By Pip Hinman and Lisa Macdonald
The misinformation and hysteria surrounding December's High Court judgment on Wik has reached epic proportions. Federal and state governments and their supporters in the mining and pastoral industries have relaunched a massive scare campaign about Aborigines taking most of Australia's pastoral land.
The stage is being set for:
lthe legislative overturning of the Wik judgment;
lthe watering down, if not total elimination, of native title rights;
lthe weakening or even repeal of the Racial Discrimination Act.
Over the next few months, Aboriginal rights could be set back more than 30 years.
Mining and pastoral conglomerates are claiming that they do not have "certainty" over their leases and argue that pastoral leases should automatically extinguish native title. In fact, the 1993 Native Title Act did not legislate to extinguish native title on pastoral leases, but the presumption has always been that it does.
The truth behind the hype being whipped up by the capitalist politicians and media on behalf of big business is that the Wik judgment poses no threat to pastoralists. While a majority of High Court judges recognised that native title rights could co-exist with pastoral leases, they qualified this by saying that where the two were incompatible, the pastoralists' rights override native title.
But this is not enough for some sections of big business, particularly the mining lobby, which wants the right to exploit land wherever and whenever it chooses without having to negotiate with anybody — especially native title claimants. Thus, for some time the mining lobby and some state governments, in particular WA, have been pushing for amendment of the Native Title Act to limit or eliminate native title claimants' right to negotiate.
The Wik case, and the general climate of heightened racism that has been generated over the last 10 months, have provided the excuse and conditions for an escalation of their campaign.
If they are successful, however, native title holders can claim compensation under the federal Racial Discrimination Act (1975). This is why the government is also considering the possibility of amendments to that act.
The lie that Wik has introduced greater uncertainty into land tenure arrangements is shown up by the cattlemen's union and some sections of the pastoralists, who have argued that negotiations are possible and are the best way of resolving conflicting land claims.
The 1996 Cape York Agreement, for example, satisfied pastoralists, Aborigines and environmentalists, providing all groups with as much "certainty" as they could desire. But the Howard government and Queensland Premier Rob Borbidge have refused to recognise this agreement, because it contradicts the racist propaganda campaign.
Most sections of big business, most notably the National Farmers' Federation, as well as Howard and all state premiers (including NSW Labor leader Bob Carr), appear to have decided that now is an opportunity to ride roughshod over all Aboriginal land rights and go for the lot.
Aborigines respond
While the politicians were meeting in Sydney on January 22 to refine their plan of attack, Aboriginal leaders, all native title representative bodies, trade unionists and pastoral, mining and tourism industry representatives were meeting separately in Cairns.
Tracker Tilmouth, director of the Central Lands Council, who attended the January 22-23 summit, told Green Left Weekly that the meeting aimed to "put forward a range of solutions to allow coexistence in a way that protects Aboriginal rights".
Tilmouth said that the racist hysteria being whipped up around the Wik case "is getting about as low as can be, but we wouldn't expect anything more".
"The Australian public is again being duped by politicians with an agenda that is utterly against any decent norm that the Aboriginal people and all Australian people have a right to expect", he said.
Tilmouth says that, while the latest attacks on native title are severe and must be stopped, the fight against racial inequality and racism is a broader one. "We're not worried about native title as such. We want to enjoy our rights. We want decent health, housing, education, roads, and medical services. These are basic rights, and unless these are achieved, native title isn't going to mean anything."
In the meantime, Aboriginal leaders are planning a campaign against the ideological and legislative offensive against native title. "When we tell all the ethnic groups about the amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act that will be required for them to extinguish native title, I'm quite sure we'll get their support", Tilmouth said. "We will also approach the churches, unions and other groups to join the campaign."