Aboriginal anger over land rights

Press, 5 August 1981, Page 20

Aboriginal anger over land rights

PA Canberra A campaign, similar to the anti-Springok tour protest, and aimed at cancelling next year's Commonwealth Games in Brisbane would be organised unless the Commonwealth Government intervened to protect the land rights of Queensland Aboriginals.

Mr Les Melezer, a spokesman for the National Campaign for Land Rights and Self-Management in Queensland. said this at a rally opposing a state government proposal to abolish reserves and to grant 50-year leases. Aboriginal organisations said the proposal was a backward step which would ultimately lead to the loss of reserve lands to mining and other business interest.

The rally outside the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in Canberra was one of several in major Australian cities. •

Mr Melezer said most federal Government politicians wanted to intervene in the Queensland situation but were being opposed by a minority of their colleagues. He said the Australian

Democrats and the ’ Australian Labor Party would legislate in the Senate for Commonwealth acquisition of Queensland reserves, with fair compensation for the state government, and the granting of freehold tenure to Aboriginals. “We call upon' members in the House of Representatives to vote with their consciences and to pass the legislation,” he said. “We intend to keep lobbying the Federal Government — to keep up pressure for them to intervene.

“We are telling them we don’t want. 50-year leases becuse we must have freehold title. If we don’t get freehold title, then our preference is for the retention of the reserves.” He said four international conventions including one against cultural genocide were being violated. One placard at the rally read: “50-year leases are cultural genocide — Tasmania again."

Aboriginal organisations were going to set up an information booth at the Commonwealth Heads of

Government Meeting in Melbourne in September to draw international attention to their case.

Mr Melezer said the overseas visitors would be told Australian Aboriginals were willing to “go into a physical struggle” over the Queensland situation.

“We will, if necessary, stop the Commonwealth Games simply by disruption. We are prepared to go into open confrontation which means if they’re going to stop us they would have, to use violence.”

A poet and Aboriginal rights campaigner. Judith Wright, spoke at the rally, supporting a treaty with the Aboriginal people of Australia. She said the Federal Government was authorised by the Australian people in the referendum of 1967 to make laws for Aboriginal people and deal with their problems. State Governments had constantly failed to do this.

“Without a fair Commonwealth treaty we stand no chance of doing Aboriginal people any good at all.” she said.