world+big+news.jpg)
AFTER a 16-year legal battle and 30-year political struggle, members of the Wik Way clan in Cape York have finally been granted access to their traditional lands.
Federal Court Justice Andrew Greenwood formally recognised the claim of the Wik and Wik Way people to 1,200 sq km of land covered by Rio Tinto's bauxite mining lease in a ceremony in Aurukun today.
The declaration will give traditional owners the right to use the land for activities such as fishing, hunting and camping but will not prevent Rio from mining in the area.
Traditional owner Gina Castelain, whose mother Norma Chevathun helped lead the legal fight for the claim to be recognised up to her death eight years ago, said her mother would have been proud to see her dream recognised.
“It's been a long time coming, we've been waiting for a very long time,” she said.
“It's a day for celebration, but it's also a sad day for many of us, remembering the people who worked hard for our native title rights.”
However, Ms Castelain said the native title determination was part of a broader struggle to improve the lives of people in the impoverished Aurukun community.
“Recognition is one thing but the next step for us I believe is to have greater control over the access to those areas and develop our own management plans for those areas,” she said.
“They laid down the foundations and now it's up to us, the younger generation and the other people in the community to build on that.”
The determination is the third to be made in the Aurukun area since 2001, but the first to coincide with the mining lease.
It comes after more than 16 years of negotiations and legal fighting and marks the culmination of a broader struggle for the community dating back to the 1970s.
The Queensland government of the time established mine leases on Aboriginal land without community consent and refused an application by traditional owners to buy a nearby pastoral lease.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25852796-2702,00.html#
Federal Court Justice Andrew Greenwood formally recognised the claim of the Wik and Wik Way people to 1,200 sq km of land covered by Rio Tinto's bauxite mining lease in a ceremony in Aurukun today.
The declaration will give traditional owners the right to use the land for activities such as fishing, hunting and camping but will not prevent Rio from mining in the area.
Traditional owner Gina Castelain, whose mother Norma Chevathun helped lead the legal fight for the claim to be recognised up to her death eight years ago, said her mother would have been proud to see her dream recognised.
“It's been a long time coming, we've been waiting for a very long time,” she said.
“It's a day for celebration, but it's also a sad day for many of us, remembering the people who worked hard for our native title rights.”
However, Ms Castelain said the native title determination was part of a broader struggle to improve the lives of people in the impoverished Aurukun community.
“Recognition is one thing but the next step for us I believe is to have greater control over the access to those areas and develop our own management plans for those areas,” she said.
“They laid down the foundations and now it's up to us, the younger generation and the other people in the community to build on that.”
The determination is the third to be made in the Aurukun area since 2001, but the first to coincide with the mining lease.
It comes after more than 16 years of negotiations and legal fighting and marks the culmination of a broader struggle for the community dating back to the 1970s.
The Queensland government of the time established mine leases on Aboriginal land without community consent and refused an application by traditional owners to buy a nearby pastoral lease.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25852796-2702,00.html#
No comments:
Post a Comment