home | news l

DIGEST for MPs

7 April 1998 - "SORRY BOOK" EVENT, House of Commons

This briefing was prepared by the National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title (NIWG)

RECONCILIATION - APOLOGY AND ACTION

1. Apologising for past injustices is an important step towards reconciliation.

2. However, reconciliation will not be achieved by an apology alone; it also requires Australian Government action to respect and protect Indigenous rights.

3. Yet the Australian Prime Minister John Howard is currently trying to push through a plan which will violate the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of Australia's Indigenous peoples.

4. This plan, known formally as the Native Title Amendment Bill, will deny Indigenous peoples their "native title" rights to their ancestral lands and waters.

THE NATIVE TITLE AMENDMENT BILL

1. If passed, this Bill will:
· Leave most Indigenous peoples without any meaningful rights to their lands;
· Permanently extinguish native title rights on pastoral leases - the vast sheep and cattle ranches which cover almost half of Australia;
· Effectively hand over vast areas of Indigenous land to the powerful mining and farming industries;
· Repeal sections of Australia's anti-discrimination legislation, thereby paving the way for future discriminatory laws;
· Redistribute rights in land on the basis of race, like the 1913 South African Lands Act which was one of the cornerstones of apartheid.

2. The Bill has been criticised by independent experts in Australia and overseas:
· The Australian Law Reform Commission has condemned the Bill as being racially discriminatory, unconstitutional and in breach of international law;
· International human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Survival International and Anti-Slavery International have voiced grave concerns about the discriminatory nature of the Bill;
· The Australian Conservation Foundation fears that the Bill will have a disastrous impact on the environment, causing land degradation, loss of habitat and biodiversity and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
· South African President Nelson Mandela is so concerned about the Bill that he has made a personal offer to help negotiate an alternative;
· Earlier this year, the chair of the British All Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community, Mr Bernie Grant MP, condemned the Bill as racist.

3. Yet John Howard seems determined to push the Bill through. He has promised to call a general election if the Australian Senate tries to amend the Bill when they debate it this week.

4. Mr Howard's confrontational stance means that, by the end of the week, either:
· Racial discrimination will be enshrined in Australian law; or
· Australia will be facing an election fought over race.

5. Mr Howard's enthusiasm for an early election on native title may be related to:
· The declining popularity of his Government;
· The impending slowdown of the Australian economy in response to the Asian financial crisis;
· Popular fear and prejudice over native title. Polls show that many Australians are against native title, although few of them know what it is.

6. Although Mr Howard says that his Government would not fight a racist campaign in an election over native title, they have:
· Exacerbated and exploited ignorance and prejudice to win support for the Bill;
· Claimed that native title threatens non-indigenous homes and jobs.

7. In fact, native title does not affect the existing rights of non-indigenous people at all:
· The existing rights of homeowners cannot be affected by native title;
· The existing rights of farmers and miners cannot be affected by native title;

8. The Senate must stand up to Mr Howard and amend the Bill so that Australia does not become a racist state.

9. Then, instead of holding an election, Mr Howard must sit down with Indigenous peoples and negotiate a settlement.

This briefing is from the National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title (NIWG)

Further readings

• British MPs were invited to sign the 'Sorry Book'

Further information: human rights issues page - includes news index and external links

|| click to go to the top of this page