Indigenous traditional owners and community members from areas the Government has proposed for new Nuclear Waste dump sites, have recently begun a National speaking tour to express their concerns over how these dump sites would cause irreversible damage to the land. Aswell, toinform people that the areas—which the government has assured are “some distance from any form of civilisation”—are in fact not uninhabited.

From the Canberra event poster:

1. Mt Evard - 40kms NW of Alice Springs.
3 km from the proposed dump site WerreTherre community runs several business enterprises, including mustering …

On May 23, sixteen traditional land owners of the Yuin people served an eviction notice on Forests NSW, demanding the immediate cessation of logging in the Bodalla State Forest.

Spokesperson and traditional landowner Arthur Ridgeway said: “We have taken this act to signal our protest at the cultural damage that will be created by any further logging of this area.” He explained that “Gulaga is of unique cultural significance to the Yuin people and all who live around her” and argued that Forests NSW “has not properly consulted our community”.

Just a few days prior, around one hundred people met for …

At a recent function marking the 40th anniversary of the referendum “that handed indigenous Australians the right to be counted in the Census,” John Howard was accused of genocide…. and he didn’t disagree…

From the Australian - Mr Howard told the gathering of about 400 people, which included original referendum campaigners, the way to true reconciliation was through shared responsibility and so-called practical reconciliation. But the crowd disagreed.

At the end of Mr Howard’s speech a middle-age indigenous woman stood and shouted at Mr Howard. “We have been genocided (sic) by your Government and your court,” the unidentified woman said.

The …

Indigenous people of the Gurdanji, Mara, Garrawa and Yanyuwa language groups in the Northern Territory have just had a victory in stopping the expansion of the Macarthur River Mine, a proposal that would have diverted a river that is of great importance to their dreaming: their identity. (From Anne. Thanks.)

The mining giant Xstrata has just been ordered to stop all work relating to the expansion of the McArthur River Mine, in the NT region of Australia.

The project would have transformed the McArthur River Mine from underground to open-cut …

Here’s an upcoming event in Melbourne, Australia. Thanks Anna for posting this on Toske. For anyone wanting more info, see http://humanrightsinfo.net or the contact info at the bottom of this post

October 11-14, 2007, Melbourne - Australia
Fighting and organising globally against neoliberalism!

A global call for participation
We call on all activists, organisations and communities who are committed to building a better world to join together at the Latin American and Asia Pacific International Solidarity Forum to be held in October 2007, in Melbourne Australia.

The forum has been initiated by the organisers of several successful conferences and gatherings in solidarity with …

On April 8th, around 80 people gathered at a Barrick Gold mine at Lake Cowal in central New South Wales and entered the mine, the offices, and chaining themselves to the machinery - grinding mining operations to a halt.

The next day, the police arrested 14 people at the site, charging them with entering “inclosed land”, under the obscure Inclosed Land Act of 1901.

From an April 9 Media Release on Save Lake Cowal:
Wiradjuri Traditional Owners have been holding convergences at Lake Cowal for a number of years …

Apr 03 - In Southern Australia, a group of Indigenous people set up a blockade at the Yumbarra Conservation Park, in protest against the activities of the mining company Iluka Resources, whom are threatening sacred sites. Here’s a couple stories from ABC News Australia (1, 2); both of which interestingly portray Iluka as the innocent victim… I also found the following article on Critical times

MINING EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES STOPPED
April 4th, 2007

Iluka Mining Corporation’s activities were disrupted by Indigenous Traditional Owners, their families and supporters on a dusty back road in the Yumbarra Conservation Park near Ceduna on …

THE BIG READ: There goes the neighbourhood
by Chris Graham, www.nit.com.au
March 22, 2007

Aboriginal landowners in the Northern Territory are facing the prospect of losing the land permit system which allows them to control who accesses their private freehold land. CHRIS GRAHAM takes a look at the federal government plans to ‘determine who comes onto Aboriginal land and the circumstances under which they come’.

It’s Mal Brough’s story, and he’s sticking to it: “I am… aware of the allegation of the rape of a 12-year-old boy in Maningrida in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory…. [the boy] was raped by five juveniles …

Traditional land owners launch action against mine expansion
www.nit.com.au
March 26, 2007

DARWIN, March 26, 2007: A group of traditional land owners has begun legal action against the Northern Territory government over the expansion of the territory’s largest zinc mine.

The $110 million expansion, approved by the Northern Territory government in October last year, will turn the McArthur River Mine from underground to open cut mining.

Part of the project by Swiss mining giant Xstrata and its subsidiary McArthur River Mining (MRM) involves diverting the McArthur River, near the Gulf of Carpentaria, by 5.5km.

But in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin today, lawyer …

Court dismisses application for stay on native title claim
By Tara Ravens,www.nit.com.au
March 17, 2007

DARWIN, March 17, 2007: The Federal Court has dismissed an application by the NT government for a stay of orders over a landmark native title claim for part of Australia’s northern coast.

The government and the NT Seafood Council are fighting a unanimous decision by three judges granting local Aboriginal people exclusive access to the Blue Mud Bay region in north-east Arnhem Land.

The ruling has the potential to affect up to 80 per cent of the Northern Territory coast and could have huge implications for commercial fishing.

The …