uQp LAND RIGHTS QUEENSLAND STYLE THE STRUGGLE FOR ABORIGINAL SELF-MANAGEMENT Frank Brennan 4WY0BA 3 ^067 01617 611 6 jty of Queensland Presented to The Fryer Memorial Library of Australian Literature by Ulil7i^l<i;l4'Y OF cr' ..,;i::i •\::D PRESS Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute LAND RIGHTS QUEENSLAND STYLE Frank Brennan SJ, barrister and Catholic priest, was a consultant to the Queensland Electoral and Adminis­ trative Review Commission on public assembly laws. As legal adviser to the Aboriginal Co-ordinating Coun­ cil (Queensland) and consultant to Queensland's Cath­ olic bishops since 1982, he has been closely involved in the negotiation of Queensland laws relating to Aborig­ ines. He is director of Uniya, a Christian Centre for Social Research and Action, in Sydney's Kings Cross. He is the author of Too much Order with Too Little law, Finding Common Ground and Sharing the Country. Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute LAND RIGHTS QUEENSLAND STYLE THE STRUGGLE FOR ABORIGINAL SELF-MANAGEMENT Frank Brennan SJ University of Queensland Press Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute Z-:y First published 1992 by University of Queensland Press Box 42, St Luda, Queensland 4067 Australia © Frank Brennan 1992 This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher. LU {j; The typeset text for this book was supplied by the author ^ in camera-ready form 5 Printed in Australia by The Book Printer, Victoria Distributed in the USA and Canada by International Specialized Book Services, Inc., 5602 N.E. Hassalo Street, Portland, Oregon 97213-3640 /?£^ ^ Vo/U. Cataloguing in Publication Data IOQ'7 National Library of Australia ™"A^ Brennan, Frank, 1954- ' ' ^ Land rights Queensland style: the struggle for Aboriginal r^ self-management. ir W Includes index. g [1]. Aborigines, Australian — Queensland — Land tenure — History. 2. Land tenure — Law and legislation — Queensland — History. I. Title. 346.9430432 ISBN 0 7022 2407 3 Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Maps via Abbreviations x A Dedication 1 Introduction 3 Chapter One The Bamaga Showdown, 1982 1. Liberal/Coimtry Party Policy and Legislation Before 1979 8 2. The Aurukun and Mornington Island Showdown 10 3. Promises and Preparation for Change 14 4. The First Land Offer 16 5. The Second Land Offer 21 6. The Smokescreen 26 7. The Commonwealth's Assurances 27 8. The Bamaga Meeting 31 9. The Working Party 35 Chapter Two Proposals for Self-Management, 1982 1. The Delivery of Services 46 2. Local Government Structures 49 3. Protection of Reserve Lands 50 Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute Contents 4. Recogrution of Traditional Rights 53 5. Advisory Bodies to Government 53 6. Market and Economy 54 7. Departmental Structure 54 8. Special Measures for Aborigines 55 Chapter Three The Nationals Move Ground, 1983-1988 1. The Third Land Offer 57 2. Rushed Services Legislation 61 3. The Commonwealth Stand-off 65 4. The Nationals' Final Land Offer 67 5. Negotiating a Better Deal on Mining 72 6. Protection of Sacred Sites 74 7. Conunonwealth Interference with Queensland Land Titles 75 Chapter Four The Nationals' Land Rights Legacy 1989 1. Land Titles 80 2. Self-Management S9 Chapter Five Labor Sets the Limits, 1990-1991 1. Reviewing the Services Legislation 121 2. Preparing for Land Rights 124 3. Closed Door Negotiations 227 4. The Formalities of Consultation 130 5. Aborigines Divide on Tactics 137 6. The Parliamentary Debate 146 7. The Wash Up 253 Chapter Sk Goss Land Rights, 1991 1. Acknowledgments 157 2. Strengthening Existing Land Titles 158 3. Land Claims 160 4. Mining 162 5. The Claims Process 165 6. An Assessment 166 Conclusion 169 Index 179 Property of University of QueenslandVI Press - do not copy or distribute ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank the members and staff of the Aboriginal Co-ordinating Council, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, the Cape York Land Council, the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, and the Queensland Aboriginal Federation of Land Councils for their assistance during the last decade. I thank the Queensland church leaders, especially Archbishop Francis Rush, for their trust and support. I thank the staff of Uniya and of the Department of Law and the Federalism Research Centre in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University for providing the space to write. Property of University of Queenslandvn Press - do not copy or distribute Papua Boigu Is. Saibai Is. Stephen Is. Dauan Is. sr Damley Is. Yam Is. Yorke Is. Murray Is. Mabuiag Is. Coconut Is. Badu Is. -a Kubin, Moa Is. Sue Is. St. Paul's, Moa Is. 7 - Hammond Is. Thursday Is. Northern Peninsula Area Bamaga New Mapoon Injinoo SEE Umagico INSET Seisia Weipa South Aurukun Lockhart River Pormpuraaw Hope Vale Kowanyama Wujal Wujal Mornington Island Yarrabah Palm Is. Doomadgee Woorabinda Qterbourg Community areas commencing fully independent Local Government fiinction 1988/89 Community areas commencing fully independent Local Government function before 1988/89 Community areas commencing fully independent Local Government function during 1989/90 Map 1. Aboriginal and TorrePropertys Strai oft University Island Communitie of Queensland Presss - do not copy or distribute Map 2. Land Tenures in Cape York Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute ABBREVIATIONS AAC Aboriginal Advisory Council ACC Aboriginal Co-ordinating Council ADC Aboriginal Development Commission ALP Australian Labor Party ATSIC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission DAA Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Commonwealth) DAL\ Department of Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement DCS Department of Community Services DOGIT Deed of Grant in Trust FAIRA Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action FLC Queensland Federation of Land Councils NAC National Aboriginal Conference WCC World CouncU of Churches s section of legislation Property of University of Queensland PressX - do not copy or distribute A DEDICATION Aurukvm was dry in May 1982 - no rain and no grog allowed. I was standing outside the community store. A drunken Aboriginal man staggered towards me, introducing himself: "I Johnny Koowarta. Sorry I drunk. I bin Weipa. I bin breakin' the seal of the Queensland government. Me first man break that seal." I realised this was the person who the previous week had won an historic victory in the High Court of Australia against the Queensland government. John was one of the traditional owners of land at Archer River Bend in Cape York. The Commonwealth's Aboriginal Land Fund Commission had allocated funds for the purchase of the pastoral lease on his land. The Queensland government had refused to transfer the lease because cabinet thought Aborigines already had enough land. In September 1972 cabinet had decided "the Queensland government does not view favourably proposals to acquire large areas of additional freehold or leasehold land for development by Aborigines or Aboriginal groups in isolation". This racially discriminatory policy was struck down by the High Court. John had heard the result of his case on the radio news. He knew nothing of the detail. Next day John came back sober. We sat under a tree and spent all morning working through every line of the complex High Court judgment. John was proud and happy. He autographed my copy of the judgment. In Property of University of Queensland Press - do not copy or distribute Land Rights Queensland Style 1990 I heard John speak at a conference on "Two Laws and Two Cultures" at the University of Queensland. To the surprise of land rights activists he proclaimed his simple Christian message: "We are all one." In his later years, John took on an almost evangelical role. On 19 February 1991, I had the great pleasure of introducing John to Sir Ninian Stephen. Sir Ninian had been one of the judges who heard John's case. He had concluded his judgment in John's favour, saying that the withholding of approval by the Queensland Minister for Lands "once explained by reference to the settled policy of his government, amounted to a refusal to permit that to occur and accordingly constituted a refusal to permit persons, then possibly unknown to him but who in fact included Mr Koowarta, to occupy land by reason of their race."^ The retired Governor-General asked, "Do I understand that you still do not have title to your land?" John replied, "That's right, sir." Sir Ninian expressed his dismay and John beamed with pride that he was known by the highest in the land as the one who had broken the seal of the Queensland government. When the Goss government was elected, the new minister for Aboriginal affairs in Queensland, Ms Anne Warner, assured John that he would receive title to his land. His solicitor told me the sad news of John's passing in August 1991. His legal file is now closed. He never did get his land. His name will always be associated with the outlawing of racial discrimination in Australia. He was justly proud. I dedicate this book to John and others like him who have devoted themselves to retrieving their land and their culture in the most adverse circumstances. Of those living, I mention Rachel Cummins, Roy Gray, Tom Geia, Richard O'Brien, Lester Rosendale and Don Fraser. I was privileged to witness their sustained and reasoned stand for land rights when they were starved of resources, media interest and parliamentary access.