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Native Title is an uneven playing field: Calma By Angela Dorizas 16 April 09 Australia’s native title system is an uneven playing field and in need of serious reform, according to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma.Speaking at the recent launch of the latest edition of the Australian Law Reform Commissions’ Reform journal, Calma welcomed the introduction of the Native Title Amendments Bill in Federal Parliament, but called for further changes to the troubled system.One of the changes Calma has proposed is greater funding for native title claims and their representatives.He said while non-Indigenous parties were able to come to the negotiation table with qualified legal and economic advice, Indigenous parties seeking native title were significantly under-resourced.“It’s not an even playing field,” Calma told GovernmentNews.

“There’s an imbalance and it’s something that we need to consider.

“When there’s a power imbalance we don’t always see the best outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“Indigenous people must have access to sufficient resources to fully and effectively participate in native title. This includes resourcing organisations which are trying to secure a determination of native title or use procedural rights under the act.”

Calma called on the Federal Government to also establish a panel of experts to be drawn upon by various native title parties to “level out” the playing field…………………

“I’ve long voiced concerns about the burden placed on Indigenous people to prove native title, because it’s just simply too great and in fact it is very unjust.”

He said he supported the proposal by the High Court’s Chief Justice Robert French for “certain presumptions in favour of the Indigenous claimant”.

Closing the Gap

Clama said reform of native title would help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, since land was fundamental to the health, livelihood and rights of Indigenous communities.

“For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people land is the essence of life,” he said.

“If you get your land back you’re able to associate with that land and from it comes your language and your culture.”

Calma praised the Federal Government’s decision to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, describing it as the “watershed moment” in Australia’s modern history.

“The challenge now is for government to build understanding of the declaration amongst government officials and the community and importantly, incorporate the declaration’s principles into government poli

Environmentalists push for green energy actionALTERNATIVE ENERGY: Activists said the government should take action instead of just mouthing slogans on cutting emissions and developing renewable energyB TAIPEI TIMES y Meggie LuSTAFF REPORTERThursday, Apr 16, 2009, Page 2Dozens of environmental groups staged a protest in front of the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) before the two-day National Energy Conference (NEC) commenced yesterday, urging the government to consider developing renewable energy instead of relying on coal or nuclear power plants.The groups also demanded the government carry out conclusions reached at the conference, instead of letting them sit until the next meeting.“We call on the government to focus on discussing responsible energy and policies to tackle climate change,” Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) deputy secretary-general Lee Cho-han (李卓翰) said……………………….Besides developing cleaner energies, power conservation and green policies are also key to solving global warming, Green Party Taiwan (GPT) secretary-­general Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲) said.

“Taipower last year introduced a market mechanism where domestic users who reduce their electricity usage get a discount on their bills; the company said that together the savings in power last year amounted to the equivalent of planting 1 million trees,” Pan said.

“We all know that these ‘million trees’ did not come from building a new power plant, but has to do with conservation,” he said.

Free Canberra Solar Power Information Session Times Announced Energy Matters, a leading Australian renewable energy company, will be running free information sessions on grid connect solar power for Canberra residents this weekend as part of the company’s “double dip” ACT solar incentives special offer. 
   
Canberra residents are currently the most advantaged group when it comes to solar rebates in Australia; thanks to the Federal Government’s $8,000 rebate for households with incomes under $100,000 and the nation’s most generous state administered feed in tariff scheme. 
   
The ACT was first to introduce a gross feed in tariff scheme in Australia in March this year. The Canberra feed in tariff pays a premium of 3.88 times the market rate (currently 50.5 cents) for all electricity generated by grid connected solar power systems for 20 years.
  
The Energy Matters free information sessions will be held on Sunday 19 April at the following venues.
  
– Southside: 10.30am – 12.00 pm, Vikings Club Lanyon , Heidelberg Street, Conder
– Northside: 2.00pm to 3.30pm, Belconnen Premier Inn, Benjamin Way, Belconnen
  
At these meetings, Energy Matters representatives will discuss the program and answer any questions attendees may have about grid connect solar power. Interested participants will be able to register for the program and secure a special discount on a grid connect system.
  
The Federal Government rebate of $8,000 is due to finish on June 30, 2009, however solar industry speculation is that the government may stop accepting applications as soon one w eek before the budget announcements in May. After July 1 a new scheme w ill be introduced – a solar credits program.
  
While the new program will be accessible to many more Australians,  it will offer up to $4500 less in rebates on a 1kW grid connect solar power system.
  
An information kit regarding Energy Matters’ offer and free information sessions can be downloaded here (PDF).

Related:

Further details on the ACT / Canberra solar feed in tariff

From The Times Literary Supplement April 15, 2009Bloody AustraliaHow the death of an Aboriginal man in police custody exposes the roots of a troubled society Fiona Gruber The fractured reality of indigenous Australia is built on theft, destruction and abuse: the theft of land and children, the destruction of identity………………….The policies, protests and polemics coming out of Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra are often met with derision by those who live in the frontier towns. The south is fine, as long as it doesn’t try to impose its culture on the north,

No concerns over possible China military threat, panel findsABC News By Emma Rodgers Apr 15, 2009 Public consultation ahead of the Federal Government’s upcoming defence white paper has found that China is not seen as an emerging military threat…………………….

The panel also found that climate change emerged for many participants as the “greatest emerging threat” to the country’s security.

It also found that potential threats from terrorism are not “front of mind” for most people but there is still concern over threats from nuclear weapons.

Golly, nukes for everybody! High Country News 13 April 09 The “innovative” proposal for many small “pocket” nuclear reactors sounds like the gee-whiz propaganda from the 1950s that every modern family would own a personal atomic car and reactors would produce power “too cheap to meter” (HCN, 3/16 & 3/30/09). In reality, it is an attempt to greenwash a failed technology……………………………

Building these pocket reactors would multiply our safety problems. The federal government can barely provide for adequate oversight of the few reactors we have now — where will the new resources and inspectors come from? An on-site waste repository will still have to be created for each reactor, with high-level waste stored in tanks and pools. Fuel and waste will be transported on public highways, increasing the chances for accidents. Terrorists will have lots of new targets to choose from. We’ll have to mine and refine lots more uranium, a polluting industry that generates large amounts of greenhouse gases. Hard evidence shows that radiation leaks, demonstrably causing harm, are happening all the time at nuclear power plants and cannot be completely prevented.

Sounds like an innovation we can do without.