Destruction of Country

Be careful what you pray for. By proposing to strip away protection for Aboriginal people's heritage across the board, and throughout the State, the Barnett Government appears to have unwittingly conjured up a strong, united and angry Aboriginal coalition which is now mobilising against the AHA amendments.

Written Dr Stephen Bennetts, who is a consultant anthropologist that has worked with Aboriginal people in Northern Australia since 1994. [node:read-more:link]

Ancient rock paintings, standing stones and scattered artefacts had once been protected by their remote location, but mining activity that ramped up in the early 1960s had triggered "fears for the safety of sites of importance". Today the landscapes of the Pilbara and Kimberley regions are being extensively reconfigured in the era of GPS, aerial exploration and fly-in, fly-out workforces. Evidence of Aboriginal occupation is still scattered across those landscapes, lying in the path of planned roads, railways and mines. One mining tenement can hold thousands of such artefacts. The only plan the gov't has is to water down existing legislation. [node:read-more:link]

The men at the forefront of the Aboriginal tent embassy at Airds are frustrated their site was valdalised on Saturday night. Tents were torn in half and banners were burnt when the site was unattended for just one hour on Saturday when the incident occurred.

The tent embassy was established local indigenous men to highlight their concerns over the protection of land and wildlife in Airds as part of the Airds Bradbury Renewal Project. [node:read-more:link]

Many people in Australia are in the hunt for millions of dollars as the government searches for a place to dump 14 tonnes of nuclear waste, just for starters

The waste the government is 'talking up' will be returned to Australia by the end of next year following treatment in France and the UK.

It has been reported that some First Nations people in the NT are squabbling over hosting the nuclear waste in their land. [node:read-more:link]

An Alice Springs-based group of Aborigines is pushing to revive plans to host Australia's nuclear waste 30km north of the town, with help from the Northern Territory and federal governments. The proposal has become entwined with ructions inside the powerful Central Land Council (CLC) that have seen chairman Maurie Ryan suspended for the second time this year.

Members of the group said they were recognised as traditional owners at a full CLC meeting they attended at Mr Ryan's invitation. [node:read-more:link]

Campbelltown NSW has the start of a Tent Embassy as First Nations people gather to raise their voice over the protection of land and wildlife in Airds.

Three First Nations original men erected two tents this week to show their concerns over the Airds Bradbury Renewal Project.

“This is our own solidarity march. This is sacred land that we are on,” Gungadin, one of the men said [node:read-more:link]

First Nations people in West Australia's Pilbara iron ore region are taking on BHP Billiton over its claim for leases covering 200 square kilometres of their tribal country.

It is little wonder that Hawke's efforts at a treaty with Aboriginal Australia failed when the best plan he can envisage for lifting communities out of poverty is to offer a toxic trade-off for access to basic services that all other citizens enjoy.

This really demonstrates how bereft of responsible policy ideas some politicians are, both in regards to tackling Aboriginal disadvantage and dealing responsibly with the nation's growing radioactive waste problem. [node:read-more:link]