Protesters call for Aboriginal justice From AAP 18aug99 11.45am (AEST) PROTESTERS gathered outside the Federal Court in Melbourne today pleading for justice for Aborigines ahead of a crucial appeal over a big native title claim. The Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal protesters chanted "Black history deserves respect, return the stolen land". Inside, three appeal court judges prepared to hear an appeal over a claim by the Yorta Yorta people to approximately 2000sq km. Dozens of Yorta Yorta travelled from their traditional lands to Melbourne to attend the case. Last December Justice Howard Olney rejected the native title claim in southern New South Wales and northern Victoria but the Yorta Yorta have appealed, saying the judge made legal errors. The Full Court was due to rule this morning on whether one of the judges, Justice Ron Merkel, should be barred from hearing the case due to his recent involvement with an Aboriginal cultural body. The Victorian Government and other opponents of the native title claim say Justice Merkel could be seen by the public to be a supporter of land rights and should be removed. The appeal hearing is expected to last about a week. The Yorta Yorta claim is one of three native title claims under appeal in the Federal Court, and the only one in the more heavily populated southeast of Australia. The other two claims are in northwest Western Australia and Croker Island, off the Northern Territory. ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
