home | action

jidi jidi aboriginal corporation action

Update

3 August 2007 - The Elders and other members of Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation finally got to meet with 2 representatives of the West Australian Government. The meeting occurred at their community lands back in April.

The State representatives had finally taken the time to actually read the version of a heritage protection agreement made by JJAC.They even acknowledged that it was a very good agreement and should be implemented. The catch was that they insisted that the mining industry also agree to the agreement.

That meeting was 4 months ago and JJAC are still waiting to get together with the State and industry to sort this whole issue out. JJAC remains ready to go, but it seems industry and the State have decided that getting together with the region’s Traditional Owners to help protect their sacred places is just too dull and bothersome. And so the whole project of getting together to sort this all out has lost all momentum.

This does not surprise the JJAC Elders. They have been around Governments and mining companies long enough to know that tokenism is at best the attitude of whitefellas to Indigenous cries to protect heritage sites from destruction. And so the Jidi Jidi struggle goes on. The Old and the Young are not giving up the fight to protect Country.

Country continues to be destroyed without any consultation with its Traditional Owners.

Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation members, particularly Elders with the chief duty to protect their Ancestors Country and sacred sites from harm, are getting very upset at this destruction of their lands and the Western Australia (WA) State Government will do nothing to help them.

Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation, representing the Nharnuwangga Wajarri Ngarlawangga People's Native Title, is now aware, that with the knowledge and direct support of the State, various explorers are doing exploration and mining activities, including high impact work such as drilling, without having made the required heritage agreement. The heritage agreement allows for sacred sites to be avoided and so not harmed by such activities.

Two companies that have not signed heritage agreements with the Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation are Gleneagle Gold and Sandfire Resources.

Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation have now had to ask Western Australian State Government environmental regulators to get the companies to stop work and make the heritage agreement. This is consistent with the regulators’ policies and procedures, but Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation is worried that the usual bias against, and disinterest in, any issues raised by Indigenous people will see them making excuses for these two companies.

Support Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation to have heritage agreements signed by writing to or emailing Gleneagle Gold and Sandfire Resources.

For further information please feel free to contact the Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation, by emailing Mr Marcus Holmes: mholmes@taylorlinfoot.com.au

Note to Editors:

Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation is created by the Native Title Act 1993, to manage and be trustee of the Native Title of the Nharnuwangga Wajarri Ngarlawangga People in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

The Nharnuwangga Wajarri Ngarlawangga People were the first group of native title holders in Western Australia to successfully prove their native title to their Country.

what can you do?

Please support the Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation to secure the signing of heritage agreements with Gleneagle Gold and Sandfire Resources. You can accomplish this by writing to or emailing Gleneagle Gold and Sandfire Resources on the contact details below. Please send a copy to: mholmes@taylorlinfoot.com.au Marcus Holmes when sending your action to Gleneagle Gold or Sandfire Resources.

Remember to include your postal addresses.

WRITE TO GLENEAGLE GOLD:

Managing Director,
Gleneagle Gold
1 Ventnor Avenue,
West Perth,
Western Australia, 6005
AUSTRALIA
Telephone: +61 8 9476 4646
Facsimile: +61 8 9476 4600
Email: ian@gleneaglegold.com.au

Dear Sir,

HERITAGE AGREEMENT WITH JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

We have been informed by Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation that your company is carrying out exploration activity on their members’ Native Title Country without having first made a protective heritage agreement with Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation.

We understand that you have been asked many times to do so, and that the requirement to make such an agreement is actually a binding condition written onto your tenements.

This breach by your company is causing great harm and distress to the Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation. members, particularly the Elders.

We/I request that your company enters into a heritage agreement with Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation and you do the right thing on their Country.

Yours faithfully,

(SIGNED)

PLEASE WRITE TO SANDFIRE RESOURCES:

Managing Director,
Sandfire Resources
1 Ventnor Avenue,
West Perth,
Western Australia, 6005
AUSTRALIA
Telephone: +61 8 9226 5833
Facsimile: +61 8 9226 5844
E-mail: admin@sandfire.com.au

LETTERS FROM THE JIDI JIDI CHAIRPERSON:

9 March 2007 - Downloand the latest letter to GlenEagle Gold Shareholders (pdf) from Linda Riley Elder and JJAC Chairperson.

28 February 2007 - Downloand the latest letter to GlenEagle Gold (pdf) from Linda Riley Elder and JJAC Chairperson.

JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
ASHNURTON DOWNS ROAD
MEEKATHARRA WA 6642

ABN 14 260 549 105

Dear Ian,

GLENEAGLE GOLD AND JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

My daughters have told me and the other Elders of what happened at their meeting with you in Perth.
They told us of how you said on one hand you wanted to protect our heritage places and yet on the other hand flat refused to even consider negotiation of our heritage agreement that protects our heritage. We have given this agreement to you many months ago and other companies have signed it and have found it to be a good, workable, fair agreement.

This is shameful Ian-you know that your company is doing exploration activity on our Traditional Lands without our consent, without our agreement.

Do you not care what we think? You are supposed to be a welcome quest on our Country but you are just ignoring our wishes as the recognised Traditional owners.

Sadly the fight between us will now have to continue Ian. This is not our choice but a choice on us by you.

We will never give up protecting our Country. The constant effort in trying to get you to do the right thing on our Country is wearing us Old People down now after all this time, but our children will keep up the Battle for us.

We cannot stand by and let you destroy our Country without our protections in place as that is our obligation to our Ancestors and to our children Ian.

We ask that you reconsider your decision and start the negotiations on our agreement. Let us know your answer very soon Ian.

Linda Riley
Elder and Chairperson, Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation
27 February 2007

Letter to explorers - 19 January 2007 from Linda Riley Elder and JJAC Chairperson.

JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
ASHBURTON DOWNS ROAD
MEEKATHARRA WA 6642
ABN 14 260 549 105

19 January 2007

Dear Explorer,

I am writing to you as Chairperson and Elder on behalf of the Nharnuwangga Wajarri and Ngarlawangga People, the native title owners of the Country that you wish to explore upon.

We support others sharing our Country, but under the terms of an agreed heritage agreement that sets out how you will use our Country and how you will try to avoid our Aboriginal sites.

Before you sent us a template heritage agreement to sign. You were then told by us that that version of heritage agreement cannot be signed by Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation, the manager and holder of native title rights and interests for the NWN. As you know, we have our own version of heritage agreement that we require is used.

Under the ILUA we made with the State, when we were the first Aboriginal people in WA that got Federal Court recognition of our native title back 6 years ago, your company is not allowed to do any low or high impact exploration activity until a heritage agreement has been signed by us both. The heritage agreement attached to the back of the ILUA is acknowledged by the State, including the Deputy Premier, to just be a “template agreement” and merely its “preferred version” of agreement. We have therefore produced our own version and this is the one that is on the table. We will negotiate on it with you, but it is the starting point for negotiations.

Other explorer companies have signed it.

The State is now saying that if you have signed the template agreement, and we haven’t, you can go ahead and do your exploration. We are appalled at this and do not agree with such a hostile approach and interpretation at all. It is wrong under the ILUA and under State Indigenous heritage protection policies.

 You are on notice that we are unable to do heritage surveys with your company until our agreement has been signed, and that there are Aboriginal sites, as defined under the Aboriginal Heritage Act, all through our Country that are protected by the Act. This means that, at law, if you disturb a site then there is no defence against a prosecution under the Act. Even walking into the wrong place on our Country disturbs sacred sites. There are sacred sites throughout our Country.

The State is encouraging your company to go ahead and start work on our Country without our heritage agreement being signed and therefore without heritage surveys having been done. This is very risky due to the large number of sites on our Country. Part of our recognised native title rights are to protect sites and that is also recognised by section 7 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act. If your company, employees or contractors damage or disturb any sites the Act says this can be prosecuted as a criminal offence. This can mean jail and big money penalties, and, if a prosecution is successful, compensation and restitution can be requested to be awarded. Also this would not help the shareholders and public’s view of the company.

We have now had to regularly brief the media, opposition politicians and the international community through the internet, about the State and the companies that are not doing the right thing by us and Country. We are also having to make environmental objections. We will not give up in protecting our Country. We now have a recognised native title and have a duty to protect our Country. We will not, and cannot, ever give that up. It is our obligation to our Ancestors, our People now and in the future.

We welcome you to share Country with us but please don’t start this the wrong way. Some companies have and we will never forget this and we must keep fighting with them to try to get them to change their disrespectful ways.

 Linda Riley
Elder and JJAC Chairperson
19 January 2007

Copy to Explorers, State, Politicians, Media and International Community

STATEMENT OF ELDER LINDA RILEY FOR THE GOVERNING COMMITTEE OF JJAC, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

23 November 2006 - We are still battling with the Western Australian State Government and mining companies that refuse to enter into our heritage agreement with us before disturbing our native title Country.

The latest from the State is that despite knowing that the version of heritage agreement they want us to sign is completely negotiable and, more importantly , unworkable, leading to huge problems down the road with any explorers that sign it, they have given us a deadline to take it or leave it and then they will say that if an explorer has signed it, even where Jidi Jidi quite correctly refuses to sign it, the State will give the green light for the explorer to do what they please on our land without even first doing a heritage site survey.

This is madness as there are many sacred sites on our land, and the explorers that go ahead with the State’s support -but without our consent- risk being prosecuted for destroying our Ancestors places.

For the State to encourage such ruthless disregard for our people and our sacred places is unacceptable. And this from a Government that has a proudly stated “platform” of protecting Aboriginal sites and Aboriginal rights on land!

Please support us by writing now to Hon Deputy Premier Eric Ripper at 28th Floor, 197 St. George’s Terrace, Perth, WA 6000.

Tell him what you think of his Government’s disregard of our rights to have our own heritage agreement, rights confirmed in a 2001 agreement made with the State, but that are being ignored and leading us into drawn out battles with explorers that follow the State’s wrong advice that the broken down template agreement is all they need to sign to get onto our Country.

Please post us a copy of your letters to me at Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation, PO Box 128 Meekatharra WA 6642.

Thank you for your help in this time of our need.

Linda Riley
Elder and Chairperson
JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
ASHBURTON DOWNS ROAD
MEEKATHARRA WA 6642

ABN 14 260 549 105

PDF Media Release 20 Spetember 2006

THE JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

external links

• JIDI JIDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION
  ASHBURTON DOWNS ROAD
  MEEKATHARRA WA 6642
  
  ABN 14 260 549 105