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The Central Land Council says that a petition of 443 people at Hermannsburg west of Alice Springs calling for direct negotiation with the Australian Government over leasing is a reflection of the confusion surrounding the issue and the pressure put on Aboriginal people over the community leasing issue.
CLC Director David Ross said the CLC has facilitated Northern Territory and Australian Government involvement in leasing discussions at Hermannsburg.
“Both governments came to the last big community meeting and the people of Hermannsburg were still unclear about the lease proposal and unable to come to a decision,” Mr Ross said.
“It is the CLC’s job to sit down and consult with people and we take that statutory obligation very seriously.
“It’s not straightforward. There’s already five-year leases and now the options of housing leasing or whole of community leasing. The community need to understand the different options and decide between them,” he said.
“These decisions can affect them for 40 years and we need to make sure they are understood.
“Nobody wants to see housing held up and the community as a whole need to think seriously about the issues, come to the meetings and try and move forward in a direction which everybody is happy with,” Mr Ross said.
“As an indication of the confusion surrounding the issue, other groups in the Land Council’s region are accusing us of quite the opposite – of pushing the Government’s line on leasing and talking them into signing up.
“I am always a little suspicious of petitions when politicians are involved. Over the years, there have been a number of occasions when letters or petitions have been instigated by politicians and later at a community meeting, a contrary view has been expressed,” Mr Ross said.
5 June 2009
