Aboriginal Law & Culture body calls for cancellation of Referendum Council meeting at Uluru

As Chairperson of APY Law and Culture, I have written to the Referendum Council to say the Tjilpis are insulted that the Referendum Council did not respect protocol and procedure before they called a meeting for discussion on having Anangu/Aboriginal people all over Australia included in Australia's Constitution.

We, the Traditional Owners for Uluru and Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara country argue that our Law is the Law of the Land in this part of the world and not the whiteman law. We know we have been controlled by the whiteman law because we didn't have enough warriors and clever Lawmen who can take the fight up to these people who occupy our lands illegally.

Murray George, Chairperson
Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Law and Culture

We are only just learning about how to talk about sovereignty and the fact that the High Court of Australia in the Mabo case said our Law and Culture survived British sovereignty. So us Tjilpis are asking ourselves if the colonial power agrees that our Law and culture survived British sovereignty - well then what does that truly mean for us?

This is what they should be talking about not trying to put us in their constitution so that they get power over us to pass laws for us without us really knowing what the real outcome will be for Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Law and culture.

We don't want this meeting called by the Referendum Council to take place on our Country.

I can speak honestly and say that most Anangu all over Australia want to be First Nations Peoples governed by our own Law and culture on our lands. If the whiteman wants to change this, then let him talk to all Anangu in their respective languages and not send his puppets in to deceive us that it is a good thing to be in the constitution.

The Tjilpis demand you take your meeting away from Uluru. We don't want this sort of trouble in and on our sacred country.

It is an insult as well that a government Aboriginal body called the Indigenous Land Corporation spends so much money buying one motel, Yulara Resort, on our Country without consultation or giving us ownership. They are no better than the white people who rape and pillage our lands for natural resources.

We Tjilpis and Law people want you to take this trouble off our lands and have your meeting in the whiteman country.

Murray George
Chairperson
Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Law and Culture