Comment

Comment by Joanne Rea on January 26, 2010 at 9:21am

Dave
Don't be so naive. The Greens and their backup chorus have said in many media releases that Wild Rivers wiil stop mining. Already exceptions have been made, not just for mines but for the LNG pipeline. It is way too profitable for the State but I'm sure the Greens don't care whether it's accurate or not as long as australia's urban population can sit back in their comfortable air conditioned houses drinking their hot Brazilian coffee and think "tick" another pristine river saved.
Noel Pearson was just being a realist.
Saving the river might be a lofty ideal but in reality it is just destroying the income earning potential without compensation of yet another small population group and most people do not care as long as it is not THEIR business.
You are quite right in identifying Adrian Jeffery as the Adrian being spoken about and he was formerly President of the Queensland Wildlife Preservation Society.
With such a person in charge of Wild Rivers legislation it is not likely tht the social and economic impacts of the legislation will be adequately addressed.

Comment by Dave Kimble on January 25, 2010 at 4:01pm

Dale, you said "Correction Dave, DID HAVE." I think you must have misread what I wrote. Regardless of what aboriginal communities may think of greenies, greenies still support aboriginal communities having control of their lands, so long as the ethic of "looking after the land" remains. I still maintain that generally the communities want to look after their land, and as such, they will not run foul of the Wild Rivers Act. The Act only stops people from putting up developments that damage the catchment's water quality. Obviously if you want to put a house and a septic tank on the banks of a watercourse, you are going to have to put in special (probably expensive) management solutions, but if you put the house well away from the watercourse, everything will be OK. The same thing applies to graziers or hoteliers.

I always assumed that aboriginal communities would say "no" to strip-mining for bauxite - it is so obvious that this would damage the catchment. The ALP don't see it that way, but the Greens are against strip-mining. Noel Pearson was FOR strip-mining - his Cape York Institute's report "From hand out to hand up" published in 2007 spent several pages discussing how case managers should be used to ensure Aurukun people could be made "work-ready" for when the mining started.

The Aurukun Shire Council is FOR the strip-mining, although Gina Castelaine is against. She went on a Chalco-sponsored trip to China to see how they do strip-mining over there. Have a guess as to how environmentally-friendly the Chinese are, especially with regard to rehabilitating the place once the ore is gone. Don't forget that Aurukun Shire Council runs the local tavern and is AGAINST a dry community. Is it any wonder Aurukun is one of the most disfunctional communities in Australia.

Comment by Dale Stiller on January 25, 2010 at 3:32pm

Dave, You have successfully identified the correct Adrian, but unsuccessful in your attempt to downplay his activities as just another lobbyist. Pearson was not saying in his speech that green groups couldn’t lobby the Government. All sorts of groups lobby the Govt. including Pearson himself. What he & many others find completely objectionable is, as written in the précis above: “This character has found a more effective way to enact the Wilderness Society agenda while at the same time raking somewhere around $160 000 paid for by the tax payer. This would be the equivalent to the taxpayer funding for a big mining company to have a representative in a key position of power in the Environmental Protection Authority. Noel Pearson has seen enough to believe that there is an entire network working on a Wilderness Society agenda within the public service.”

Dave you wrote, “Aboriginal communities have always had strong support for Lands Rights from the Greens.” Correction Dave, DID HAVE. Noel Pearson expressed very strong feelings of betrayal towards the Greens party & green groups.

As you promoting this nonsense of consultation, more like a Clayton’s consultation. He is a quote from Gerhardt Pearson, Executive Director of Balkanu Cape York development
“Certainly the consultation is not up to standard and we believe it does not really represent real consultation.”
“The Wilderness society is an absolute lie.”
“Where are the conservationist concerns now for the actual people who own these lands, who are living on this country – they’ve disappeared! They disappeared to embark on new and better things – that’s is the greater world heritage listing of the Cape York Peninsular.” 14/2/07 Interview with Gerhardt Pearson ABC Local Radio with Pat Morrish.
http://www.balkanu.com.au/media/140207.pdf

Comment by Dave Kimble on January 25, 2010 at 11:33am

"Adrian??" would have been Adrian Jeffreys, who was previously the spokesman for the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, not the Wilderness Society.

There seems to be an assumption that greenies are not allowed to lobby governments for what they want, while miners, farmers and aboriginal communities are. Why is this ?

The fact is the ALP is totally in bed with the miners, and the Nationals/NLP are totally in bed with the farmers. Aboriginal communities have always had strong support for Lands Rights from the Greens. Noel Pearson has strong ties with the Liberal Party and Lachlan Murdoch, the media mogul who owns the Australian, which explains why Pearson gets so much positive coverage.

Pearson says his community wasn't consulted about the Wild Rivers Act declarations, but this is untrue. His brother Gerhardt Pearson was Executive Director of Balkanu Cape York Development Association, which was given money by Queensland Department of Natural Resources to provide a detailed response, which they did.

Comment by Joanne Rea on January 16, 2010 at 5:16pm

Here is an excellent article in The Australian by Noel Pearson 16/1/10
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/labor-connives-with-gr...
It's worth a read.

Comment by Jim Bernard on November 7, 2009 at 9:42am

There is a lot of ignorance about property Titles and property terms.

Fee Simple for instance depends a little on who is using that term.

It is often in the eye of the beer holder (ha ha)

For instance in Canberra and the ACT there is no fee simple.
All land in the ACT is leasehold (99 year leases) but that makes no difference when people want to buy or sell their properties.
A property lease that long is virtually forever especially as they can be rolled over.

In the unique circular housing estates I have designed - It is possible for them to be built even on Crown land and bought or sold as leasehold as in the ACT.

Actually they are ideal for Aboriginal communities, as they encourage a big family atmosphere, with plenty of leisure facilities.

Aboriginal people could just go ahead and build these types of estates (around existing sporting ovals ) and ignore the white buereacracy to a large degree.
I tried to interest Mr Pearson in this idea some years back - but he couldn't be bothered much.

Its the housing estate of the future everywhere.

http://www.jimbernard.org/gpage12.html

Jim

Comment by Laurence Heal on October 4, 2009 at 11:51pm

If we got back to the definition of Fee Simple as described by Justice Isaac Isaacs in a High Court decision of 1923 states "that fee simple means you can turn your land into a virtual waste land if you so desire, so absolute is owenership under fee simple.
Laurence

Comment by Phil Sheridan on July 16, 2009 at 4:57pm

Noel Pearson appeared on Lateline last night.

Follow the link http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2627109.htm

Comment by Dale Stiller on July 12, 2009 at 11:17pm

Everyone
I have started a new blog that follows on from this one called: Is Noel Pearson a lone voice?

Please come over & view this lastest posting. If you have a comment that you believe is best placed on this posting, please feel free to do so. There is no such thing as a finishing date when it comes to blogging, you can restart a conversation here days or even weeks after the last comment.

Comment by Dale Stiller on July 12, 2009 at 1:54pm

This is what Noel Pearson said to a room full of graziers & farmers in rockhampton 27 th June 2009.

"Both aboriginals & rural landholders have their backs to the wall. We need to work together"

Steve, I believe Noel Pearson was conveying to the PRA confrence that he sees graziers & farmers in the same vulerable postion as his community.

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