Legislation has been passed in the Australian state of New South Wales which allows farmers to clear land at will. Farmers welcome it, an Aboriginal leader sees it as a declaration of war. Ghillar Michael Anderson writes that it is a direct assault on Aboriginal laws, culture, religion and spirituality.
25 November 2016 - - Our Law was not made so people can gain short time profit, our Law was given to us by the Creators to ensure that we all can live in a timeless harmony and peace together as family.
The new Biodiversity law is tantamount to a declaration of War against First Nations Peoples. These changes will seriously impact on our Laws, culture, religion and spirituality in the State of New South Wales.
Our sites, be it archaeological campsites, burial grounds or even sacred places have lost the little bit of protection they had, now we will not even be notified, if there is no Native Title claim over the area.
In our religion we do not go to churches, we go to places where the Creation occurred. These sites are physical proof of the Dreaming, when our supreme Creators Bhaimie and his wife Birringooloo along with his second wife Gunnumbielee, the Caterer created everything in Australia. The Laws that they established connect all Aboriginal Nations across this continent through a complex network of songlines. This is called the Goomerra in Euahlayi, Tjurrkupa and Tjurringa. We are all bound by these Laws. They belong to us and no farmer has the right to desecrate and destroy our cultural being and our places and spaces of our spiritual ceremonial observance.
We, Peoples of the First Nations in Australia are intrinsically linked to all things natural, including a spiritual link to our physical past after death (our burial grounds have to be untouched forever); all of which is part of the circle of life, which is now being put on the deathroll by these legislative changes. This is not their land, this is not their wildlife, the land belongs to us the Aboriginal Nations, every tree, every bush, every bird, every fish and every mammal has its place in our religion and beliefs, they are our totemic ancestors.
Already every year 300,000 hectares (3,000 square kilometres) of bushland and forest are destroyed in Australia and in NSW around 1,000 plant and animals species are under the threat of extinction.
Yet the government has the ridiculous idea of "re-wilding", which is the intention of conducting programs to give farmers money to plant trees again, after they have failed to grow crops on the destroyed land. How far away from Mother Nature have you non-Aboriginal politicians moved? No, you cannot bring back what is lost, you cannot let a chopped off arm or leg grow back. The mainstream population already managed to wipe out the Bilbies in NSW, Bandicoots and Bettongs are more than rare; the Koala and the Brolga are on the edge of extinction, just to name a few. For the government to say that they want to set up refuges and reintroduce these species is like creating outdoor zoos without the properly natural diverse habitat.
These law changes violate every aspect of common sense, not to mention violating Australia's obligations to mitigating Climate Change; Australia's obligations under the Bio-diversity Convention; The Hague Convention; the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the list goes on.
What the New South Government shows is that it does not subscribe to these legal obligations just as they have done since colonisation. They act in a treasonous manner because they think they are a law unto themselves and are exempt from prosecution for 'Genocide' and 'Ecocide'. They ignore my Peoples' need for spiritual and personal wellbeing. They ignore that what they are doing to our lands and waters is causing mental harm to our Peoples.
It certainly shows us how much out of touch with nature these people truly are. Clearly they live by their religious 'credo' that man has 'Dominion' over nature, a direct ideological conflict to that of First Nations Peoples.
White Australia tried to wipe us out. We became displaced Peoples under a military junta. They took our children, they killed our great grandparents to steal our land. They threw my people into poverty and despair and now they want to finish the job by destroying our spirituality and natural environment. We, like the kangaroos, have always been viewed as vermin. History now repeats. This time our spirituality and Totemic families are being slaughtered for economic gain.
I am of the Ghurrie (Native Orchid), the Morroo-goo Bibblar (the Belah and Black Box) and the Nyoonghar (Kurrajong), these are names for eco-systems. All that lives within these eco-systems is now under threat by these legislative changes in New South Wales. I am named after the Galah and my highest personal obligation is to protect the Echidna and its habitat, as he is my personal family totem. As Lawman of the Euahlayi I have the Legal, Spiritual and Cultural responsibility and obligation to fight for the protection of our whole totemic system by using whatever means possible. I will be fighting this in their courts because our Law is the Law of the Land, that is the true continental common Law of the continent.
This continental common law is not a construct of the British political/judicial system. The Mabo (No. 2) confirmed that the British/Australian common law now recognises it.
Our Law was not made so people can gain short time profit, our Law was given to us by the Creators to ensure that we all can live in a timeless harmony and peace together as family.
Contact: Ghillar Michael Anderson
Convener of Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia and Head
of State of the Euahlayi Peoples Republic Contact Details
- Euahlayi Peoples Republic Website
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“We will not be halted in our fight to protect our land and water”
‘A decision by the Queensland Supreme Court to dismiss Aboriginal traditional owners’ challenge to the issuing of coal mining leases to Indian company Adani only strengthens our resolve and proves how worthless the State considers our common law native title rights to be,’ said leading Aboriginal rights advocate, senior Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owner and W&J Council spokesperson, Adrian Burragubba.
Call for help
Friends, Today (29 Nov.) Murrawah and I will walk into a courtroom in Brisbane to defend our country and our people from the devastating impacts of the Carmichael mine - one of four legal challenges we have, as we continue to take the fight up to Adani and our Governments.
Are you able to contribute to our legal fighting fund?
You only need stand for a minute in that courtroom to understand what we’re up against. Across from us are lawyers for the Queensland and Federal governments and Native Title administrators, who are doing all they can to shield this mining company from our right to say no.
We’re fighting on the frontline for our rights and the protection of country against big miners, and weak government leaders that do their bidding. This is a system that is stacked against us - and we need your support.
We’ve taken our fight to the Parliament, to bank boardrooms, and to the community. All important - and we must continue. But our legal actions remain crucial in our campaign to defeat this project and secure our future.
Some of our senior barristers are giving their time for free, but court cases are expensive. And with four cases running we still have lots of costs to cover. We need resources for some legal fees, for research, for gathering evidence and affidavits, and numerous other expenses that usually put the law out of reach for most people.
Please donate to enable us to continue to challenge Adani in court.
If the Carmichael mine goes ahead it will tear the heart out of the country, with devastating impacts on our traditional rights in our lands and waters, our totemic plants and animals, and our environmental and cultural heritage.
This mine would literally leave a huge black hole, dreadful in its proportions, where there were once our homelands. Our land will be “disappeared” forever - there’ll be nothing left. And more, burning the coal will have unconscionable impacts on global warming and the people of the world.
In March our people, in an act of self-determination, met and said ‘No!’ to Adani for the third time. We asserted our rights in the face of unwarranted interference in our affairs by Adani and the Queensland Government, and elected our own representatives.
We are in court today to enforce the decisions of our people who want to be represented by Traditional Owners and cultural leaders who speak in defence of our ancestral lands and waters.
We’ve said it to Adani and the Queensland Government constantly for many years – and we’ll keep saying it – because when we say no, we mean no!
Please continue to stand with us. And donate to our legal fighting fund.
Thank you,
Adrian Burragubba & Murrawah Johnson,
For the Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners Family Council
We don’t know when our fight will end, but we stand strong together. We are taking our cause to the Australian and international community, to the United Nations, and to the High Court if necessary. Please share this with your friends and encourage them to support our campaign.
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