FREE November 2014 VOLUME 4. NUMBER 2. DESERT SEVENZ WIN PG. 24 MINING WATARRKA LAND RIGHTS FOOTY FEATS “WIYA” ATTACK PG. 6 PG. 2 PG. 34 ISSN 1839-5279 page1.indd 1 17/10/2014 9:47:20 AM NEWS EDITORIAL Land Rights News Central Australia is published by the Central Land Council three times a year. The Central Land Council 27 Stuart Hwy Alice Springs NT 0870 tel: 89516211 www.clc.org.au email [email protected] Contributions are welcome SUBSCRIPTIONS Land Rights News Central Australia subscriptions are $20 per annum. LRNCA is distributed free to Aboriginal organisations and communities in Central Meet the leaders Australia To subscribe email: [email protected] ADVERTISING AFTER almost a year of turmoil the nesses.” Community Council and served on the Central Land Council is under new lead- He is well known for the documenta- boards of the NT Grants Commission and Advertise in the only ership. ries Coniston and Aboriginal Rules, as National Indigenous Television (NITV). The CLC delegates elected Yuendu- well as the Bush Mechanics television He is a member of Yuendumu’s Gran- newspaper to reach mu fi lm maker Francis Jupururrla Kelly, series and hopes to combine his new role ites Mine Aff ected Areas Aboriginal Cor- 62, as the new CLC chair at their special with work on fi lms about the stolen gen- poration (GMAAAC) committee, which Aboriginal people meeting in Tennant Creek in July. erations and Olive Pink. uses compensation income for communi- in remote Central A former deputy chair, Mr Kelly said Mr Kelly has been a strong voice in ty benefi t projects. his election cleared the way for the CLC Aboriginal media since 1984. There is He has also been a CLC delegate for Australia....... to once again focus on the needs and as- hardly an Aboriginal media initiative 12 years. Projected publication dates: pirations of Aboriginal people in Central in this part of the world that he has not “I watched and learned a lot from the April 2015, July 2015, Australia. helped to set up or run. Land Council chairmen during those “Members have got to work hand in He currently chairs Pintubi Anmat- years – Mr Breaden, Mr Brown, Mr Book- December 2015. hand with staff to keep this land council jere Warlpiri (PAW) Media and represents ie and Mr Wilyuka,” he said. Advertising rates are strong into the future,” he said. “Togeth- the CLC on the board of Imparja TV, an- "Other leaders who have infl uenced available online at http:// er, we must fi ght for our children to get a other media success story he helped to me were Jupururrla Luther from Laja- good bilingual and bicultural education, start. manu and Jampijinpa Martin from Wil- www.clc.org.au/land-rights- whether they live in outstations, commu- A long apprenticeship in governance lowra. They showed government how we news OR email: media@clc. nities or town. They deserve no less. has prepared Mr Kelly for his current like to work and were always there for org.au OR call 89516211 “I also want us to support outstation leadership role. our people." people to set up and run their own busi- He was president of the Yuendumu Continued on page 7... Long struggle for Yurrkuru pays off THE 22 year battle for justice by the traditional owners of Yurrkuru (Brooks Soak) is over. During a ceremony on 8 September at Yurrkuru near Yuendumu, Indigenous Aff airs Minister Nigel Scullion handed the title to the Yurrkuru Aboriginal Land Trust to Willowra elder and CLC executive member Teddy Long, on behalf of the traditional owner group. The square mile of former crown land surrounded by the Mt Denison pastoral lease includes the sacred site where dingo trapper Fred Brooks was killed by Aboriginal men in 1928, before Mr Long was born. The killing triggered a series of reprisal killings of large numbers of innocent Aboriginal people across the region by Constable George Murray. The raids became known as the Coniston Massacre. “My father explained to me what happened here in the shooting days,” Mr Long said. “He explained every rockhole and soakage where people got shot.” The Aboriginal Land Commissioner recommended the grant of the block in 1992, but the Mt Denison pastoralists bitterly opposed it. “I am happy to have my grandfather’s and father’s country, even though it took a long time,” Mr Long said. “It’s important for ceremony and culture.” Mr Long and the men sang a ngatijiri (budgerigar) song while the women (pictured at right) performed a bandicoot purlapa (song and dance) and presented the Minister with a coolamon and clap sticks. About 80 traditional owners attended the ceremony. “They had to wait a long time for their land but they never They have plans to build a shelter to harvest rain water causing a lot of sadness across our region,” Mr Kelly said. considered giving up,” said CLC chair and Coniston documentary and provide shade for visitors, as well as feature interpretive “It will be good to be able to teach visitors about this place so maker Francis Kelly. materials about the events that led to the massacres. we can make peace with our shared past." Originally, the traditional owners wanted to set up an “Yurrkuru doesn’t only hold deep cultural signifi cance for outstation on the block, but changed their minds because the us but the loss of so many people during the massacres is still More pictures on page 11. soak is an unreliable water source and has been fouled by cattle. 2. November 2014 page 2.indd 1 20/10/2014 3:11:12 PM NEWS A long story July 2005: The Federal govern- ment announced its plans for a nu- Nuke dump dilemma clear waste dump in the NT. Two of the proposed sites were in the CLC THE CLC’s Council meeting at region: Mt Everard and Alcoota Alpururrurlam (Lake Nash) near Harts Range (Atitjere). on 4-5 November will consider the outcome of consultations November 2005: The CLC dele- about a site for a proposed ra- gates resolved: “The CLC strong- dioactive waste management ly opposes the siting of a nuclear facility. waste dump in Central Australia”. CLC chair Francis Kelly Council asked the federal govern- said he would ask the dele- ment to drop its plans for sites in gates to carefully consider the the CLC region. outcome of consultations with traditional owners and aff ect- 2007: The NLC nominated the ed communities. Muckaty site. “After our meeting the fed- eral government still has until April 2012: The Australian par- 10 November to decide wheth- liament passed the second version er it wants to start a nation- of its radioactive waste law. Mt wide nomination process,” he Everard and Alcoota were off its said. list of sites. CLC director David Ross attended a meeting between June 2014: The Northern Land interested traditional owners Council withdrew its nomination and government representa- of a waste dump site on Muckaty tives at the old Tanami Mine Station near Tennant Creek after in September. a High Court challenge by some of A scientist from the Aus- the traditional owners. tralian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and July 2014: CLC delegates found a radiation health expert also out at the Tennant Creek Council spoke. Traditional owners and neighbours meet to discuss a nuclear waste dump in the Tanami. meeting that the federal govern- Mr Ross said traditional ment had given NT land councils owners were frustrated with until 30 September to nominate a the Federal Government’s a nuclear dump site for site in the NT. It was looking for a nomination process for the pro- “A nuclear waste dump is forever, so it’s just not fair more than 10 years be- site that traditional owners want posed nuclear waste dump and to ask people to make such a big decision without a cause it does not want to give freely and that would not with its lack of answers. to store low and medium cause fi ghts among them. “The public servants were un- comprehensive proposal.” David Ross, CLC director level radioactive waste in able to explain many of the details areas where many peo- August 2014: The CLC received we had requested from Industry Act 2012 traditional owners were expected ple live close together. a request for information from a Minister Ian Macfarlane,” he said. to off er a site without knowing the full de- Some believe Australia has a responsi- group of traditional owners in the “For example, people got no details tails of the government’s proposal. bility to manage the nuclear waste of oth- Tanami who had been contacted about how the nuclear waste would be “Yet once a site is nominated tradition- er countries because it exports uranium. by the NT Government about a nu- transported, no clear answers about the al owners can’t change their mind when Former PM Bob Hawke said at this clear waste dump. They asked for long term plans for intermediate level they fi nd out the full story," he said. year’s Garma festival that burying the details about the Federal Govern- waste and no information about the com- “A nuclear waste dump is forever, so world’s nuclear waste was an opportunity ment’s proposal, its benefi ts and its prehensive benefi ts package worth ‘mil- it’s just not fair to ask people to make such for Aboriginal people to "close the gap". risks. lions and millions’ the Minister had prom- a big decision without a comprehensive “In a world facing the threat of glob- ised.