Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region, Robin Chapple MLC, says that he remains strongly opposed to the re-tabled Aboriginal Heritage Act amendments, and will seek to strike them down.
“All the Bill provides for, with regard to the voice of Aboriginal peoples, is the transfer of most of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee’s functions to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs’ Chief Executive Officer,” he explained.
“The government has left substantial matters to undrafted regulations, such as what the CEO will consider and information required before deciding what is left on or taken off the register.
“It is disappointing that the Bill omits all of which have been repeatedly raised in previous reports on the Act and also in the 2012 round of submissions; all of which aimed to improve protection of Aboriginal heritage and the involvement of Aboriginal peoples in that process.
“There has been enough community backlash to see people are vehemently opposed to this Bill.
“If the Government are true to their word and want to design legislation that protects our unique Aboriginal heritage, then it is back to the drawing board they must go.
“The Greens will continue to oppose the Bill in its current form. “
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 9486 8255
WA Greens Energy spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC has labelled Minister Marmion’s latest plug in support of uranium mining in Western Australia as ‘seriously flawed’.
“The WA Greens will not accept uranium mining in this state any more than we will accept Mr Marmion’s premise for asking us too,” Mr Chapple said.
“Contrary to Mr Marmion’s statements I’d say that the Paris Conference didn’t really lend much hope to the nuclear industry and came out strongly in support of renewable energy as the best way to tackle future energy crises and climate change.
“And, there is a whole host of other factors not being considered here. Vast amounts of concrete are used to build a nuclear reactor, one of the most energy intensive processes known to man.
“Nuclear waste must be stored for decades once it has been spent and as a producer, we would understandably be expected to share this burden.
“I think it’s unlikely there will be an increase in global demand for uranium either. The rate at which nuclear reactors are being shutdown far exceeds the rate at which they are being built and it is difficult to imagine that status quo changing.
“Uranium mining is not a small, low-impact commitment but a long term responsibility that will have implications for generations after the mine is no longer producing.”
The WA Greens have criticised the state government and opposition for passing tough mandatory sentencing laws that breach the international convention on the rights of a child.
“It was extremely disappointing to see such universal support for a bill that is so fraught with opportunities for misuse and unintended consequences,” WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple said.
“The convention states that in a case involving a minor, detention must be a last resort - these laws remove the ability of a court to use discretion and hence clearly breach the convention.
“We should be allowing the judiciary to make decisions relating to children, not mandating from Parliament.”
WA Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren said that mandatory sentencing had a disproportionate impact on marginalised West Australians with little evidence to suggest that it reduced crime in any context.
“Home burglaries are ultimately a crime of despair – it would be nice to see a government who was willing to actually invest in people and invest in rehabilitation,” Ms MacLaren said.
“I challenge the State Government, and Canning candidate Andrew Hastie, who has weighed into this debate to support mandatory sentencing extensions - to produce their evidence to show that mandatory sentencing will reduce the number of home burglaries.
“I also challenge the Government to commit to implementing the policies that are known to work to reduce crime. That is, long term, research-linked, community-based strategies, including health-based substance abuse programs.”
For comment please contact media liaison Tim Oliver on 08 9486 8255 or 0431 9696 25
Since the Barnett government came into office in 2008 at least 3,207 Aboriginal heritage sites have lost their registered status, according to a new report.
WA Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal Affairs Robin Chapple MLC said the report was extensive and revealed much more disturbing long-term trends about the assessment and protection of Aboriginal heritage sites.
“This is now about much, much more than the 37 sites deregistered on faulty advice from the State Solicitor’s Office (SSO) prior to the Robinson vs Fielding Supreme Court decision,” Mr Chapple said.
“What this report proves is that the Barnett government has all but abandoned its statutory responsibilities to protect Aboriginal heritage in Western Australia.
“Not only have more than 3,000 sites had their status, and hence protection, downgraded but since 2010 the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee (ACMC) has rejected 86% of new site submissions. Prior to 2010 that number was only 10%.
“What is most confusing about the data in the report however is the sheer number of site status changes – more than 14,000 – that occurred across this time period, often into new categories that were later removed.
“Under the Aboriginal Heritage Act the status of any site must be assessed by the ACMC. Given the ACMC monthly meetings have radically shortened under its new chair I find it very hard to believe that any of these status changes have been given proper consideration.
Mr Chapple said Aboriginal people across WA were deeply concerned about their heritage despite Department assurances that every action was undertaken with consultation.
“At the Department of Aboriginal Affairs estimates hearing last week I was assured that all informants (Traditional Owners) were told whenever a decision was made about a heritage site,” he said.
“Yet I’ve had a great many people contact me fearful about places that are significant to them and to their people; they’ve heard nothing.
“The government’s handling of Aboriginal Affairs since 2008 has been absolutely to the detriment of Aboriginal people. We are currently presiding under a government who will stop at nothing to open doors for industry and to refill its own severely depleted coffers.”
For comment please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier has further confused the debate around remote community closures after commenting that the Kimberley and Pilbara regions were the government’s primary focus.
Mr Collier made the comments at a regional cabinet meeting held in Kalgoorlie over the weekend after being questioned by a Ngaanyatjarra elder.
WA Greens spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs Robin Chapple MLC said comments such as these only added to the anxiety being felt by Aboriginal people living in remote communities throughout Western Australia.
“When will this government start to take the concerns of Aboriginal people seriously and tell the truth about their plans to close remote communities,” Mr Chapple.
“On one level we have the official line which is that no decisions about closing communities have been made, and won’t be made until proper consultation has taken place.
“Yet we continue to hear from various government representatives that some communities are known to be unsustainable, and now that only communities in certain regions will be targeted.
“I’m glad the Minister is not focused on closing communities in the Goldfields region, but what does that mean for people in the Pilbara and the Kimberley. They are only left further in the dark by this revelation.
“Furthermore, industry representatives have revealed the government has given them reassurances about remote communities that may fall within their jurisdictions. So why does this government insist on keeping Aboriginal people in the dark?
“As the WA Greens have said from the start, any policy concerning the provision of services to Aboriginal people living on country in remote areas needs to begin with a conversation and a willingness to actually listen.
“The Minister, his Department, the Government’s handling of this issue, and indeed the concept of closing remote communities at all, is absolutely deplorable.”
For comment please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255.
The West Australian Greens have renewed calls for a reassessment of intrusive mining and petroleum leases after the release of a map, produced by the WA Water Corporation, which has revealed that the state’s drinking water reserves could be under serious threat.
Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC said the map showed petroleum exploration leases had been issued over a large proportion of the state’s drinking water reserves, some of which may later become the subject of fracking. This includes almost every coastal water reserve between Margaret River and Geraldton.
“That any development concerning mining or exploration of any kind gets such a free run is a disgrace,” Mr Chapple said.
“There are too many examples where the Department of Mines and Petroleum, sometimes against the wishes of the EPA, allows exploration in areas with significant and well known heritage, conservation or other factors at stake.
“The Burrup Peninsula, for instance, has an immeasurable concentration of the world’s oldest known human art – a unique and culturally significant heritage location not just for WA – yet this government continues to approve exploration and development that is sadly compromising this unique landscape.
“We knew there was exploration going on near water reserves because I have communities, farmers and small businesses all over my electorate up in arms about it but we didn’t know the extent.
“Gas fracking has already been given the go ahead a stone’s throw from the water supply bores of Green Head and Leeman, and similar proposals are facing strong opposition in Geraldton, Carnarvon and across the Kimberley.
“To see the extent of the problem and the amount of land the DMP has released for exploration, let alone how it has managed to fly this under the radar for so long, is alarming,” Mr Chapple said.
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
The Australian Greens have expressed serious concerns that services for Aboriginal communities will be compromised by a deal which will see the Federal Government move responsibility for their municipal and essential services to the states.
"The Federal Government has made a point of emphasising its successful ‘historic agreement' to hand responsibility for municipal and essential services in remote Aboriginal communities to the states, but it is clear that this deal is far from perfect," Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues said today.
"The handover of responsibility of these services has been on the Commonwealth's agenda for a long time and communities have had serious concerns about this handover and what it means for their communities. While the Minister seems to think he has achieved a long term solution I don't think that is likely."
"Comments published today indicated that the WA Government is a long way from being in step with the Federal Government, with concerns over a shortfall in funding and the impacts on residents of those communities. The WA Government is suggesting that around 180 remote Aboriginal communities will be affected, and that the money offered by the Federal Government will cover only two years of services.
"I am concerned that while governments bicker between themselves, communities who are crying out for better investments in critical services will be forgotten. The financial pressure of this transition could lead to the States making cuts to services or looking to close remote communities.
"The Federal Government cannot jepoardise the delivery of essential services to remote community by hurriedly handing this responsibility off to the states. Doing so has the potential to serious undermine efforts to close the gap and can lead to a range of health and community concerns.
"I am calling on the Federal Government to ensure that any move to transition the provision of these services to the states guarantees adequate funding into the long term and robust, transparent monitoring processes to ensure communities do not lose out," Senator Siewert concluded.
Greens Robin Chapple WA State Parliament spokesperson for Aboriginal affairs was also highly critical of the move.
"WA is already failing to service remote Aboriginal communities and has already closed some and as Minister Marmion has pointed out this may mean more closures into the future," Mr Chapple said today.
"There seems to be a predilection with governments at both the federal and state level to dump on those who can least afford it.
"There are massive social and economic costs in closing communities as have been experienced by the closure of Oombulgurri and its pending demolition, heavily criticised by Amnesty International Australia.
"We don't go around closing small rural towns half the size of many of these communities, so why shouldn't Aboriginal communities by nurtured on their lands and in their towns places they have lived for thousands of years.
"This is just another short term bean counting exercise that will undo the good work of the last 40 years and provide a cost explosion in relocation and social breakdown into the future," Mr Chapple concluded.
Originally posted here by the office of Senator Rachel Siewert.
