ELDERS ‘LOCKED OUT’ OF NATIVE TITLE WORK
Naaguja elder Lindsay McDonald-Councillor.
GEOFF VIVIAN
In the Mid West, Naaguja elders say Yamatji Southern Regional Corporation is conducting heritage surveys on their part of the country without including them.
Five Naagugu elders wrote to the Corporation in July demanding their concerns be addressed urgently.
One of them, Lindsay McDonald Councillor, contacted Ngaarda Media saying they were still waiting.
“We tried to deal with all this stuff ‘in-house’ with Yamatji Southern but they keep pushing out stuff back in meetings,” he said. “I think they’ve had about three or four meetings of the board since we’ve written the letter and they’ve pushed us back every time. And now they’ve called a community meeting to remove other directors off the board who were very instrumental in getting the ILUA (Indigenous Land Group Agreement) to where we are today.”
In a written response YSRC told Ngaarda Media they could not comment on confidential Board Business.
The Southern Yamatji native title claim was determined by the Federal Court in 2020.
YSRC told Ngaarda Media the board had not deliberately scheduled the General meeting on the same day as an important funeral for Naaguja people, but were obliged to hold it after its members had called the meeting.
“In the Corporations Act it is a legal requirement that YSRC hold the meeting within two months of receiving notice from the members,” the spokesperson said.
YSRC also disputed that Naaguja Traditional Owners were not included in heritage clearances of their own country.
“YSRC heritage management processes, which became operational upon the establishment of the Cultural Committees under the Yamatji Nation ILUA, ensure that the members of the four different Cultural Committees, who are the elected representatives of the right people for the right country within their areas, are responsible to identify and select the Yamatji Heritage Consultants to go on heritage surveys and monitoring programs,” a spokesperson wrote.
“The decision-making role of the Cultural Committees provides for openness and transparency in the selection and appointment of Yamatji Heritage Consultants.”