NYUNGAH CIRCLE OF ELDERS
c/o PO GUILDFORD WESTERN AUSTRALIA
T: 08 9377 3550, 08 9279 6706 F:08 9377 3559
The Last of the Nyungah Elders who are standing to Save and Protect our Ancient Religion and Culture and Sacred Beliefs in the Land and not take money to sell our Sacredness
07-08-1999
We are requesting and calling for help from Indigenous People with having our land dealt with in the proper way. This is our letter to the Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, not to allow plotting and corruption to continue on in the way it is being done now.
The Hon Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Senator Herron
Parliament House
Canberra, ACT
As a grassroots Community of Nyungah people, we ask you not to give this Noongar Land Council another licence to continue on and butcher us and do the wrong thing to the Aboriginal people, because if you do, you will be seen from the eyes of Australia if not the World as collaborating with corruption.
Enough is enough. We have suffered too hard and long from Governments coming in and out of power. We ask you to make a stand and say this is not good enough and not let this Noongar Land Council continue on depriving and denying Aboriginal people natural justice.
We have had enough.
We have tried three Special General Meetings - one the NLC started only and never completed it and ignored the binding Resolutions passed; a second one in January this year of over 100 Nyungah people including many Elders, they said was not valid on the grounds not all the people who requested it were Members,which was incorrect because they were members, and we had had legal advice from Greg McIntyre, the Barrister on the sections on membership in the Rules/Constitution; the third one was last week on Tuesday 3rd August, of about 70 Nyungah people including many Elders,which passed 11 resolutions, but we know the Noongar Land Council will ignore these binding Resolutions.
We have tried approaching ATSIC with our just complaints, and we have approached the State Government, and we have approached the Native Title Tribunal also with our just and factual complaints. Three times the Noongar Land Council has tried to change the Constitution/Rules but twice did not get the changes passed, and the third and last time did not get a quorum. They do not have the support of the Nyungah people as a whole,only of a few people on the Executive Committee.
Now they are organising a Full Council Meeting for 18th and 19th of August and have offered the Members travelling money and accomodation money which they have never ever done before to our knowledge and we believe it is improper and an attempt to unduly influence the people because you are considering the re-licencing.
We have been present at Meetings organised and run by the Native Title Tribunal with Native Title Claimants and the Noongah Land Council, and at the meetings agreements have been made between the Native Title Claimants and the Noongah Land Council in the presence of the native Title Tribunal, and the Noongah Land Council has failed to honour these agreements. This has happened to other Native Title Claimants as well because they have brought their complaints to us. Fred Chaney, Hugh Chevis and other Native Title Tribunal workershave been involved in these meetings. Also
other agreements have been made direct between Native Title Claimantsincluding ourselves and the Noongah Land Council and these agreements have not been kept.
We can't go on anymore having this suffering inflicted upon us.
We ask you as the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs to assist us the people you are representing.
We ask all other Indigenous people to support us in our stand to haveour land dealt with in the proper way. The Native Title Act is supposedto give Aboriginal people some kind of justice in ways of dealing withthe Concerns of the Land and the Religion and the Culture in the properlawful way.
We say that creating division amongst Nyungah people and trying to entice Nyungah people to assimilate into the white society through this false image of the Noongar Land Council where their only concern is doing deals for money, no matter if it is with the right people of the area or the wrong people of the area, and with no concern for the Culture or Religion of the Nyungah people which was said as a public statement made by the Executive Director of the Noongar Land Council, is creating selfishness amongst Nyungah people and enticing Nyungah people to be against one another for the sake of the dollar not the land.
The Noongar Land Council has become a politically motivated white man's plotted plan to create division amongst Aboriginal people. It is not according to the First Law of the Land which is the roots of Native Title and of the Mabo High Court decision, and of the Native Title Act and the Native Title Act Amendments. Nor is the Noongar Land Council complying with those Acts above.
On the basis and the grounds of all that has been said, we are calling on you, the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, to not give the licence for the continuation on of the Noongar Land Council as a Representative Body because it is not working lawfully as it should.
Swan Valley Nyungah Community
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Swan Valley Nyungah Community
svnc@nyungah.org.au
http://www.nyungah.org.au/
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