Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the Aboriginal Land Lights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Jabiru) Bill 2020. I am also circulating an amendment in my name, which I shall address as I speak. I start by paying my respects and offering the greetings of the parliament to the Mirarr Aboriginal people, who are the traditional owners of the Jabiru township, which is the subject of this bill. Labor will be supporting this bill, which has been a long time coming for the Mirarr people—and I once again pay my respects to the Mirarr people and say thank you for your attention, thank you for your patience. This is such an important issue for your community, and I absolutely recognise that.

The town of Jabiru was established in the early 1980s, without the consent of the Mirarr people, to service the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. The town and the mine are surrounded by Kakadu National Park, Aboriginal land which is leased to the Commonwealth Director of National Parks. The Mirarr never wanted the Ranger mine or the Jabiru township that goes with it. The good news for them is that the mine will soon be closed and the site will be rehabilitated. As for the township of Jabiru, that in itself is substantial infrastructure that now serves as an administrative centre for West Arnhem Land. It is home to hundreds of people and is a special recreation and accommodation hub for the tourism industry, especially visitors to the Kakadu National Park.

The effect of this bill will be to return the ownership of Jabiru to the Mirarr people and to allow for a community entity, representing the minister, to hold a head lease over the town. It is important that the House is reminded that it was a Labor government, back in October 2009, which set this course of Mirarr self-determination, with an in-principle agreement for the amendments to the land rights act. Labor, in January last year, committed to a major upgrade of the Kakadu National Park visitor facilities. Undoubtedly it was the knowledge of that commitment that spurred the Prime Minister to commit similar funding. Labor is glad that a new Mirarr community entity, rather than the Commonwealth Executive Director of Township Leasing, will be holding the head lease over Jabiru township, because this reflects the preference of the Northern Territory land councils and traditional owners. Jabiru falls within the realm of the Northern Land Council, and I am pleased to record the NLC's support for this bill. I pay my respects to the NLC. I personally know very well the reasonably new CEO, Marion Scrymgour.

Jabiru falls within the realm of the Northern Land Council, as I have just said. After the bill was introduced back in May last year, the NLC noted that it would allow for the transition of the township from a mining town to a regional service centre, as well as a tourism hub that will drive economic activity throughout the West Arnhem region.

For many years the Mirarr people have been planning and looking forward to the shutdown of the Ranger mine, as we said, in 2021. They have developed a comprehensive master plan that will transform the Jabiru economy from one that has been focused on mining and support services to one based on the social, cultural and natural resources wealth of the region, and some of those advising the Mirarr have walked me through what that plan is.

The Mirarr people have withstood immense pressure from political and mining industry influences for many decades now, and their culture has remained strong and vibrant. Now, finally, they have the opportunity to chart their own destiny, to manage their own affairs and to prosper from their own endeavours—self-determination in real terms. The Mirarr community entity owned township lease will provide a local decision-making entity. It will allow the management of the lease to be put directly into the hands of the traditional owners, who will be able to make decisions that uphold their cultural connection to land.

I know the Mirarr people have been looking forward with much anticipation to the passage of this legislation, and we absolutely wish the Mirarr people well in their future business. There is much hard work ahead of them to realise the potential that will be delivered by the passage of this bill. It is the hope of the traditional owners that this transition will foster long-term economic development not only for the township but for the greater West Arnhem region, and Labor joins the Mirarr and the traditional owners in that hope. Labor has always been committed to greater self-determination for First Nations Australians.

I move the amendment circulated in my name:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) recognises the importance of Aboriginal land rights for the self-determination First Nations people;

(2) agrees that, as set out in the Explanatory Memorandum to the bill, the right to self-determination entails the entitlement of peoples to have control over their destiny and to be treated respectfully;

(3) notes that the recently introduced restrictions on the use of the Aboriginal flag are unacceptable, heartbreaking and disrespectful to First Nations people; and

(4) calls on the Government to act on matters of importance to First Nations people, including:

(a) do everything in its power to free the flag so that it can be used by all Australians, while also respecting and protecting the rights of Harold Thomas; and

(b) adequately invest in housing and essential services—including access to clean water—for First Nations people living on Native Title land".

I have moved this amendment today in part so that Labor can speak about a matter which has caught the attention of and shocked many people in the community. Before I move on to that topic, I once again give my warmest congratulations and my warmest and best wishes to the Mirarr for their endeavours to do with the transfer of town ownership.

The matter I want to speak of that has caught national attention is the ownership of the Aboriginal flag and the use of its copyright by a private company for profit, not pride. The Aboriginal flag was first flown in Adelaide on National Aborigines Day in 1971—a very long time ago—at Victoria Square, also known in the Kaurna language as Tarntanyangga. In 1972 the flag became the national flag of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra after it was flown there. I know that Harold Thomas and Gary Foley took that flag to the tent embassy. The upper, black half of the flag represents the Aboriginal people of Australia. The lower, red half represents the red ochre—earth. The yellow circle at the centre represents land and sun, the giver of life and protector.

The Federal Court has recognised Harold Thomas as the author of that flag, and that is an important point in this discussion. Harold is a deeply respected Luritja man from Central Australia. He was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from an Australian art school, and he holds an honorary degree at the University of Adelaide. We understand that Harold has absolutely every right, as the copyright holder, to do as he wishes in terms of the flag. But we also say very much that, while we recognise Harold's copyright, Australia is made up of many Aboriginal nations—hundreds, as well as the Torres Strait—and the Aboriginal flag is one symbol that unites those Aboriginal nations. It is such a universal and important symbol that I actually have it tattooed on my left arm. I'm not going to show you, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I promise you it's there. Aboriginal people across this country display the flag with pride, as do many non-Aboriginal people who share this land and acknowledge and celebrate the oldest living culture in the world.

It is for all of these reasons that so many people have been shocked and appalled by the restrictions which have recently come into force about the use of the flag. WAM Clothing and its associated entities assert that they hold the right to use of the flag on clothing and in digital form. It is a matter of public record that Aboriginal organisations—including health and community organisations, which I'm sure the member for Lingiari will address—have been sent cease and desist orders and letters demanding that they stop putting the flag on clothes and uniforms unless they pay WAM to do so and have been told they can't use the flag online or on social media.

This came to a head on the weekend, when the AFL could not use the Aboriginal flag for the Dreamtime round which was played in Darwin. There was no flag on the guernseys and no flag on the ground, but there were thousands of flags in the crowd as people, in an act of defiance, reclaimed this important symbol, a symbol which is protected under the Flags Act of this country. The takeover of the flag by private interests has appalled so many people, particularly because WAM Clothing has publicised links to another corporate entity, Birubi Art, a company which was last year fined $2.3 million after being prosecuted by the ACCC for selling fake Indigenous art made overseas.

I have spoken to very many people who have one simple question: How could this happen? How could the Aboriginal flag be held hostage? How could a company engaged in exploitation of the flag for profit be able to stop local Aboriginal organisations using it as they long have? This is an issue of morality in my mind, and the question is: how is this right? WAM Clothing should do the right thing and give the flag back, because just because something might be legal doesn't always mean that it's morally right. The government should work with all parties to free the flag. Surely it is not beyond our collective will to fix this.

I will finish off by saying once again that our warmest wishes go to the Mirarr people of that extraordinary part of Australia and the town of Jabiru, which I'm sure many people in this chamber know well. I've certainly been there with many others. It will be well cared for, well loved and well looked after by the Mirarr. In saying that, I would reiterate the very real points I've made in relation to the amendments that I have moved—amendments that are very important in terms of recognising self-determination and land rights, and amendments that really do back-in the destiny of the Mirarr—and also note with concern where things are at in relation to that one unifying symbol of very diverse peoples. Many people don't understand, from an Aboriginal cultural perspective, how diverse our nations are. The assistant minister would know of the Biripi people of the Central Coast. There are some very famous Biripi people, actually. We all have those stories in our collective understanding of the areas that we represent.

That diversity is important to understand. But the one that unifies everyone, no matter what the diversity contains and no matter what the stories contain, is the image of the flag. People might argue that I'm playing identity politics and this is not something that should occupy the time of the House. Let me assure you that it is not that sort of politics; it is really important, and not just to First Peoples. The Aboriginal flag is recognised as a formal flag of this country. It is part of the Flags Act 1953 and, therefore, it is a flag of this nation. I would guarantee that not many of us have been to a school, a public building or a parliament in this nation that does not recognise that flag. We all recognise it with pride and a collective sense of what it represents. So I move the amendment in my name and, once again, send my warmest regards to the Mirarr.

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