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PERTH, WA: October 18 —24, 1984
Number 2407
A DDRESS 26 jtjHl ST rr ,.•: :.A PO lox 50 Aberder!n Str..t.t Pt!wl A 6000
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"Talk of elections and a white backlash drowns out calls for rational non-partisan resolution of issues of justice" says the Jesuit lawyer who is an adviser to the Queensland Catholic bishop on Aboriginal issues. The seeds of Federal-State conflict continue to germinate and once again Aborigines are the meat in the sandwich says Reverend Frank Brennan SJ in a comment on the release of the Seaman report on Aboriginal land rights and subsequent statements by State and Federal governments. Mr Brennan was invited to Perth earlier this year to help Catholics clarify their views while submissions were being made to the Seaman Inquiry. He is due to return to Perth next month It is now 10 years since Mr Justice Woodward presented his final report of the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission to the Commonwealth Government. That report, which contained draft legislation, was presented to the Governor-General in May 1974. The first [and Rights Bill was presented to Parliament in October, 1975.
Reverend Frank Brennan Si makes a point during an address to a Perth audience while in WA earlier this year. Nofta0.101%"1"501101,.
Following the change in government, the Bill was redrafted andpresented again to Parliament in June 1976. The legislation did not come into effect until December 1976. So there was a time gap of two years between the publication of the first draft Bill
A special in-depth EJlook at the affect of alcoholic parents on their children and families. See the start of R OSLYN ROSS' feature pages 4 and 5.
The Saint Vincent de Paul national congress held at the parish centre. City Beach looks at important issues of the Church and the poor. See pages 2 and 3.
riTVVV Channel 7 on Sunday night screens The Scarlet 1--Jand the Black, the drama starring Gregory Peck about the Irish priest in the Vatican who helped POWs escape the Gestapo in World War II. See page 12. 411\
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Long battle and the final Bill passed by Parliament. Despite this, the Australian Mining Industry Council was of the view that there was "undue haste" in the making of decisions translating the Royal Commission's findings into legislative provisions. Now, consider the time scale confronting Aboriginals in Western Australia. The report of the Aboriginal Land Inquiry constituted by Mr Paul Seaman, QC, was released to the public on Thursday, September 27. Having had the report for 10 days prior to its release, the Western Australian Government released a general statement on Aboriginal land claims and a statement of principles along with the Seaman report. The Western Australian
Premier Brian Burke ...at centre of land rights controversy.
Government had already decided Aborigines would have "no veto of mining or exploration" even though Mr Seaman had "no doubt that from an Aboriginal viewpoint an aspiration to control mining and oil activity on Aboriginal land is reasonable." Mr Seaman's "assessment is that there is no compelling economic reason why, in the interest of the broader community, Aboriginal communities should not be afforded control over mining or petroleum activity on Aboriginal land." Mr Seaman's views accord with Mr Justic Woodward's statement 10 years ago: "1 believe that to deny the Aborigines the right to prevent mining on their land is to deny the reality of their land rights. • Colt page 4