Lizards Revenge: The South Australian government ignores its founding document, the Letters Patent from Britain, as though it never existed

Media release - 18 July 2012

Michael Anderson said today from Lismore, NSW:
"The recent demonstrations at the 'Gates of Hell' led by Kevin Buzzacott, Arabunna Elder, against the BHP Roxby Downs uranium mine expansion highlight how governments and mining companies ignore and completely override the sovereign rights and human rights of First Nations Peoples. The uranium mine is in Kokotha country, but its impact crosses into Arabunna country to extract water for the mining. The Olympic mine expansion crosses the Mashers Faultline itself, where there is a calculated risk of mining induced earthquakes of severe magnitude.

"The ongoing catastrophe of the Fukushima melt down in Japan is fresh in our mind and the previous disaster of Chernobyl in the Ukraine still haunts us, but governments are ignoring the warnings and, instead, appear beholden to mining industry, and in particular the uranium industry.

The South Australian government ignores its founding document, the Letters Patent from Britain, as though it never existed.

In the 1830s, to satisfy the Colonial Office in Britain, the South Australian Colonizing Commission agreed to protect the rights of the owners of Country:

Should the Protector of the Aborigines find that the Lands, or any portion of them ... are occupied or enjoyed by the Natives, then the lands which may be thus occupied or enjoyed shall not be declared open to public sale, unless the Natives shall surrender their right of occupation or enjoyment, by a voluntary Sale made to the Colonial Commissioner ... Should the Natives occupying or enjoying lands ... not surrender their right to such land by a voluntary sale, then, in that case, it will be the duty of the Protector of the Aborigines to secure to the Natives the full and undisturbed occupation or enjoyment of their lands and to afford them legal redress against depredators and trespassers.

[Letters Patent Erecting and Establishing the Province of South Australia, 19 February 1836]

"There appears to be a continuing process in this country that politicians and lawyers refuse to acknowledge the laws that are already in place.

"Lawyers with integrity and conscience could argue this case, but we understand that they fail to do so because they assume they are duty bound to maintain the colonial status quo in this country.

"Kevin Buzzacott and his supporters continue to fly the flag of opposition and resistance, demonstrating that since 1788 First Nations Peoples have never stopped fighting and in no way can anyone - government, lawyer or judge - ever say or argue that we have never fought, resisted nor questioned the colonisers and their authorities over our rights to our country.

"Kevin Buzzacott's declared his People's sovereignty 100 kms north of the Roxby Downs uranium mine at the protest base camp, near where he was born in Arabunna country, and this must now be noted by all concerned. In this regard the Sovereign Union and interim government can now work with Kevin Buzzacott to incorporate his nation into the Act of Sovereign Union and we intend to take this Act of Sovereign Union internationally and to the UN in our capacity as a sovereign power.

References:
The Mashers Fault:
Seismic Expert: "Magnitude 7 earthquake risk obscured at Olympic Dam Uranium Mine"

The Kalgoorlie Earthquake and the Proposed Olympic Dam Mine Expansion
Edward Cranswick 25th May 2010

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Letters Patent:
Letters Patent Transcribed (Original document handwritten) foundingdocs.gov.au - PDF

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