Graham Ring's thoughtful article finishes with that punch line - the miners - "have business to do"
Yes, the Minerals Council of Australia has made, is making progress in its dealings with aborigines. But they not only have a way to go, to deal in any way fairly with aboriginal workers, and communities near mines.
To quote from The Age (Liz Minchin and Lindsay Murdoch23/11/06)" "CANCER cases among Aborigines near Australia's biggest uranium mine appear to be almost double the normal rate, according to a study by the Federal Government's leading indigenous research body."
With the nuclear industry, there's now the prospect of nuclear waste dumps on aboriginal land. That's what is happening world-wide - bribing indigenous people to allow their land to become polluted. Christina Macpherson www.antinuclearaustralia.com

Rhingee,

I sat about three rows from the front at this Garma festival whilst that mining gringo was presenting.

Some of the audience were in awe of his 'progressiveness', most of hippies attending moaned in disbelief, others just tried to hide their obvious ignorance of what was going down.

I didn't stop doodling, i just kept on drawing my cartoon characture of Phillip Adams who did an appalling MC job.

He was doing the spin, a new spin albeit, but a spin on how to be 'culturally sensitive' whilst still being able to f%^&k Aboriginal interests over at the same time.

Mining on Aboriginal land contributes more than a billion dollars a year to the Northern Territory economy and accounts for eighty per cent of the Territory's income derived from mining.

My point is that yes these mining fellas are not late blooming SJ'ers (as you put it)but in the absence of anything else happenning in communities the only thing brothers like Ah Kit can say is "I'm pro=mining'. There is no alternative (as thatcher proclaimed).

At the 2005 Garma Gullawuy proclaimed that he was to begin his own mine, reap the benefits and do mining with proper Aboriginal consent and environmental and cultural safegaurds. It raised a few eyebrows but I think this put the ball back in the miners camp big time.

"Why only be the hired labor when we can be the boss, on our own land' was the gist of his reasoning.

An audit study of all mines, benefits, and best practice, would be worthwhile conducting.

Rainier,
Suppose you count Macarthur River Mine in your estimates of mining on Aboriginal land, wrong, freehold brother. That was the only reason they got up in arms because there wasnt anything in it for them. By the way they have a 20% workforce of indigenous peoples.

Mate in these communities there just isnt anything else, no mine=no work=hoplessness+depression. 48% of total NT budget is spent on aboriginals who make up 28% of the people. This is only viable through mining

And as for aboriginals running thier own mines, where does the startup capital come from? Will non-indigenous run the day to day runnings of the mine? probably

Ive never seen an aboriginal run private enterprise be anything other than an unmitigated disaster propped up by loads of tax payers hard earnt but I could be wrong, Im sure theres a boomerang factory here and there that does well, but big business hmmmmm.

Education in conjunction with the mining industry could be the best way forward for otherwise dysfunctional communities for a leg up out of the sit down cycle.

Spot on Christinamac

And if the states cave into a resurgence in uranium mining, then Aboriginals' land will be contaminated for perpetuity.

Australian's nuclear institutes allude only to Radon222 "released from the mine to the atmosphere with large volumes of air."

Their silence has not gone unnoticed on the substances Thorium-230 (75,000 years half-life) and Radium-226 (half-life of 1602 years) which contaminates the millions of litres of mill tailings where 85% of the radioactive substances remain, after the processing of yellow cake.

EPA assessments of tailings dams state that the structure of the tailings dam must endure for 1,000 years - big deal when communities grandchildrens' grandchildren will be left with the legacy of monitoring these substances for many thousands of years after that!

Aborigine communities will cave into mining companies dangling big carrots without considering the hideous legacy endowed on others to monitor these substances long after the mine has shut down and moved out.

One "dormant" uranium mine in WA has an apt title - that of "Yeelirrie." I believe its indigenous for "Place of Death."

Seems past indigenous generations were more au fait with the science of uranium than the present are.

Dig the mining industry? I'll consider it when the industry cease using yesterday's technology and they and Departments' of Environment publicly acknowledge that current mining practices seriously impact on human and environmental health.

Scotty maaate,

The current protest by traditional owners is over concern about environmental issues and specifically the mine's plans involve diverting the river and polluting the river, groundwater and the downstream marine environment.

The particular process of expansion of the McArthur River Mine that was put forward by Xstrata did reach appropriate scientific thresholds.

Your own interest and concern for Aboriginal people and communities is highly questionable. Perhaps you could tell me why the military was the only place you could get a job before you accuse Aboriginal people of being lazy and stupid?