and sacred sites threatened by the mine. ... " By Warren Barnsley
* PROF JON ALTMAN, TRACKER: EVIDENTLY: SCULLION PEDDLES PIPE DREAM REFORMS [LAND TENURE REFORMS IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY]
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Evidently: Scullion peddles pipe dream reforms
http://tracker.org.au/2014/01/evidently-scullion-peddles-pipe-dream-refo...
7 Jan 14: "NATIONAL: Land tenure reforms in the Northern Territory is replete in contradictions. PROF JON ALTMAN* untangles the rhetoric. The Coalition’s Policy for Indigenous Affairs released on September 5 2013 stated that Indigenous people in remote areas have no property rights. This observation is bewildering and wrong given that one-third of the Australian continent is under some form of statutory land rights or exclusive and non-exclusive native title determination following successful land claims and native title determinations over the past 35 years. " By Prof Jon Altman; a research professor at the Australian National University who has worked on Indigenous economic development issues since 1976
* THE SOCIALIST ALLIANCE: FIGHT FOR LAND RIGHTS AND JUSTICE FOR ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
- Statement
Fight for land rights and justice for Aboriginal people
Green Left: https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/55624
18 Jan 14: "The Socialist Alliance released this statement on January 16. ***
Aboriginal Australians have the oldest continuous cultures and languages in the world. The first peoples cared for country for thousands of years and have intimate knowledge of its unique environment.
Instead of helping to protect, learn from and collaborate with this knowledge, the Coalition government continues to endanger and destroy Aboriginal culture.
Australia is one of the richest nations on earth because white Australia has stolen the land and the resources of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people who were the first people. This must be acknowledged and compensated for if we are to lift Aboriginal communities out of poverty and deliver justice to this country's first peoples. ...
Suicide rates in Aboriginal communities are among the highest in the world. Western Australia and the Northern Territory has rates of Aboriginal imprisonment that are higher than in South Africa during apartheid. ... "
* 3CR COMMUNITY RADIO: RADIOACTIVE SHOW [FOCUSING ON THE WALKATJURRA WALKABOUT; FEATURING SCOTT LUDLAM, KADO MUIR, MIA PEPPER & DAVE SWEENEY]
- Audio Interviews
3CR Community Radio: Radioactive Show 18.01.2014
http://www.3cr.org.au/radioactive/podcast/radioactive-show-18012014
18 Jan 14: "A new mine, an old fight. This is the second in a series of Radioactive Shows focusing on the Walkatjurra Walkabout of May 2013, a 3 week walk throughout the Western Desert. We talk to Wiluna locals, local Indigenous people, and nuclear free activists including Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, Kado Muir, Mia Pepper and Dave Sweeney, who joined us on the walk."
* WESTERN AUSTRALIAN NUCLEAR FREE ALLIANCE (WANFA) [FEATURING THE WALKATJURRA WALKABOUT]
Last updated: 5 December 2013
http://www.indymedia.org.au/2013/01/02/western-australian-nuclear-free-a...
* SAVE THE KIMBERLEY: WHAT COMPULSORY ACQUISITION REALLY MEANS
- Analysis / Opinion
Save the Kimberley: What Compulsory Acquisition Really Means
http://www.savethekimberley.com/2013/12/11/what-compulsory-acquisition-r...
11 Dec 13: "Recently Premier Colin Barnett announced the completion of his compulsory acquisition process for land for a gas processing facility at James Price Point. ... Because of (main proponent) Woodside’s announcement earlier this year that they would not invest in the project, many presumed the project to be dead and buried; hence, a great amount of confusion on the subject for people in our region with Barnett’s November announcement. Our legal consultants have helped us pen words to the broader community to explain the ramifications of such an after-the-fact land grab, and to assure the community that any development at JPP remains more further away than ever."
* BACKGROUND TO THE SAVE THE KIMBERLEY CAMPAIGN - JAMES PRICE POINT, NORTH OF BROOME, WA
Last updated: 9 December 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/22/wgar-news-background-to-the-save-the-...
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