Tasmanian Protesters Demand Aboriginal Treaty

I rarely talk about Tasmania, but it’s about time I do. I actually have family members who live there. Tasmania is metaphorically under attack… from its own people. Now of course, most Tasmanians, almost 80%, were born in Australia. This is their native land. They have no other land to go to. So it may come as surprise (or not), that Aboriginal Tasmanian protesters and their supporters have set up camp outside the state’s Parliament House demanding a so-called “treaty”. They have moved in without a permit, but of course, they claim that they don’t need one as it is “their” land.

Campaign coordinator Nala Mansell from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre says the group won’t be leaving until the Government give into their demands. At the rally she said, “We demand a treaty! We are here on our land, and we will not move until the Premier comes out, speaks to the people and agrees to legislate for a treaty!”

So what about all those other Tasmanians who were born here? Is it not their land too? Well, published on the TAC’s website, Ms Mansell of course brings skin colour into the debate, because that’s what determines whose land it is apparently. She said, “It’s been 220 years and white people still haven’t asked us for permission to be on our lands, so why would we apply to the government for permission to be on our own lands, which we have never ceded, given away, sold, or agreed to hand over ownership of.”

So hypothetically, if white people (and presumably Chinese, Nepalese, Indian, and Filipino people who make up significant proportions of the Tasmanian population), presuming they go along with this and ask permission from the 5% of Tasmanians who identify as Aboriginal to be on their land, and the Aboriginal people say No, where do 95% of the population go? Obviously, we must all agree that’s not a realistic outcome. 95% of Tasmanians are not just going to pack up and leave without a fight. So if that’s not a realistic outcome, what is?

According to the TAC’s Treat page under About Treaty, they want a change to the Constitution that “acknowledges the Palawa people as Tasmania’s first people and the traditional and original owners of Tasmanian lands and waters.” They also state, “The treaty would of course support meaningful land returns. This could include all crown Lands being returned under Aboriginal title.” Furthermore, “Any treaty would include Palawa ownership of Aboriginal Heritage and Culture in this state. This would incorporate cultural authority over all returned lands, including over national parks and other public lands not yet returned.” Regarding financial restitution, they state, “Reparations would include a guaranteed permanent financial resource, as a starting point, let’s say 3% of GDP.” So without doing a damn thing, simply because of their heritage, they want guaranteed Australian GDP to flow into their hip pocket. They also talk about having “several designated Aboriginal parliamentary seats at the commonwealth and State government level.”

Interestingly, according to the TAC’s rulebook, one’s membership can be cancelled from the Corporation if one misbehaves (whatever that means – Apparently it’s okay to break the law and camp out on the lawns of Parliament House without a permit, so I’m not exactly sure how they define misbehaving), but also one’s membership can be cancelled if one is not an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person. Racism at its finest, right? But one glaringly salient question: What the hell do Torres Strait Islander people have to do with Tasmania? For those of you who aren’t geography buffs, the Torres Strait is approximately 3,568 km from Tasmania. I do not believe for a second that the Islanders traditional wooden dugout canoes could have possibly travelled that distance. So why are Torres Strait Islander people eligible for membership, and therefore reparations and land returns and so on, for a Tasmanian-based Aboriginal Corporation? It’s just nonsensical, is it not?

Anyway, that’s the current state of play of Indigenous Affairs in Tasmania. “Give us our land back, or we’ll camp out on the lawns of Parliament House until you capitulate!”

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn