Once again, Frank keeps us up to date on another sneaky piece of legislation. Another voter registration Furphy? Or perhaps the latest interpretation on why Macron and the French people can’t take a joke. Coud’ve told em ourselves from years of working experience that there’s nothing more untrustworthy than a fundamentalist happy clapper. But poor old Emanuel had to find out the hard way. Perhaps he should’ve organised a contract with our friends up north, at least they’d stick to it with some good grace. On climate, contracts, and everything except maintaing the suck-hole ascendancy for the likes of Scomo, Angus and Barnaby there’s no such thing as fair play. Just ask witness K? Frank writes….
Mateship is FUCKING UP THE ENVIRONMENT as an expression of GODS WILL! ONYA ‘THE AUSTRALIAN WAY’!
Dear all,
Mateship is sealing the deal and then when a better opportunity comes knocking pretend it never ever happened. ‘THE AUSTRALIAN WAY’!
The powers that be, are sneaking through some legislation which will further entrench their control of Aboriginal Land. Little is it realized that in what I dub the ‘coastal voter belt’ your average Australian suburban house owner has more say in their little piece of Australia than your average Remote Aboriginal Community resident has over their backyard.
Some fast footwork by Concerned Australians and others has yielded a Senate Inquiry. Hooray, they have given us a one-week deadline for submissions!
Very motherhood and apple pie that: “Economic Empowerment”!
Guess what? We won’t get fooled again… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V1K9pMlimE
Submissions are due next week Friday, 5 Nov. They can be lodged at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Finance_and_Public_Administration/ALREconomicEmpowerment
Mateship is letting the dog or the tomato do the whistling. ‘The AUSTRALIAN WAY’!
With some trepidation I embarked on writing a submission. It really needs lots of submissions and below is a copy of mine which shows that it’s easier than I thought. Short submissions are easy- if you have any Indigenous friends, ask them if they’ve heard of this legislation, and if they haven’t, tell the inquiry so.
You might mention that the amendments undermine self-determination.
And guess what? Because this is a Bill, ‘terms of reference’ are not applicable, they are the Bill itself.
Mateship is all about, (at the end of the day) being able to laugh about it till you’re sick, Cos its someone else’s problem. That’s ‘the Australian Way’!
Senate Inquiry into the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Economic Empowerment) Bill 2021
My name is Frank Baarda. I’m a non-Indigenous resident of Yuendumu and have worked and lived here with my family since 1973 (48 years).
I’m not aware of any consultations having taken place in Yuendumu regarding these amendments, nor have I met any Warlpiri person who is aware of the proposed amendments let alone comprehend the complex legalese English.
I attended the Warlpiri Land Claim in March of 1978. I have witnessed how from an era of great optimism whitefella bureaucracies have gradually usurped Aboriginal Land Rights so that presently very little real consultation and consent takes place.
The proposed amendments will only exacerbate the disconnect between the rightful owners and the controllers of the land.
The proposed amendments will further weaken the inalienability of Aboriginal Land. More money controlled by outsiders will be generated by sacrificing cultural integrity.
This bill will result in economic empowerment, but of the wrong people. The Bill having such far reaching consequences deserves much more scrutiny than it presently has, and it is criminal to rush it through.
Frank Baarda, Yuendumu, 31st October 2021
fdbaarda@gmail.com 0473 677 068
Power to the people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Epue9X8bpc
Enough serious stuff- a nice bit of music….
Mateship is about maintaining TRADITION and the STATUS QUO at whatever the COST! ‘The Australian Way’!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea43bmyMBm8
Chau,
Frank
And don’t forget: Please join next Wed, 3 Nov free online event about Frank Baarda’s new book “My Yuendumu story”. For details, please see: https://reconciliation4westernsydney.org/virtual-building-bridges-2021/