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Germaine Greer speaks out for Aboriginal rights

6 November 1997 - Dr Germaine Greer will lead a protest in London next week against an Australian Government plan which could leave Aboriginal peoples without any meaningful rights to their ancestral lands. If passed, the plan, known as the Native Title Amendment Bill, will allow mining and farming companies to exploit Aboriginal lands without the consent of Aboriginal people.

The outspoken writer will join prominent Australians and British non-government organisations at a press conference on Monday 10 November to protest against the Bill.

Aboriginal leader Aden Ridgeway, who will be opening the press conference, said "The Australian High Court has recognised that our rights can co-exist with those of other stakeholders. But the Government's approach to co-existence is both morally bankrupt and unlawful. Independent legal experts agree that the Bill is racist and in breach of international standards. The Australian Government is showing a flagrant disregard for basic human rights."

Other Australian speakers will include novelist Peter Porter and poet John Kinsella, who has written a new work especially for the occasion. British speakers will include Scottish MP Micheal Connarty and representatives of Amnesty International, Survival International and Anti-Slavery International and the TUC and various church and trade union groups.

The protest has been organised by the National Indigenous Working Group (NIWG), an Aboriginal coalition which was formed especially to fight the Bill.

THE PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD AT:
Methodist Central Hall (near Westminster Abbey), Storeys Gate, London SW1 on Monday 10 November at lpm

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

Further information: native title issues page - includes news index and external links