FAX ROBERT TICKNER, MINISTER FOR ABORIGINAL AFFAIRS (06 2734142)
PHONE YOUR LOCAL FEDERAL MEMBER'S OFFICE.
GIVE THEM THE MESSAGE FROM THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA.
THE RIGHTS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES ARE REAL!
THESE HARD WON RIGHTS ARE NOT TO BE PLACED TO ONE SIDE AS
INCONVENIENT WHEN THEY DON'T SUIT THE FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF A
PRIVILEGED FEW.
Cabinet meets on thursday, 14 October 1993, to rush through
legislation validating Crown titles issued since 1788.
Professor Garth Nettheim has said:
If the legislation proceeds as proposed, it will continue
to near conclusion the conquest of Aboriginal Australia.
( Weekend Australian newspaper Oct 9-10)
Few Australian people have had a chance to consider this
rushed legislation. But we will all have to live with the
consequences.
The Mabo legislation is a major test of whether or not we have
matured enough to create an Australia designed to Australian
specifications - one in which the recognition of the rights of
First Peoples provides a solid foundation for all future
generations.
We now know that the relationship between First Peoples and
their living countries is as important to them as the
relationship between parent and child. We must not repeat the
mistake of separating either.
Recognition of the reality of the hard won rights of
Australia's original and founding Peoples in the
Commonwealth's Mabo legislation will confirm their place as
partners in our country's creative life design. It will also
confirm the place of non-Aboriginal peoples.
Conversely, suspending the protection provided to First
Peoples by the Racial Discrimination Act will not.
How Australia's peoples meet this present challenge may well
be the ultimate test of our character, and our worth.
WE MUST NOT SUSPEND OR OVER-RIDE THE PROTECTION OF FIRST
PEOPLES PROVIDED BY THE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION ACT. NATIVE
TITLE RIGHTS - AND THE PEOPLES WHO HOLD THOSE RIGHTS - ARE
REAL.
Your voice - and your commitment to holding the line on human
rights - makes a difference at this crucial time. Act now.