Mr ADAMSON - 1997-04-30
I refer him to claims by Jacqui Katona of the Gundjehmi Corporation that Aboriginal people have had nothing but broken promises from uranium mining in Kakadu. Is this true? Secondly, is he able to he confirm that, in fact, Ms Katona is using uranium royalties to fund her current campaign?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, one can only wonder at the hypocrisy of Jacqui Katona. Yesterday, I advised members that she was involved in an Australia-wide campaign to prevent new uranium mining in this country. Ms Katona and her entourage have been travelling to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to campaign against the alleged evils of further uranium mining. It is believed she is funding her participation in that campaign through royalties from uranium mining.
Mr Toyne: So that sort of free speech is not allowed?
Mr Ah Kit: That is not allowed?
Mr Toyne: That is a different sort of free speech.
Mr MANZIE: I think it is important that those interjections be recorded in Hansard, to demonstrate the Labor Party's support for the use of uranium royalties for this anti-mining activity. No doubt, Ms Katona and her supporters are travelling in some comfort. The cost of this trip alone - and there have certainly been others - must run into several thousands of dollars. One can only wonder whether traditional Aboriginal people, remaining at Kakadu and whom Ms Katona claims to represent, believe that they are receiving value for their royalty dollars.
The fact is that the Gundjehmi Corporation is sitting on funds of at least $1.5m, which is the latest royalty payment from ERA. The majority of that funding is supposed to go to the Gagudju Association, which administers the assets and investments purchased with previous royalties. That money has not been released by the Gundjehmi Corporation, nor has Ms Katona bothered to respond to a letter from the Northern Land Council asking why the money has not been released. Even the NLC has concerns about what is occurring with the royalty moneys - contrary to the ALP which thinks it is pretty good that it is being spent in this way.
Mr Bailey: Don't mislead.
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Mr MANZIE: That is what you said, and it has been recorded. The member for Wanguri is interjecting now because he realises that, inadvertently, some of the Labor Party's views and policies have been placed on record for Territorians.
Mr Bailey: No. We are talking about the hypocrisy of ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MANZIE: It is typical of the member for Wanguri to continually interrupt to prevent people from getting ...
Mr Bailey: You couldn't lie straight in bed.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member will withdraw that.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: The member for MacDonnell cannot help himself.
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacDonnell is warned that, if he continues to speak when I am calling for order, he will be named.
Mr MANZIE: It is a reflex action. The member for MacDonnell supports the misuse of this royalty money and he cannot help himself.
The money has not been released, and the NLC is asking why. It is very clear that Ms Katona is perfectly happy to use uranium royalties for her own purposes, even while she claims to oppose uranium mining. Likewise, she obviously sees no hypocrisy in actively campaigning against ERA while she is living in a house provided by that company. An indication of how other Aboriginal people at Kakadu feel about this performance can be seen in yesterday's media release from the Gagudju Association. I will read it for the information of honourable members. It is headed `Undeniable Benefits from Ranger Mine, Says Aboriginal Spokesman':
Claims that traditional owners have not benefited from uranium mining at Ranger were rejected today by Ms Jessie Alderson, chairperson of the Gagudgu Association. The organisation is responsible for investing and distributing over $37m in royalties from Ranger. The Gagudgu Association has 250 members and it is the largest Aboriginal organisation in the region. It was established in 1980. These claims, particularly those by
Page 2091
Ms Jacqui Katona, executive officer of the much
smaller Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation, ignore the
facts and reflect views held only by a very small
number of the region's Aboriginal population,
Ms Alderson said.
Headlines like the one which appeared in last Sunday's Canberra Times, `Jabiluka Mine Brought Only Problems, Says Owner', are utterly misleading. I shall table a copy of that Canberra Times article. First, I shall quote a couple of paragraphs from it:
Far from being the model for negotiating agreements to
benefit Aboriginals, the Jabiluka uranium mine has
brought nothing but a string of broken promises, a
traditional owner of the Kakadu region said yesterday.
She told a press conference that Aboriginal interests
had not been protected by previous mining agreements,
nor had her people ever been `the millionaires that the
media would have you believe'.
She is sitting on $1.5m. She is not doing too badly.
While the damage from Jabiluka was irreparable, she
said, stopping the mine was the first step in changing
the future for the Aboriginal community.
Jabiluka does not even exist as a mine, but she is telling people `the damage from Jabiluka was irreparable'. This is the sort of unfactual information that members opposite support. I continue:
`We have watched our people dying in the shadow of
industrial gain. Our community is regarded as fringe
dwellers in their own country and, as soon as the ink
was dry on the agreement, our citizenship rights were
withdrawn'.
I table that article because it is full of similar untruths, lies and misinformation. I quote from the Gagudgu Association's press release:
Most Aboriginals of the Jabiru/Jabiluka area understood
the benefits and have supported uranium mining, but a
small minority are opposed and cloud the debate with
emotive, unwarranted language. `A sensible approach
that accurately acknowledges the pluses and the minuses
of mining is the best way to deal with the Jabiluka
issue', Ms Alderson said.
Ms Alderson said she was pleased with the gains made by
the association since it was set up to distribute
royalties to Aboriginal people of the clans in central
and northern Kakadu National Park and the adjacent
Ranger project area. `Gagudgu have taken the
long-term, sustainable approach to the use of mining
royalties through significant investments in the
Gagudju Crocodile Hotel at Jabiru and the Gagudgu
Cooinda Lodge and Yellow Water boat cruises, just to
name a few. We have also used the payments to provide
housing, food and health services for outstations, aged
care, power and water supply', Ms Alderson said. `The
goal of Gagudgu is to maintain our traditional culture
while using royalty money to make permanent
improvements to the economic position of traditional
owners', Ms Alderson said.
Page 2092
That is a clear and concise view, from a group that represents a large number of Aboriginal people in the Kakadu area, which is totally and utterly contrary to the rubbish that has been peddled with the support of opposition members, as we have heard quite clearly in this House, to try to prevent ...
Mr Stirling: That is rubbish, and you know it. That is a lie, and you know it.
Mr MANZIE: ... uranium mining continuing in that area.
Mr Stirling: It is a lie.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy will withdraw that remark.
Mr Stirling: He heard it but he did not seek to have it withdrawn.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am seeking its withdrawal.
Mr STIRLING: I withdraw.
Mr MANZIE: It is unbelievable ...
Mr Stirling: Keep to the truth.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MANZIE: I suggest to members opposite that they read through Hansard and see the utterances that come involuntarily from their mouths during Question Time. Quite often, they make statements and then pretend for the rest of the time that they did not make them.
I think Jacqui Katona should be condemned by all Territorians, and I think the Gagudgu people need support from all members of the House to ensure that their will and their wishes are acted on.
Page 2093
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, one can only wonder at the hypocrisy of Jacqui Katona. Yesterday, I advised members that she was involved in an Australia-wide campaign to prevent new uranium mining in this country. Ms Katona and her entourage have been travelling to Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to campaign against the alleged evils of further uranium mining. It is believed she is funding her participation in that campaign through royalties from uranium mining.
Mr Toyne: So that sort of free speech is not allowed?
Mr Ah Kit: That is not allowed?
Mr Toyne: That is a different sort of free speech.
Mr MANZIE: I think it is important that those interjections be recorded in Hansard, to demonstrate the Labor Party's support for the use of uranium royalties for this anti-mining activity. No doubt, Ms Katona and her supporters are travelling in some comfort. The cost of this trip alone - and there have certainly been others - must run into several thousands of dollars. One can only wonder whether traditional Aboriginal people, remaining at Kakadu and whom Ms Katona claims to represent, believe that they are receiving value for their royalty dollars.
The fact is that the Gundjehmi Corporation is sitting on funds of at least $1.5m, which is the latest royalty payment from ERA. The majority of that funding is supposed to go to the Gagudju Association, which administers the assets and investments purchased with previous royalties. That money has not been released by the Gundjehmi Corporation, nor has Ms Katona bothered to respond to a letter from the Northern Land Council asking why the money has not been released. Even the NLC has concerns about what is occurring with the royalty moneys - contrary to the ALP which thinks it is pretty good that it is being spent in this way.
Mr Bailey: Don't mislead.
Page 2090
Mr MANZIE: That is what you said, and it has been recorded. The member for Wanguri is interjecting now because he realises that, inadvertently, some of the Labor Party's views and policies have been placed on record for Territorians.
Mr Bailey: No. We are talking about the hypocrisy of ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MANZIE: It is typical of the member for Wanguri to continually interrupt to prevent people from getting ...
Mr Bailey: You couldn't lie straight in bed.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member will withdraw that.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr MANZIE: The member for MacDonnell cannot help himself.
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacDonnell is warned that, if he continues to speak when I am calling for order, he will be named.
Mr MANZIE: It is a reflex action. The member for MacDonnell supports the misuse of this royalty money and he cannot help himself.
The money has not been released, and the NLC is asking why. It is very clear that Ms Katona is perfectly happy to use uranium royalties for her own purposes, even while she claims to oppose uranium mining. Likewise, she obviously sees no hypocrisy in actively campaigning against ERA while she is living in a house provided by that company. An indication of how other Aboriginal people at Kakadu feel about this performance can be seen in yesterday's media release from the Gagudju Association. I will read it for the information of honourable members. It is headed `Undeniable Benefits from Ranger Mine, Says Aboriginal Spokesman':
Claims that traditional owners have not benefited from uranium mining at Ranger were rejected today by Ms Jessie Alderson, chairperson of the Gagudgu Association. The organisation is responsible for investing and distributing over $37m in royalties from Ranger. The Gagudgu Association has 250 members and it is the largest Aboriginal organisation in the region. It was established in 1980. These claims, particularly those by
Page 2091
Ms Jacqui Katona, executive officer of the much
smaller Gundjehmi Aboriginal Corporation, ignore the
facts and reflect views held only by a very small
number of the region's Aboriginal population,
Ms Alderson said.
Headlines like the one which appeared in last Sunday's Canberra Times, `Jabiluka Mine Brought Only Problems, Says Owner', are utterly misleading. I shall table a copy of that Canberra Times article. First, I shall quote a couple of paragraphs from it:
Far from being the model for negotiating agreements to
benefit Aboriginals, the Jabiluka uranium mine has
brought nothing but a string of broken promises, a
traditional owner of the Kakadu region said yesterday.
She told a press conference that Aboriginal interests
had not been protected by previous mining agreements,
nor had her people ever been `the millionaires that the
media would have you believe'.
She is sitting on $1.5m. She is not doing too badly.
While the damage from Jabiluka was irreparable, she
said, stopping the mine was the first step in changing
the future for the Aboriginal community.
Jabiluka does not even exist as a mine, but she is telling people `the damage from Jabiluka was irreparable'. This is the sort of unfactual information that members opposite support. I continue:
`We have watched our people dying in the shadow of
industrial gain. Our community is regarded as fringe
dwellers in their own country and, as soon as the ink
was dry on the agreement, our citizenship rights were
withdrawn'.
I table that article because it is full of similar untruths, lies and misinformation. I quote from the Gagudgu Association's press release:
Most Aboriginals of the Jabiru/Jabiluka area understood
the benefits and have supported uranium mining, but a
small minority are opposed and cloud the debate with
emotive, unwarranted language. `A sensible approach
that accurately acknowledges the pluses and the minuses
of mining is the best way to deal with the Jabiluka
issue', Ms Alderson said.
Ms Alderson said she was pleased with the gains made by
the association since it was set up to distribute
royalties to Aboriginal people of the clans in central
and northern Kakadu National Park and the adjacent
Ranger project area. `Gagudgu have taken the
long-term, sustainable approach to the use of mining
royalties through significant investments in the
Gagudju Crocodile Hotel at Jabiru and the Gagudgu
Cooinda Lodge and Yellow Water boat cruises, just to
name a few. We have also used the payments to provide
housing, food and health services for outstations, aged
care, power and water supply', Ms Alderson said. `The
goal of Gagudgu is to maintain our traditional culture
while using royalty money to make permanent
improvements to the economic position of traditional
owners', Ms Alderson said.
Page 2092
That is a clear and concise view, from a group that represents a large number of Aboriginal people in the Kakadu area, which is totally and utterly contrary to the rubbish that has been peddled with the support of opposition members, as we have heard quite clearly in this House, to try to prevent ...
Mr Stirling: That is rubbish, and you know it. That is a lie, and you know it.
Mr MANZIE: ... uranium mining continuing in that area.
Mr Stirling: It is a lie.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy will withdraw that remark.
Mr Stirling: He heard it but he did not seek to have it withdrawn.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am seeking its withdrawal.
Mr STIRLING: I withdraw.
Mr MANZIE: It is unbelievable ...
Mr Stirling: Keep to the truth.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MANZIE: I suggest to members opposite that they read through Hansard and see the utterances that come involuntarily from their mouths during Question Time. Quite often, they make statements and then pretend for the rest of the time that they did not make them.
I think Jacqui Katona should be condemned by all Territorians, and I think the Gagudgu people need support from all members of the House to ensure that their will and their wishes are acted on.
Page 2093
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016