Commonwealth Marine Park Estate

The Labour government has just this month promised to increase Australia's marine protected area estate. This initiative will see the Commonwealth marine parks increase from 27 to 60 throughout national waters and represents 3.1 million square kilometres. Can you even imagine?

The national marine park estate will include:

• parts of the Coral Sea;
•  the south-west marine region extending from the western end of Kangaroo Island in South Australia to Shark Bay in Western Australia;
• the temperate east marine region running between the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef to Bermagui in New South Wales and includes Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands' marine areas;
• the north marine region including the Commonwealth waters of Gulf of Carpentaria, Arafaru Sea and Timor Sea up to the border between the Northern Territory and Western Australia; and
• the north-west marine area proposed to stretch from the Western Australia/Northern Territory Border down to Kalbarri, south of Shark Bay. 

This represents a massive milestone in terms of environmental protection for Commonwealth marine waters. Detailed information about these marine reserves areas, including mapping and regulatory proposals can be found on the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities website. 

The final push on this government policy will soon be available with the government seeking public comment on whether this proposal should or should not go ahead. Presently, their website just states this comment will be sought in the near future. If you want to keep tabs on when this public comment period is available keep an eye on the following website:  http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/mbp/reserves/comments.html .
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Australia Day

Each year on the 26th January Australian's have a public holiday day to celebrate "Australia Day". Do you know this day really signifies?

In 1788, the Australian first fleet landed in Sydney and declared British sovereignty over the land. With the commemoration of this event occurring on "Australia Day" since the early 1800s to commemorate this landmark.

Despite the established tradition of this celebration there is however, some controversy with this day.  This controversy arises because at the time of the declaration by the British people, Australia was home to numerous clans of Aboriginal people, not terra nullis as some believed at the time.

My understanding is that many indigenous people find the commemoration of the declaration of the British colony in Australia not a cause to celebrate but in fact a reminder of much death, destruction and persecution over a long period of time, which some people are still experiencing. It therefore can be a significantly painful day and one that some might consider not a day to celebrate.

Perhaps Australia Day could in fact become more of a remembrance day for events that have past and a celebration and a time to embrace all the cultures that now occupy our nation, including our traditional land holders. Pin It

Quandamooka people successful in achieving Native Title recognition

The Quandamooka people were today recognised as the native title custodians of "4,408 hectares of land and water on and surrounding North Stradbroke Island, including areas of national parks, reserves, unallocated State land and other leases." The Native Title Tribunal (NNT) has additional information on the determination in a media release on their website. According to the NNT, this determination recognises the Quandamooka peoples' exclusive rights to 2,264 hectares and non-exclusive rights to 22,639 hectares. The recognition of Native Title rights to the Quandamooka people does not however extend onto freehold land or many types of leasehold tenures.

The Native Title claim was over the Quandamooka people's traditional land and seas, known as Minjerribah on North Stradbroke Island. The recognition of the "rights" to these lands is an amazing step forward and one that has been a long-time coming.

The determination also extends to the inclusion of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement, which provides the Quandamooka with economic and employment opportunities. Overall, the agreement recognises the Quandamooka's rights as custodians and managers and protects environmental and cultural values.  The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has additional information about the agreement and the custodian role that the Quandamooka people on their website.

Congratulations to all those that participated in the negotiation of this outcome and I am so glad that there is finally recognition of the Quandamooka peoples' land rights. Pin It

Indigenous Weather Knowledge

I have just come across a website linked to the Bureau of Meteorology's webpage called "Indigenous Weather Knowledge". It sounded very intriguing. The link is: http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/

It appears only to have information for the Northern Territory at the moment. I don't know whether there will be additional information posted for the rest of the country at a future time, but certainly something to look into, as I haven't really even thought about this previously...well, not under the title of "weather knowledge". Pin It

Riding the black cockatoo

Wow, what a book. I am almost finished this amazing read in a very short period of time and I am truly enjoying the experience. The book is by John Danalis and is based on one of his family's stories. It is truly an incredible read and journey.

The story revolves around John's family having an indigenous person's skull on their mantlepiece and the family returning these remains to their traditional lands and the impact this process has on John and his family.

This book has enlightened me on a number of indigenous issues and made me once again recognise the impact that white settlement has had on both the land and the people who traditionally inhabited Australia. It also highlights the relationship that the original settlers had with the indigenous people as well how the broader population in the 21st century relate to both present and past generations of indigenous people.

I can wait to read the last few pages and start investigating some of the things that have really struck a chord with me. Highly recommended read! Pin It