The Australian Government's Cabinet meeting monday 18 October
is a crucial time for holding onto the gains for the
recognition of the reality of rights of Australia's Founding
Aboriginal People.
The Prime Minister announced on thursday that he would not
suspend the Racial Discrimination Act in looking for a way to
validate the titles issued by the Crown to the living
countries of First Peoples. In taking this stand Mr Keating
did not bow to the pressure to treat the rights of Aboriginal
people as being unreal. This is something of a shock for those
accustomed to a sort of white supremacy in Australia.
Opposing forces, established under the regime of the doctrine
of terra nullius which negated the reality of these rights,
intensify. See attached extracts from Weekend Australian.
Your support is needed to ensure Cabinet Minister's put rights
for Australia's Founding Peoples first. Fax Primary Industry
Minister Simon Crean (fax 06 2734120) and/or other Cabinet
Ministers to ensure that Australia continues to move away from
the racism institutionalised in its present form of pastoral
land ownership and industrial practice.
There are ways of deriving a marriage of interests in this
matter which do not require the negation of the lives of First
Peoples. The extra effort you make to give life its voice at
this time is vital.
The Weekend Australian newspaper (October 16-17) reports:
PM faces Cabinet revolt on Mabo plan.
by Lenore Taylor
The Prime Minister, Mr Keating, faces strong Cabinet
opposition to his latest Mabo plan, which reverses the
Government's public position to wipe out native title
over all farming leases.
Mr Keating has told Aborigines he will seek Cabinet
approval for the courts to determine whether Aboriginal
title can co-exist with pastoral leases.
But this option is strongly opposed by some senior
ministers who believe it is unworkable and would be
selling out pastoralists.
The farming lobby, fearing that such a deal had been
done, began a furious round of lobbying yesterday before
Monday's Cabinet meeting to try to convince ministers
that the plan will result in costly court battles and
extreme economic uncertainty.
Aboriginal leaders have argued that native title should
exist alongside pastoral leases if the courts determined
the two land uses were compatible, giving Aborigines
access to farmland for traditional purposes while farming
continued...
The executive director of the National Farmer's
Federation, Mr Rick Farley, yesterday wrote to every
Cabinet minister, saying his organisation had accepted
the Government's assurances right through the Mabo debate
that pastoral leases would extinguish native title...
"If the Government now went back on its word, we would
regard it as a gross and unforgivable breach of its
political faith," Mr Farley wrote...
The Leader of the Opposition, Dr Hewson, also sought to
advise the Cabinet, saying, "I'd urge ... (Primary
Industry Minister Mr) Simon Crean, (Industry Minister Mr)
Alan Griffiths and many others who are on record as
saying that pastoral leases will extinguish native title,
to stand up for that and (make sure) we don't see the
farmers of Australia sold out as a result of this
decision."
(end of abridgement from the Weekend Australian.)
Friday's Australian newspaper's article, by the same writer,
reports:
The director of the National Farmer's Federation, Mr Rick
Farley, has told the Government any solution that does
not see all pastoral leases extinguish native title will
be totally unacceptable to his members.
SHAME!