Protest at Jenny Macklin’s office – No to compulsory acquisition of Alice Springs town camps May 28, 2009

Indigenous activists and supporters outside office of Jenny Macklin

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister apparently did a Ferguson when faced with a protest over her plan to compulsorily acquire the Alice Springs town camps – a notice bluetacked to the door announced the office was ‘closed for a meeting’. But perhaps it was a genuine coincidence.

Notice on door of office

For background to the protest the best source is the website Rollback the Intervention, from which this statement is taken:

Statement Opposing the Commonwealth’s Proposal to Compulsorily Acquire the Alice Springs Town Camps

We recognize the right of Tangentyere Council and town camp residents to self-determination. Town camp residents have called upon governments to address overcrowding and poverty in their communities over several years. More often than not, their demands have been ignored.

We support the recent decision by the Council to reject the Commonwealth’s proposal that would transfer control of housing and tenancy management to the Northern Territory Government. Representatives from all town camps voted to maintain community control. This is vital because of a long history of neglect and indifference to the needs of Aboriginal people by Northern Territory Housing. People rightly fear eviction and rent-increases that are beyond their capacity to pay. It is critical that Aboriginal people have the power to shape their own destinies.

We condemn Minister Macklin’s proposal for the Commonwealth to compulsorily acquire the town camps of Alice Springs. We call on the Commonwealth to respect the independence of the Tangentyere Council and to act in good faith in all of its negotiations with the Tangentyere Council.

We recognize the long struggle for land by both town camp residents and Aboriginal land holders throughout Australia. We condemn the Federal Government’s policy of withholding funding for desperately needed housing in Aboriginal communities, before Aboriginal people relinquish control of their land.

It is disgraceful that the party who championed the first land rights legislation in Australia is holding impoverished Aboriginal communities to ransom. This Government has lost its moral compass. We offer our full support to the Tangentyere Council in their struggle.
……………………………….

Media release 24 May

Takeover of Aboriginal Land marks Opening of Reconciliation Week

Today Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin marked the opening of
Reconciliation Week by announcing that Alice Springs town camps will
be compulsorily acquired. The announcement has been met with outrage
by town camp residents. The move comes after Tangentyere Council,
acting on behalf of town camp residents, rejected a 40 year lease deal
which precluded all Aboriginal control and management of camp housing
which would put decision-making and resources into the hands of
Territory Housing.

The community housing model proposed by Tangentyere Council and the
ability of residents to have input into housing management has been
flatly rejected by the government. The community housing model was to
be run by the Central Australian Affordable Housing Company, which
Minister Macklin helped establish in March last year but has now been
rejected in favour of a government takeover.

Residents represented by Tangentyere are opposed to Territory Housing
management of the camps due to the high rate of evictions and
predicted rent increases under government management. Many Aboriginal
people who have been former residents of NT Housing, have already
experienced evictions, with the most common reasons being for cooking
kangaroo tail in the backyard or for having relatives from the bush
visit. People are concerned they will have nowhere to go if evicted
from town camps under Territory Housing, which already has a three
year waiting list for new occupancy.

“This is an appalling decision by the federal government. It marks
the start of a takeover for all Aboriginal communities who reject
government leases. If the government were genuine about consultation
with communities it would not be blackmailing people with long-term
leases and the threat of compulsory acquisition” said Hilary Tyler
from the Intervention Rollback Action Group in Alice Springs.

“You can’t take someone’s land without free, prior and informed
consent. It is very hypocritical of the Government to endorse the
United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when the
Intervention contravenes at least 26 articles. By keeping the Racial
Discrimination Act (1975) in place it goes to show the Government of
Australia is in fact racist.” says Barbara Shaw from Mt Nancy town
camp.

A rally of town camp residents targeting both the NT government and
federal government over its announcement of outstation closures and
the compulsory acquisition of Alice Springs towncamps will take place
later this week in Alice Springs.

Contact: Barb Shaw on 0401 291 166, Hilary Tyler on 0419 244 012 or
Lauren Mellor on 0413 534 125

…………………………………

Today’s protest involved activists not only from Australia but also Aotearoa (and from Latin America, but no banner…):

Solidarity from Aotearoa

As part of the protest, a reminder was added to the coat-of-arms:

Sticker added to the coat-of-arms

In Sydney, a similar protest was planned at the office of Federal Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek, as well as other actions at Alice Springs and elsewhere. Reports from these will no doubt appear on the website in due course.

Protest at G4S/GSL over Aboriginal death in custody – 14 May May 14, 2009

The Indigenous Social Justice Association – Melbourne organised a picket at the Melbourne headquarters of global security giant G4S, parent of GSL, which amongst other things provides transport of prisoners. On 27 January 2008, an Aboriginal elder from Warburton, WA, Mr Ward, was arrested for allegedly drink driving. “He was charged with one count of drink-driving and taken to the local lockup. He was then driven 570 kilometers to a courthouse, remanded in custody and driven a further 352 kilometers to a prison.
“As they approached the prison it was noted that he was unconscious. He died shortly after. He was Aboriginal. His death can be added to the eight black deaths in custody in 25 days in the Northern Territory already this year. If eight white teenagers died in custody in Victoria in 25 days there would be uproar.
“When wealthy white businessmen and sporting personalities are picked up for drinkdriving, they are charged and then allowed to go home. We know that some of them
have been abusive and non-compliant but they are still not locked up. Why was this man transported nearly 1000 kilometers in over 40-degree heat for a similar charge? It will likely be more than a year before a coronial inquiry. An apology is long overdue as is equality and justice for Indigenous Australians.”
(The Age, Feb. 2 2008, Letters: “Justice long overdue”, Pamela Curr)

The protest was in two parts: first a number of speakers, including a relative of the dead man, then Alison Thorne of ISJA read a statement of demands and invited those present to accompany her up to the offices of the company to present the letter, since no-one from the company had responded to her invitation to come down to the picket.

Placard at the picket

To view footage of the delivery of the letter, click on the above image.

Extracts from the speeches should be available soon.*

There is extensive coverage of the death of Mr Ward on the Safecom website.

This protest was held at the request of Mr Ward’s family, and coincided with a protest being held at the Perth office of GSL. Today was also scheduled as the final day of the inquest being held into the death of Mr Ward.

*See:

Click on this image for extracts from speeches at the protest

Mayday at BHP Billiton – 1 May 2009 May 2, 2009

When the company chose this day for the release of the Environmental Impact Statement on the projected expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium/copper mine at Roxby Downs, were they insensitive to the symbolism of the date, or was it a challenge? Either way, opponents of the mine gave notice of their intention to visit the Melbourne headquarters of BHP Billiton, and both the company and the police were prepared for something. Whether they were prepared for what happened is another matter…
Click on the image for video from the action:

Protesters line up outside BHP headquarters in Melbourne

From a FoE callout:

May Day: Stop the Olympic Dam Uranium Mine Expansion – Protest at BHP
Billiton office.
Friday, May 1, 11am to 1pm
180 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

On May 1, BHP Billiton will release the Environmental Impact Statement for
its planned expansion of the Olympic Dam (Roxby Downs) uranium/copper mine
in SA. Come along to this May Day protest to voice your opposition.
* The mine operates under the SA Roxby Downs Indenture Act which exempts it
from key environmental and Aboriginal heritage laws that apply everywhere
else in SA.
* Billiton plans to make Roxby the largest open-cut mine in the world.
Export of uranium is expected to increase from an average of 4,000 tonnes
per year to 19,000 tonnes. In power reactors, that amount of uranium would
produce 2,850 tonnes of high-level nuclear waste each year and enough
plutonium to build 2,850 nuclear weapons each year.
* BHP Billiton proposes an increase in water consumption from 35 million
litres daily (from the Great Artesian Basin) to 150 million litres daily (up to 42 million litres
from the Great Artesian Basin, the remainder from a proposed desalination plant at Port Bonython).
The water take from the Great Artesian Basin has had
adverse impacts on the precious Mound Springs.
* The production of radioactive tailings, stored above ground, will increase
seven-fold to 70 million tonnes annually. The tailings contain a toxic,
acidic soup of radionuclides and heavy metals. There have been numerous
spills and leaks and large numbers of bird deaths have been recorded in the
vicinity of tailings dams.