Media Releases

Former PM, John Howard

With the passage of time it is now painfully obvious that former Prime Minister, John Howard, fully realised that Aboriginal peoples maintain a very powerful position in Australia, so much so, that by amending the Native Title Act in 1998 he demonstrated the inherent power of Aboriginal peoples, which stems from our continuing sovereignty.

Having now reviewed his Ten Point Plan it is important for us, as First Nations Peoples, to revisit John Howard’s amendments and what they meant.

Howard’s Ten Point Plan promised ‘bucket loads’ of extinguishment of Native Title after the Wik decision, in which the High Court found that Native Title continued to exist on pastoral leases in Queensland. This sent the Howard government into a fervent need to create ‘certainty’ for the non-Aboriginal landholders, driven by the fear in existing landholders of our continuing connection to Country.

 Sovereign Union Media Release - Howard recognised continuing Aboriginal sovereignty pdf

Michael Anderson, Goodooga, northwest NSW, 17 April 2011

"This is Australia's greatest fear, because when we win, Australia will owe us more than they can ever imagine, and the cry ‘pay the rent' will be heard loud and clear across this great landscape,” writes Michael (Ghillar) Anderson in a media release ahead of the Easter summit in Canberra. [node:read-more:link]