Aboriginal threat to Brisbane Games

Press, 5 August 1981, Page 9

Aboriginal threat to Brisbane Games

NZPA Sydney Aboriginal land rights campaigners. have given a warning that Australian Abo : riginals are willing to “go into a physical struggle” over developments in Queensland. The warning came as rallies were staged throughout Australia to protest against the Queensland, Government’s plans to abolish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Act and introduce 50-year leases on reserves. Aboriginals have been demanding repeal of the act but they want it replaced with freehold titles to the reserves and a system of self-management. In Canberra, a spokesman for the Nationl Campaign for Land Rights and Self-Man-agement in Queensland, Les Melezer, also said that a Springbok-style campaign aimed at cancelling next year’s Commonwealth Games in Brisbane would be orchestrated unless the Fed-

eral Government intervened to protect Queensland Aboriginals’ land rights.

Mr Melezer said: “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?

Aboriginal organisations were going to set up an information booth at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Melbourne next month to draw internatiional attention to their case. Mr Melezer said the over-

seas visitors would be told Australian Aborigihals were willing to “go into a physical struggle.” In Brisbane, the police said that several hundred people took part in an authorised march. They said the march was noisy, but there had been no arrests. In Svdney, where about 100

people staged a rally in Martin Place, the Rev. John Brown of the Uniting Church said the Land Rights Support Group believed the Queensland Government was attempting "to absorb and assimilte the Aboriginal people and get the last havens where they can retain some of their identity.”

Anne Laffan, also speaking for the Support Group, said the only effective strategy was to put widespread pressure on the Federal Government to act to acquire the reserves and hand them back to the Queensland Aboriginals.

She said the rallies were staged because, although the Queensland Premier (Mr Jon Bjelke-Petersen) had said the new legislation would not be enacted until October or November, Aboriginal organisations believed it would happen much sooner — and the Queensland Parliament resumed sitting yesterday.