Response to 'Rough passage' feature in 'The Australian' - 03/04/07

The article, by Tony Koch, is saturated in factual errors and bias. It presents the views of one person as representative of all indigenous communities in Far North Queensland and falsely accuses The Wilderness Society of failing to adequately consult. At no stage has The Wilderness Society had the opportunity to respond to these claims.

If Tony Koch had bothered to contact The Wilderness Society to ask for our perspective, or learn the details of the Wild River laws, he would have quickly realised that wild rivers does not override indigenous rights or native title. It does ensure that declared rivers are protected from destructive activities like building big dams and introducing invasive fish and weeds, while protecting the rights of communities to hunt, fish, visit sacred sites, graze cattle, run tourism businesses and build essential infrastructure.

(Click here for a link to a fact sheet by The Wilderness Society on what a wild river declaration really means. Click here for more detailed summary documents from the Queensland Government.)

The Wilderness Society has taken initiatives from the beginning of the wild rivers debate to work with traditional owners and Indigenous representatives - and to hear of their views and concerns and inform them of ours. We are part of the ongoing negotiations between the Government, Cape York indigenous representatives and various stakeholders. Our involvement with Cape York indigenous representatives dates back over a decade.

The Wilderness Society has successfully lobbied the Queensland Government to create up to 100 Indigenous Wild River Ranger jobs to manage these special rivers – one of the single biggest employment initiatives in the region for years. We are also a strong advocate of Indigenous Protected Areas and have formed several cooperative agreements with traditional owner groups across Australia for the shared goal of conservation.

(Click here for our policy on Wild Rivers and Indigenous Rights and Interests. Click here for our joint agreement with the Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation. Click here for a joint media release with Carpentaria Land Council, strongly supporting Wild Rivers in June 2006)

The six wild rivers already protected in Queensland were the result of 13 months of community consultation by the Queensland Government. Consultation for the Cape York wild rivers from the Queensland Government has not yet been adequate. The Wilderness Society will continue to advocate for widespread and inclusive consultation in the lead up to the nomination of these important rivers.

Following are the clear factual errors in the article:

1. Our function at the Stamford Plaza was not to congratulate Premier Beattie. The function was a celebration of The Wilderness Society’s 30 year birthday (http://celebrate.wilderness.org.au/) .
   

2. Four rivers have not been declared ‘wild’ in Cape York. Six rivers were officially declared ‘wild’ across the state, four in the Gulf of Carpentaria and two islands. None have been declared on Cape York as the article claims.

3. The comments attributed to Lyndon Schneiders (taken from Shaun Edward’s leaflet) are taken entirely out of context. The quotes are lifted from an academic article by James Whelan and Kristen Lyons about the landcelaring campaign in Queensland. The quotes, on page 7, clearly refer to conservation sector participation in the landclearing debate, and have no reference whatsoever to indigenous consultation (http://thechangeagency.org/_dbase_upl/CaseStudy_Landclearing.pdf) .

4. The Wilderness Society did not call the police to remove the protesters.  The Chinese Vice-Premier and a large Chinese business contingent were also holding a function at the same venue the night of the Gala Dinner, attracting significant police presence and reaction to protest.

5. The Australian had no copyright permission to publish the photo of the Gregory River, taken by Wayne Lawler of Ecopix.