How Western Australia will hand ‘close to 10 per cent of the state over to Aboriginal communities’
Control of almost 10 percent of Western Australia would be transferred to Aboriginal communities under a proposal by the state’s Labor government.
The plan covers 22 million hectares of land and would provide homeownership opportunities in remote indigenous settlements for the first time.
About 8.7 percent of Western Australia is controlled by a statutory body called the Aboriginal Lands Trust, which has managed the land for traditional owners since 1972.
The trust’s total area is larger than that of most countries and slightly larger than Guyana on the North Atlantic coast of South America or Belarus in Eastern Europe.
Control of almost ten percent of Western Australia would be transferred to Aboriginal communities under a proposal by the state’s Labor government. An Aboriginal protester is pictured at a rally in Perth
An estimated 12,000 people live on the trust’s estate in 142 permanent settlements, including 17 of the state’s 20 largest indigenous communities.
The five largest of these communities are Bidyadanga in the Kimberley, Jigalong in the Pilbara, Kalumburu in the far north of the state and Balgo and Warburton in the east. Each was previously a Christian mission.
The trust, which covers 301 parcels of land and includes 19 million hectares that require a permit to enter the country, was established when the church missions were closed.
Although the trust was established to benefit the communities, ownership rules have halted development, including tourism, and prevented Indigenous people from owning their own homes.
Prime Minister Roger Cook’s government is drafting a bill to transfer control of trust areas to these communities, which has been a bipartisan policy since the 1990s.
“It will simplify the process for many Aboriginal people in remote communities to do things they want to do, such as starting a business, owning a home and getting a job,” a WA government spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
About 8.7 percent of Western Australia (shaded) is controlled by a statutory body called the Aboriginal Lands Trust, which has managed the land for traditional owners since 1972.
“It is an important step in the economic and social transformation of Aboriginal communities.
‘It is an extremely complex process and we expect it to take a very long time. There will be no changes in the law this year.
“Consultations are ongoing and we look forward to working closely with the community.”
The Australian newspaper reported that there were concerns within the government that pushing the proposal too hard and too quickly could lead to a response similar to that which saw the state’s Aboriginal heritage laws overturned.
In August last year the government was forced to quit controversial legislation that came into effect just five weeks earlier to prevent the destruction of holy sites.
Mr Cook had acknowledged that the revised Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act “went too far” after it sparked widespread public outrage.
An estimated 12,000 people live on the trust’s estate in 142 permanent settlements, including Kalumburu in the far north of the state.
The laws include harsher penalties for damaging sites of traditional importance, with many rivers, creeks and other tributaries considered ethnographic sites.
Confusion over the laws resulted in several major tree planting events in Perth being canceled following an Aboriginal company’s request for a $2.5 million payment in return for their approval.
Mining giant Rio Tinto won ministerial approval in 2020 when it blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters, sparking global condemnation and devastating traditional owners.
The Prime Minister admitted his government’s legislative response was “wrong” and apologized for the “stress, confusion and division” it had caused.
Mr Cook denied he had been pressured by federal government ministers to abandon cultural heritage laws amid declining support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
“I want to make this very clear: I have not had any communication with the Prime Minister’s Office or any other federal members regarding these laws,” he said.
The Voice was decisively rejected in a referendum on October 14. Not a single state or territory was in favor of the Voice, with 60 percent of Australians voting no.