Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation update ******************************************************************************* Hi, folks, The purpose of this update is 1) to provide more information on the outcomes of the World Heritage meeting. 2) notification of two events organized by endorsed Jabiluka Acton Groups ******************************************************************************** 1) MORE INFO ABOUT THE WORLD HERITAGE DECISION The material below comes partly from phone conversations with GAC participants in Paris. It comes in the context of the inevitable disappointment over the adverse decision in Paris. Where such disappointment comes up there is frequently a temptation to look for scapegoats, to try to lay blame. After all, if Hill had lost, heads would have rolled; and tody is the day that Phil Shervinton is shuffled to North Ltd, and Ken Lonie (ex-boss at Ranger) clears his desk. Such looking for places to lay blame is not productive, and this update is partly a request that we show the maturity to avoid such scalp-hunting. ***** There is no doubt that the decision not to place Kakadu on the World Heritage in Danger list is a terrible decision from several points of view - not least from the point of view of the World Heritage Committee's own reputation. It's perfectly clear that, Robert Hill's blandishments to the contrary, the decision was made on the basis of politics, not facts. As TWS, ACF and FoE have made clear in their press releases, the expert advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee (IUCN, ICOMOS, ICCROM) unanimously supported in-danger listing both in December and on Monday. We understand that the Committee has never before ignored the unanimous advice of the expert advisory bodies. The structure of voting for an in-danger listing is that a vote for in-danger listing requires a two-thirds majority of the 21 State parties on the Committee at any given time. The Australian government simply has far more resources - YOUR resources, if you live in Australia - at its command than small groups such as GAC, TWS, ACF or FoE. These small groups had to convince - not buy - a two-thirds majority. The government had only to buy - or convince if it could, despite all the advice from advisory bodies - about six countries. History is not short, unfortunately, of examples where, given a choice between a principle and a profit, governments will choose a profit. The Australian government has done this in backing ERA to the hilt. It seems other countries will make similar choices where their hip-pockets are concerned. But it is important that those of us opposed to the Jabiluka uranium mine, whether because we support the Mirrar struggle or because we put anti-uranium concerns first, not become too despondent over the decision. As has been said in these updates on a number of occasions, in-danger listing was never going to stop the mine. It was only ever going to be a tool, a lever, one among many. The question is, a lever for what; and what remains of this lever. It is NOT the case that the World Heritage Committee has said the Park is not in danger. It said nothing of the kind. The Committee said quite clearly that it was extremely concerned, and it required the government to accede to a number of commitments: * Complete cultural mapping and preparation of a cultural heritage management plan with a monitoring regime from ICOMOS and ICCROM. In the past the government has refused to enforce the requirement that ERA produce such a plan before starting construction. In that context, Mirrar have refused to participate while work is going on, and ERA have refused to stop work in order to develop such a plan. Now, these World heritage advisory bodies will be involved, with less chance that the government and ERA will be able to manipulate the process. * An agreement in writing from Hill for no mining at Jabiluka for 18 months. ERA had already said in the media that they would be stopping for about a year. But that period was no doubt flexible according to their priorities - and one of their priorities is to get the profits flowing as soon as possible. There is no doubt that ERA is extremely displeased about this development and will try to wriggle out of it. Having it in writing imposes the requirement upon the government to enforce it - and of course that imposes a need on the rest of us to force the government to enforce it. * A written agreement regarding sequential mining. This was one of the original requirements from the Fox Reports - that two uranium mines not be operating at the same time in Kakadu National Park. This displeases ERA even more, since it severely restricts their ability to produce jabiluka uranium in anything like the quantities they will need to bring their profit levels up to the level they need. When this was first announced, Shervington said on the ABC that it was not going to happen. Now, by some alchemy, it is. ERA needs the two to be open and in full production at the same time in 2001. As it stands, ERA wants to able to take 1000 tonnes of unprocessed Jabiluka ore per year between 2001 and 2006, and the aim of this seems to be to get around ALP policy on "no new mines". They still, however, have no mill, since in 1997 the Mirrar vetoed the use of the Ranger mill for Jabiluka uranium; this veto has not changed. * A written agreement from Hill for "progress in the implementation, in response to the Kakadu Region Social Impact Study (KRSIS), of a comprehensive package of social and welfare benefits, together with the Northern Territory government, for the benefit of the Aboriginal communities of Kakadu (including the Mirrar)" (Draft Decision point 3b). Why is this important? Because basic services in the area - water, power, sewerage - which other citizens get paid for out of tax and rates revenue, are paid for out of mining royalties for Aboriginal people in the Kakadu region. That is, the supply of these facilities is dependent on the mining continuing, whether at Ranger or at Jabiluka. Break the connection between basic facilities and the mining and you take a weapon out of the hand of ERA, a weapon that they very much want to use to put pressure on Mirrar to change their position on ERA using the Ranger processing mill to process Jabiluka ore. Hill is required to submit a report to the Committee by 15 April 2000. There are other conceivable benefits. For example; as you'll remember, at the time when ERA was about to begin tunneling into the Boyweg-Almudj Sacred Site Complex (mid May) GAC put in an application to Robert Hill to have the work stopped under section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. Hill refused to invoke Section 9, but was obliged to set up an Inquiry into the status of the Sacred Site Complex under Section 10 of the Act. It will be much harder for him to ignore the results of such an Inquiry with the eyes of the World Heritage Committee upon him. And with all of this, remember that all the concessions have come from the government. NONE have come from the Mirrar. This is certainly not to say that this is a better outcome than in-danger listing. But at least some of the ends that the in-danger lever would have been used to press for have nevertheless been brought into focus simply because Hill was AFRAID, despite his claims to the contrary, of an in-danger listing. And when Hill cannot produce an adequate report in April.... Some people might say "yes, but you can't trust the government to do all this." Of course you can't. There's no doubt that the government will try to make any changes cosmetic. That would also be true if there was an in-danger listing. But there is equally no doubt that our position opposing the mine is stronger now than it was before the decision. Not as strong as it would be if we had got an in-danger listing; but it would be crazy to deny those actual benefits that HAVE emerged. Now the World Heritage Committee is much more locked into a supervision regime than before. Whether they would have been able to be as involved if an in-danger listing had been achieved is harder to say. It's possible that some conspiracy-theorists around the place will look at these genuine opportunities and try to claim that the Mirrar have "sold out" or "made a deal" with the government. They might make ridiculous claims like that "the Mirrar have given up opposition to the Jabiluka mine in return for sewerage". This is simply not true, on at least two counts: 1) Mirrar have consistently devoted meagre resources, via Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation, to seeking in-danger listing. Yvonne Margarula made an extremely impassioned speech for in-danger listing immediately before the decision was made. 2) Sewerage, proper roads and proper health facilities are important. Why shouldn't bininj have them? A physically weakened and dispirited bininj population here in Kakadu is going to be far less able to oppose the mine. The healthier and stronger bininj are, and the less financial dependence on the mining company, the better able Mirrar - and all bininj - are to oppose the mine. Bininj in Kakadu are now to have them in the same way all citizens are; and that has been achieved because the Mirrar, along with the environment movement, have opposed the mine so vigorously. There have been references in the media to some kind of agreement between "the government or ERA and the traditional owners over Jabiluka." This is emphatically not the case. The traditional owners remain opposed to the mine, and will continue to do everything possible to oppose it. They have more reason to oppose the mine than anyone else, and fewer reasons to reach any accomodation with either the government or the company over it. This is not the time for suspicion of the intentions of the traditional owners. We've just had a wonderful result in the Senate Inquiry. We've just seen a highly successful Women's Week of Action against North Ltd. We've had a mixed result, with an overall disappointment but also some good bits in the World Heritage decision, and that process is not over. We have the North campaign in full swing, with the EGM happening on the same day as the AGM in late October. This is the fruit of months of work by the Kakadu Working Group working out of TWS in Sydney. We have the Section 10 Inquiry coming up. For those groups with something planned, there's the Hiroshima/Nagasaki/World Indigenous Peoples' Day weekend in early August. There's plenty to do. This mine will not go ahead. ******************************************************************************** 2) EVENTS IN BRISBANE, PERTH BRISBANE: (excerpt from media release) "The government may see this as a win for the Jabiluka uranium mine, however there can be no victory for Kakadu National Park and the Mirrar until the mine is stopped. We will continue to fight with the Traditional Owners because we have no doubt that Jabiluka should not go ahead. It will be proved in the next 18 months that the mine is not viable ecologically, culturally or economically." In response to the decision, the Jabiluka Action Group has organised a Candlelight Vigil to acknowledge the struggle of the Mirrar to exercise their rights of self determination: WHAT: CANDLELIGHT VIGIL * SPEAKERS INCLUDE ABORIGINAL POET MAUREEN WATSON * MUSICAL PERFORMANCES FROM JEVAN COLE AND REBECCA WRIGHT WHEN: FRIDAY 16 JULY 5.30 - 7.30 PM WHERE: KING GEORGE SQUARE Bring candles, warm clothes and blankets Hot Drinks and Food available For more information contact: Rebecca Duffy on 3846 0246 or 3846 7609 ***************** PERTH SNAP JABILUKA ACTION The Jabiluka Action Group of WA (JAGWA) July 14, 1999 The Decision by the World Heritage Committee to ignore its own expert bodies and not list Kakadu National Park as World Heritage in Danger is a victory for politics over common sense. The Australian Government's heavy handed lobbying tactics have seriously undermined the World Heritage Convention. HoweverŠ The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has found that the Jabiluka uranium mine poses a serious negative impact to the values of Kakadu National Park. The "grave concerns" expressed by the Committee and accepted by the Australian government have seen the project placed on hold for at least 18 months pending decisions on its cultural impact. The Australian government is required to report to the World Heritage Committee by April next year with an explanation of how Jabiluka can proceed without damaging Mirrar cultural values. This is frankly impossible. JOIN US FROM 10PM-2PM SATURDAY JULY 14 OUTSIDE THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY SHOP, QUEENSGATE CENTRE, FREMANTLE FOR A JABILUKA 'FAXATHON' You'll be able to make your feelings known directly to Senator Robert Hill, North Ltd. & Energy Resources of Australia. ~ Contact ~ Scott Ludlam (08) 9337 7217 ******************************************************************************** Karl-Erik Paasonen for Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation Contact details: Phone: Within Australia: (08) 8979 2200; international: +61 - 8 - 8979 2200; Fax: Within Australia: (08) 8979 2299; international: +61 - 8 - 8979 2299 Postal address: PO Box 245 Jabiru, Northern Territory AUSTRALIA 0886. We have this amazing web-site, which you'd be CRAZY not to have a look at: http://www.mirrar.net ........................................................................... "We will fight to protect our country and that is a fact of life" Yvonne Margarula. Ba-ngurdmeninj Djabulukku! Yun Ngurri-Djalgarung Boiwek Gun-Ngukbim! "Stop Jabiluka! Don't the dig the life out of the Knob-Tailed Gecko Dreaming!" ........................................................................... ------------------------------------------------------- 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/