Statement read on behalf of Tom Calma,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
at General Meeting of the Tangentyere Council
18 April 2007
I would like to begin by thanking the Tangentyere Council for its invitation to attend this meeting and to explain what human rights town camp residents have in the current negotiations with the Australian Government.
Unfortunately, I am unable to attend in person as I am not in Australia at present. I intend to visit Alice Springs in the coming months so that I can gain a firsthand understanding of current developments and I look forward to meeting with you at that time.
I have provided this statement to Tangentyere Council so that it is understood that I am concerned about the process that you are currently involved in, and to lend my voice to support your attempts to maintain control over the land and the future development of Alice Springs town camps.
Our land is our most important asset, and maintaining a voice on how the land should be utilised and developed is integral to our self determination and to our futures. Changes in tenure will have a long term impact on our communities and are not easily reversed once done. They should not be done lightly, and Indigenous peoples must fully understand the implications of any changes.
The Australian Government is making a concerted effort to encourage Indigenous peoples to agree to changes to their existing communal tenure arrangements if they are to receive substantial investment of services in their communities. I am concerned about developments in relation to this in a number of Indigenous communities, such as Wadeye, the Tiwi Islands and here in Alice Springs.
Here in the town camps, I am concerned that the government does not acknowledge that the special purpose leases were granted in recognition of traditional affiliations with the land. The leases were negotiated with representatives of the traditional owners of Alice Springs. Where a lease was to be used by Aboriginal people who were not traditional owners in Alice Springs, this was agreed to explicitly by the traditional owners and there was never any intention that the land should move out of Aboriginal control and ownership nor that the continuing rights of the traditional owners were to be ignored or forgotten. The leases do not differ to any significant degree with land granted under the land rights act, or recognised through native title. It should be expected that the government will afford you the same protections and rights in discussions about this land as they would under those schemes.
You have every right to question the approach the government is seeking to implement. And you have the right to come up with your own solutions, based on local knowledge and local need.
Under international human rights obligations, the Australian Government has a responsibility to obtain our free, prior and informed consent to any policy or proposal that affects us. It is our right to freely determine our economic, social and cultural development. In relation to our land and our natural resources:
- Our consent should be sought and freely given prior to the authorisation and start of any development activities;
- We should have full information about the scope and impacts of the proposed development activities on our lands, resources; and
- We should have the choice to give or withhold consent over developments.
Government must come to the table and treat you as equals and as partners. It is not appropriate for government to withhold services and support unless you agree to their proposals. In fact, to do so could amount to coercion and it could place the government in breach of human rights standards.
The Tangentyere Council has taken a constructive approach in response to this situation by proposing a lease model which achieves the government’s objectives while maintaining local management of the town camps.
The Tangentyere Council model retains control of the leases through the Housing Associations while permitting sub-leasing and individual home ownership for those residents in a position to service mortgages. In this way the management of the town camps remains local, and residents will continue to have a forum to discuss the development of their communities - just as you are doing today. This is called self determination.
By contrast, the government’s proposal is only offering new housing if Housing Associations surrender their leases. If the Housing Associations surrender the leases, the residents are unlikely to have a forum through which to have a say about the development in their community.
I am most disturbed to hear that the Australian Government has dismissed the Tangentyere Council lease proposal without discussion. This is not negotiation, and it is not a partnership approach.
It is also not the first time that the federal government has done this. Recently in Wadeye, the local Thamarrurr Council developed a township lease option which would ensure that the Thamarrurr Council controlled leases and the development in Wadeye – allowing for sub leasing and home ownership. Again the government dismissed their proposal.
This is a disturbing trend and one that we Indigenous people must strongly oppose if it does not suit our interests. I support your efforts to ensure that as Indigenous peoples we retain our capacity to control our own affairs and to retain the right to make decisions about what happens on our land and in our communities.
You have my full support in your endeavours to ensure that town camp leases are held and managed by the Town Camp Housing Associations. And you have my full support in ensuring that both the NT and Australian Government meet their human rights obligations in providing services to your community, as is your right as a citizen of this country. And this means without coercion.
I will continue to watch this matter with great interest, and I wish the Tangentyere Council and the town camp residents every success in your efforts.
Tom Calma
Last updated 19 April, 2007.
