Land

The 'youlk' looks similar to a kipfler potato and grows in poor sandy soil, which is unsuitable for grain growing or grazing and is now being farmed by an Aboriginal growing group in south west WA as a pilot for more groups. The growing group project is expected to run like other mainstream grower groups. But it is a customised group for Aboriginal farmers as many Indigenous-owned farming properties had different management logistics to other modern-day farms. In some cases, there are 20 members and in some cases 120 members so it is a whole different dynamic to the colonial farming protocol. [node:read-more:link]

Rodney Gibbons and Wendy Moore outside Hobart. (The Australian Pic: Peter Mathew)

Stephen Fitzpatrick The Australian 12 December 2016

Constitutional recognition of First Nations people has been blindsided by more demands, with an official forum in Hobart insisting that plans for a referendum must be accompanied by Treaty talks. [node:read-more:link]

The State Government is reviewing the viability of WA's 274 Aboriginal communities, with details of the process due to be released in July, so the future of WA's 35 town-based Aboriginal reserves is set to come under the spotlight, with some residents determined to stay while others accept an offer of new houses in town. Town-based reserves are Aboriginal communities that formed around townships around the middle of the 20th century, as Aboriginal families were displaced from their bush homes and moved off cattle stations. [node:read-more:link]

Action has begun in the High Court to try to stop a native title deal that could be worth $1.3 billion to the Noongar people of the south west of Western Australia.

The challenge is by other Noongar native title claimants who say they did not agree to the deal with the WA government to relinquish native title rights in return for a $1.3 billion compensation package.

The package would include land and funds for a trust to be managed by Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders. [node:read-more:link]