Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

158 Pitfalls and Pipelines: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries
traditional owners. Nor will it allow Australia to hold its head up on the
international stage. How we deal with native title is a fundamental test of
who we are as Australians.
Indigenous peoples of Australia have been fighting for rights to land, for
acknowledgement of culture and traditions, for economic prosperity, and
for a rightful place in their own nation for the last two decades. The tides
of history have shown that change is possible, but it shouldn’t be this
hard. The first Australians have been nurturing and managing country for
at least 40,000 years, but it is in the last 200 years that the most lasting
damage has been done. Indigenous Australians are perpetually being
pushed and pulled through more policy and legislative reform, but the
fundamentals for real, lasting change remain frustratingly unchanged.
Native title legislation is one of those fundamentals. The burden for
proving connection to country rests with traditional owners, who are the
least resourced party at the table. Shifting this burden to state parties
would be a small change to the legislation, but would have enormous
positive ramifications for traditional owners and their communities. Not
only would this free indigenous parties from needless litigation, it will
finally reflect genuine recognition of traditional owners’ rightful place in
Australian society.
Nickel mining in Kanaky-New-Caledonia
A Colonial Heritage That Endures Decolonization Processes
By Sarimin J. Boengkih, Agence Kanak de Développement