FREE March 2020 VOLUME 10. NUMBER 1. Too hot for our mob? P. 2 ULURU CLIMB CELEBRATIONS AMMAROO HANDBACK LANGUAGE ONLINE P. 18 PG. # P. 9 PG. # P. 24 ISSN 1839-5279ISSN NEWS EDITORIAL Land Rights News Central Is it getting too hot for our mob? Australia is published by the Central Land Council three JUST as experts predicted change is true,” former Kintore times a year. Australia’s catastrophic bush teacher, Irene Nangala, told the fires of this summer decades Guardian online news service. The Central Land Council ago, they also agree that poor Ms Nangala said people don’t 27 Stuart Hwy communities around the world want to move to town but Mr Alice Springs will be the most vulnerable Katatuna is thinking about NT 0870 in a hotter, drier and more leaving the region. unpredictable climate. “It’s going to get too hard for tel: 89516211 Aboriginal people in remote ngurraritja to live in the desert www.clc.org.au communities will be among the soon. I might shift somewhere email [email protected] hardest hit. when the desert dries up – up In Central Australia, climate north, down south.” Contributions are welcome records continue to be broken. “Without action to stop In January 2019, meteorolo- climate change, people may be gists declared the driest sum- forced to leave their country,” SUBSCRIPTIONS mer ever in Alice Springs and the Central Land Council’s Tennant Creek, while 2018 was head of policy, Josie Douglas, Land Rights News Central the hottest on record in Central said. Australia subscriptions are Australia, with 55 days above “Climate change is a clear and $22 per year. 40 degrees. present threat to the survival of It is distributed free of And those new records were our people and their culture,” Ranger Max Brumby informs himself about global heating. charge to Aboriginal reached a decade earlier than she told the Guardian. organisations and the national science agency had Living in “unbearable trouble, and sleeping during new and refurbished houses. communities in Central predicted. concrete hot boxes” doesn’t the day when they should be “Air conditioning is an Australia. “Climate change is getting help. at school.” essential item in the desert, worse,” Rodney Katatuna, from “People resort to sleeping “You can sometimes see not a luxury,” explained Dr To subscribe email Titjikala, said. outside, or cramming people in communities hosing Douglas. [email protected] Other elders complained that everybody into the coolest the outside of their Besser Yet houses in remote or call 08 8951 6215 their houses are already too hot room, with all the well-known brick walls with garden hoses communities and town camps for people to sleep in and that consequences for the spread of to keep cool despite the often come with “a hole their kids find it hard to stay diseases.” water shortages – that’s how where the aircon unit should ADVERTISING awake at school. “It’s also common for people desperate they are.” be and they are told to buy it “We can’t go and sit outside. to sleep in shifts, with young Members of the CLC have themselves”. Advertise in the only We have to go at night to sit people roaming the streets called on the government to newspaper to reliably down with the families. Climate at night where they get into provide air conditioners for all Continued page 5. reach Aboriginal people in remote Central Australia. Senators hear opposition to cashless debit card Next publication date: “I’VE not had anybody raise With Labor and the Greens Springs, and later they flew was also on the trip. July 2020 the cashless debit card with opposed to the plans, to Milingimbi. “People told us they want Rates are at www.clc.org. me.” Ms Lambie’s vote in the It was the same story jobs, especially for young au/land-rights-news OR That was Ken Wyatt’s Australian Senate could make everywhere. people. They don’t want to be email: [email protected] response when Land Rights or break them. People complained that on welfare, but there are no OR call 8951 6211 News asked if he agreed In January, she visited the they didn’t know about the jobs,” Dr Douglas said. with the Minister Anne “The best way to create Ruston’s plans for more than “Shifting them to the cashless jobs is through reforming COVER 22,000 Territorians on the the work-for-the dole scheme BasicsCard to be shifted onto debit card is not going to help and providing adequate a new cashless debit card. incentives for Aboriginal The question was raised people gain employment.” controlled organisations in during handback celebrations remote communities to take in Ampilatwatja last NT to hear for herself what proposed cashless welfare people on. November. people thought about the card. “This government claims Two months later, indepen- government’s plans. When they were told they they are committed to ‘welfare dent senator Jacqui Lambie, Territory senator said they didn’t want it. to work’, but this is just not from Tasmania, discovered Malarndirri McCarthy hosted Executive manager of policy happening. The cashless debit that people out bush didn’t the visit to Papunya, Ikuntji and governance at the Central card is a distraction. know about the card. (Haasts Bluff) and Alice Land Council Josie Douglas Continued page 8. Cover illustration by Joey Klarenbeek CLC MEETINGS 6-8 April 2020 Council Tennant Creek 7-8 May 2020 Executive Alice Springs 24-25 June 2020 Executive Alice Springs 18-20 August 2020 Council Kalkaringi NPY Women’s Council director Maimie Butler, CLC delegate Valerie Patterson, MP Warren Snowdon, ALPA deputy chair Mickey Wunungmurra, Senator Pat Dodson and CLC delegate Joshua Rankine. The delegation travelled to Canberra with CLC policy head Josie Douglas to tell politicians at Parliament House why they oppose the cashless debit card. 2 March 2020 NEWS What can we do to keep our families and animals safe during summer? Geoffrey Shaw & Brooklyn Mt Nancy Town Camp “Gotta make sure that there is a lot of shade available for your pups. Make sure they got plenty of food like dog biscuits that you can buy from the shop and make sure that they got plenty of water.” Stephen Clyne Ulpanyali “We put those water sprinklers you use for growing fruits and trees and lawn up on the veranda. The wind came around and made it cool. It Mildred Inkamala worked really, really well but we need Gilbert Springs a new water tank.” “I’ve been asking the rangers to put up bow sheds in outstations against the heat. At Hermannsburg, there is a lack of air coolers Adriana Schembri & Rain so I rang up in Alice Springs and said ‘I have a sick grandson. He’s Alice Springs got epilepsy. It’s very important that we keep him in a cool place.’ My husband is sick, too, and we have this other little boy with “Having a turtle shell for your dogs autism and we have to keep him inside. He doesn’t mix with other to swim in that you can leave in the kids and likes to play inside. We were without an air cooler maybe shade. If you got bigger animals like six months, a long, long time, horrible! So we hosed the veranda horses, hose them down and their and the kitchen and the lounge to keep it cool. And I’ve been yards to keep the dirt nice and cool, taking my sick kids to my daughter’s place to stay in the cool and make sure they got water to drink. then came back home at night. It was very crowded. We put our Your birds can do with a light spray mattress on the floor and just slept in the cool.” with the hose, leave your laundry door open for cats to come inside as well. These little things can really help.” Cheryl Stirling Alice Springs “We need more trees to be planted here and everywhere for people. There’s not enough trees, there’s not enough seats for people to go and sit down under the shade, there’s none really anywhere.” Rodney Katatuna, Tania Liddle Titjikala Oak Valley “This place is getting hotter. I don’t know what’s going to happen “Make sure there is water for all your to us. I have to keep my family inside the house. Might be no water, animals. Even when it’s cloudy, we might be trees are going to die, animals and then, last of all, it will all still need water. For people, stay be us. We have a lot of bores and they might dry up. We’ve got to inside during the hottest part of the sit and pray. I wish it rains but the rains are also gone. I think it’s day – and make sure you carry a lot of going to get too hard for ngurraritja to live in the desert soon. I water with you wherever you go. Look might shift somewhere when the desert dries up - up north, down after our old people, and make sure south. We have to stop this pollution. Climate change is getting they are in the cool with lots of water.” worse. When they talk about this climate change I’m scared.” March 2020 3 NEWS Communities send clear message on Closing the Gap INDIGENOUS groups have latest report to parliament on won $1.5 million towards an the failed policy in February, Aboriginal and Torres Strait also agreed to three major Islander data project.