Robin's Page

2016-10-20

Hon Robin Chapple MLC

Yule River Bush Meeting and KLC AGM

Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to attend both the Yule River Bush Meeting in the Pilbara and the Kimberley Land Councils Annual General Meeting in Warmun Community, outside of Kununurra. Both meetings were well attended by representative groups from right across the Pilbara and the Kimberley respectively, making it an excellent opportunity to catch up with elders and community leaders to hear firsthand the most pressing issues facing the ATSI community in WA.

Not surprisingly, major ongoing concerns with Aboriginal heritage protection and the future of remote communities were still universal, and I was given the opportunity to address the crowd at length on both topics. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier declined to attend the Yule River Bush Meeting for the third straight year, and 10 significant resolutions were passed unanimously in his absence with respect to:

Heritage

  1. Yule River passed a no confidence motion in the minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Peter Collier;
  2. We call for a full independent enquiry in the DAA and ACMC in regards to their de-registration of sites and their interpretation of the AHA in consideration of their importance and significance;
  3. That the government of Western Australia conduct a public enquiry into the form of Aboriginal heritage legislation and the administration of Aboriginal heritage protection which will most effectively protect Aboriginal heritage in accordance with traditional law and custom;
  4. That the enquiry comprehensively confer with and involve Aboriginal people of the state of Western Australia in determining how heritage is best protected;
  5. The terms of reference of the enquiry to be determined in consultation with Aboriginal people of the state of Western Australia;
  6. That a public report be made with the results of the enquiry.

Regional Services Reform Roadmap

  1. That Aboriginal people be front and centre in designing and implementing regional and remote service reforms;
  2. That the State Government acknowledge the significant contribution Aboriginal Corporations make each year in the form of funding, infrastructure and service delivery and involve them directly in decision-making about services reforms;
  3. That both State and Commonwealth Governments be more transparent and accountable as to the existing spend on Aboriginal services in regional and remote communities;
  4. That at the Ministerial level, the Hon Peter Collier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and chair of the Aboriginal Affairs Cabinet Sub-Committee be more responsive and accountable for the impact on Aboriginal people in the region.

The Kimberley Land Councils AGM garnered similar discussion on the topics of Aboriginal Heritage protection and with respect to the Regional Services Reform Roadmap, with many community leaders taking to the stage to express their frustration at the process so far and lack of engagement with Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. Overall, it was an honour to be invited to attend both events and fantastic to see so much support for the Greens policies with respect to Aboriginal issues in WA.

Home is Heritage – report by Tim Oliver

We are preparing a Home is Heritage resource package for Greens candidates and Aboriginal community leaders to use, in the lead up to the State election in March next year. The package will include a summary of the current situation for remote Aboriginal communities, the issues we have discovered with the WA Government's Resilient Families, Strong Communities: A Roadmap For Regional And Remote Aboriginal Communities, and the strengths of Robin's Prevention of Forced Closure of Remote Aboriginal Communities Bill 2016. On a smaller note, we have also added all our Home is Heritage publications to a single webpage for easy access, which you can view here. Robin will promote the campaign among his other work during his upcoming road trip in November.

Video Links:

Bauxite mining on the Darling Scarp: https://www.facebook.com/RobinChappleMLC/videos/10154438798769664/

Robins thoughts on Treaty: https://www.facebook.com/RobinChappleMLC/videos/10154456525774664/

Photo: Aboriginal dancers at Yule River Tim Oliver