Kimberley Land Council (KLC & agencies) wrong about Sovereignty

Ghillar, Michael Anderson 7 June 2018

While the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) convene the Native Title conference in Broome, hosted by the Yawuru People, Anderson shines another light on the KLC and its agencies' agenda.

Since I've left Warmun the community has been bombarded by yet another Native Title meeting run by KLC agencies. Again, Senior Elders were bullied to attend but they have reassured me proudly, 'I didn't sign anything.' In their reliable report-back they joked about the way the KLC Legal advisor, Douglas D'Antione, was telling them lies about sovereignty. He said that the only way to get sovereignty is by conquering and that you need an army and navy to get sovereignty, like the English people did!! He then said that the second way to get sovereignty was for the owners just to say: "OK, here. This is yours." At no time did he acknowledge that First Nations sovereignty is pre-existing and continuing and is the basis of the continental common law.
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- Ghillar, Michael Anderson

I am shocked and astounded from what I have learned from general community meetings last week with the Elders and younger generations at Warmun, Turkey Creek. Warmun community Senior Elders and community members asked me to look at their Native Title applications for their lands and waters because they were concerned at the bullying tactics that were being perpetrated against Senior Elders (in the absence of their youth and other community members) by employees of the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) and its agencies, which are owned by the Ambooriny Burru Foundation.

The Elders were saying that people keep coming and saying to us: You GOTTA come to these meetings. You HAVE TO sign these documents and you HAVE TO come to the Native Title hearings when the KLC comes.

Arial View of Warmun aka Turkey Creek
(Image: ABC)

After being shown the Native Title application areas on a map, the people were saying that KLC wants them to request a Federal Court consent determination between the Western Australia government and the Native Title claimants. My disbelief became one of total dismay to understand that the KLC and their agencies were not informing the owners of Country of the land title of the lands involved in the Native Title application, that is to be finalise by a consent determination with the Western Australia government.

Warmun Senior Elder Patrick Mung
(Image: Desert River Sea)

'We joined KLC because they said we were being ripped off. But now we have just gone from one rip off to another.'

Warmun (Turkey Creek) Location Map

Having looked at the map of the Native Title applications' areas and then comparing those maps with the Kimberley tourist topographical map being sold in stands in garages and newsagencies and information centres, I realised that the KLC agencies are demanding the Peoples authority to put a massive Native Title application over a vast area of land that is already reserved under the WA State law as being set aside exclusively for the use of Aborigines only.

I informed the people that they are about to, or have, authorised a Native Title application to go over a massive area of land that they already own through the Aboriginal Land Trust of Western Australia and it is exclusively theirs, if their families came from these particular lands.

When I asked the people why they would authorise such a claim they all said KLC agencies never informed them of this fact at all. The KLC agencies fail to provide documents ahead of the meetings, try to prevent independent legal advice and do not give back copies of any papers the people may have signed, or have been coerced to sign.

I am now informed that the people of Warmun and surrounding areas have made a decision to dismiss the KLC, KRED Legal and ARMA, EHSIS and other KLC agencies from having anything to do with their lands and waters. They are understanding the KLC agencies plan to take over negotiations to enable mining on their lands.

I am informed that the people are now gathering in significant numbers and will inform the Federal Court that they no longer wish to pursue the Native Title determinations, because as one of the Senior Elders, Mr. Patrick Mung, has said with words to the effect:

For too long we have been signing papers for KLC and its agencies and there are a lot of things going on on our lands, but look at us, we have nothing. When we ask for royalty money they tell us there is not enough in the bucket. We don't want these people any more. We joined KLC because they said we were being ripped off. But now we have just gone from one rip off to another.

The Native Title Service organisations, in my opinion, can be classified as criminal organisations set up to legalise and validate the greatest theft the world has ever seen. Thus, the T-shirt slogans "Grand Theft - Australia" and "ILUA = Indigenous Land Under Attack - Ghillar, Michael Anderson

What disturbs me personally, as a fighter for Land Rights and the assertion of our Sovereign Rights, is that an allegedly Black organisation employs white lawyers to do over the First Nations Peoples of the Kimberley. Clearly, these Native Title organisations and their lawyers operate in First Nations business without a moral or ethical compass. Surely, in the case I describe, one would have thought the KLC and its agencies would have taken a different approach in acquiring the land from the Western Australia government for and on behalf of the First Nations Peoples.

The fact that the vast areas of land in this case are reserves exclusively for the use of Aborigines only would satisfy any Land Rights campaigners, who would go after the land transfer from the Western Australia government to the Owners of Country, under the current land title regime 'exclusively reserved for Aborigines'. This would entitle the people to exercise their sovereign rights over all those lands under their Law and culture. Not only that, but the government would have to speak with them about developing any mining or other type of extractive industries on and within these lands. Under their First Nations Law and culture, they have exclusive title to all mineral wealth, petroleum and gas included.

View from Warmun aka Turkey Creek - Kimberely WA
(Image: ABC)

Clearly, one must ask who are these Native Title Service organisations and their lawyers they working for? This example that I have described demonstrates that they are paid agents of the colonisers, falsely pretending that they operate in the best interests of their clients, the First Nations Peoples. When pressed on this question Native Title lawyers inevitably say: We can only do what the Native Title Act says. If we are to accept this statement and that the First Nations People are their clients, they should also be saying that certain parts of this Native Title Act, if not all of it is riddled with racism #. They the lawyers say: There is no money to run test cases. What happened to the pro bono protocols of law firms, we may ask.

It is important to point out at this stage that the whole of the Native Title Act is not exempted from the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA). The ONLY part that is exempt is where the government legalises the theft of very rich areas of Crown Land where the governments would have to pay enormous amounts of money to compensate the people for State governments' acts that take away the rights of First Nations Peoples.

Douglas D’Antoine KLC
(Image: National Indigenous Times - cropped)

Douglas D’Antoine Born in Derby, West Kimberley in 1972 has a background of working in the Police force and according to an NIT article he denied his Aboriginality when arresting Aboriginal people and claimed he was from the Seychelles. The people didn't believe him and he eventually left the force and later pursued a career in oil and gas before working for the Kimberley Land Council.

This is why First Nations Peoples are now arguing that these Native Title Service organisations and their lawyers are paid agents of the Crown and on different occasions are subsidised by multinational foreign interests to legalise the massive land theft by arranging to validate ALL past acts, without any talk of compensation, thereby consenting to the illegal extinguishment of our rights and interests.

Since I've left Warmun, there has been another Native Title meeting. Again, Senior Elders were bullied to attend but they have reassured me proudly, 'I didn't sign anything.' In their reliable report-back they joked about the way the KLC Legal advisor, Douglas D'Antione, was telling them lies about sovereignty. He said that the only way to get sovereignty is by conquering and that you need an army and navy to get sovereignty, like the English people did!! He then said that the second way to get sovereignty was for the owners just to say: "OK, here. This is yours." At no time did he acknowledge that First Nations sovereignty is pre-existing and continuing and is the basis of the continental common law.

I think the KLC quasi legal advisor was somewhat surprised at the Warmun community members own research and understanding of sovereignty and they even drew his attention to the Pacific Islanders Protection Act 1875 and how Queen Victoria stated that Britain is NOT claiming sovereignty 'over the islands and places', which includes the Australian colonies.

The Native Title Service organisations, in my opinion, can be classified as criminal organisations set up to legalise and validate the greatest theft the world has ever seen. Thus, the T-shirt slogans "Grand Theft - Australia" and "ILUA = Indigenous Land Under Attack".

Reference

 
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