I think DaveK is closest to the mark here. While the Qld government could certainly have handled consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders in Cape York better, the Wild Rivers legislation is the best thing that's happened for the environment in Queensland in 200 years.

While Aboriginal people are rightly angry about inadequate consulatation and concerned about possible restrictions to future development, I suspect those legitimate concerns are being utilised by unscrupulous miners and political interests to try and create a wedge between environmental and Indigenous agendas.

For example, Tania Major is widely tipped to be preselected as the next LNP candidate for Leichhardt, and while conservative Aboriginal spokesman Noel Pearson has been very vocal about flaws in the Wild Rivers consultative process, he was silent about the non-existent consultation of Aboriginal stakeholders when it came to the Howard government's NT Intervention.

The anti-Wild Rivers campaigners claim that the Cape will be 'locked up' from development and thus limit opportunities for Aboriginal employment and businesses, while the Bligh government claims that this is not the case. There has been a major mine on Aurukun's doorstep for decades that has destroyed much of the land in that part of Western Cape York with little to no benefit to the local Aborigines - why would future "natural resource" projects that Ken Mckay is spruiking be any different?

It seems to me that the Wild Rivers legislation is quite compatible with the kinds of low-impact commercial and agricultural ventures that would be amenable to local ownership and management, while still protecting what remains of a unique part of Queensland's environment.

You are missing the point. All other development applications have to meet the test of ecological sustainable development, where there is a balance between conserving natural systems, economic development and maintenance of the cultural, economic, physical and social wellbeing of people and communities. Wild Rivers has a legislative requirement of preservation of the natural system. There is a higher test for any development project. This is a deterrence to investment. Thus the chance for indigenous people to end the poverty trap and form alliances with external entities to provide capital is destroyed. I challenge those who claim some conspiracy theory from those speaking out to stump up and pool together to provide some capital so the Cape can develop the projects that you claim can occur. Show some goodwill to end the third world conditions that we impose on indigenous communities, sacrifice an ipod or two.

Welcome to OLO DaveK. Nice website. As a botanist, I particularly like the Pandanus photos and info! (:>)

I’ve got to agree with you that basically “The bauxite is not for the benefit of white fellas [or black fellas], but for the rich fellas.”

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“Contrast this with the legislative defined purpose of the Integrated Planning Act which regulates all other development activity throughout the state. The purpose of this Act is to seek to achieve ecological sustainability by:….”

Ken McKay, it all sounds so good at first impressions, to someone like me who is passionately concerned about sustainability (both ecological and human). But quite frankly, it is a crock of @#$%!

The Integrated Planning Act is much more of a growth facilitation mechanism than a plan for sustainability. That is; a facilitation mechanism for continued rapid population growth and all the coastal development that is needed to accommodate it….just done in a slightly less brazenly environmentally destructive manner than pre the IPA…. maybe! It’s an antisustainability facilitation mechanism!!

“Quite simply development activity in Wild Rivers areas are assessed under a whole new paradigm in comparison to development activity anywhere else in the state.”

A whole new paradigm better than the IPA! Wonderful!

Hey, bauxite mining at Weipa has been going on for decades, since the 50s. It has been one of the world’s largest bauxite mining areas for a long time. The profits have been humungus. But have the Aboriginal people of Aurukun or other Cape communities benefited significantly? Or the non-indigenous people of the Cape outside of Weipa, or throughout the rest of Queensland or Australia for that matter?