A recent edition of the A.B.C. “Australian Story” entitled “Cry me a river” focused on the objections of Cape York Aboriginal traditional owners to the Beattie governments “Wild Rivers” legislation. The Wilderness society has been campaigning for the Wild Rivers legislation since 2000. Cape York leader Noel Pearson, speaking in opposition to the Wild Rivers regime, raised issues of a conflict of understanding between white urban environmentalists and traditional owners. He said ““I’ve long suspected that that was going to be a source of confrontation with us and some sections of the Green movement. This is a clash that we are going to have to have, you know.”

Pearson claims some environmentalists have a steretypical 18th century notion of Aboriginal people and fail to come to terms with modern Aboriginal culture and in particular the economic needs of of contemporary Aboriginal crisis.

Link to transcript of Australian Story http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2007/s1936373.htm

A bit more info and links on my blog
http://paradigmoz.wordpress.com/2007/07/05/the-environment-movement-and-aboriginal-australia-cont/