Aboriginal communities in Western Australia

Aboriginal communities in Western Australia are communities for Aboriginal Australians within their ancestral country; the communities comprise families with continuous links to country that extend before the European settlement of Australia.

Legend:
  • Large red dot: 500 people or more
  • Medium red dot: 200 to 499
  • Small red dot: 50 to 199
  • Smaller back dot: less than 50 people
  •   Very remote
  •   Remote
  •   Outer regional
  •   Inner regional
  •   Major city
Indigenous communities by usual population (left) and by remoteness area (right) based on ABS data for 2006[1]

The governments of Australia and Western Australia have supported and funded these communities in a number of ways for over 40 years; prior to that Indigenous people were non citizens with no rights, forced to work for sustenance on stations as European settlers divided up the areas, or relocated under various Government acts.

Aboriginal Communities Act 1979

The Aboriginal Communities Act 1979[2] allowed Aboriginal councils to make and enforce by-laws on their land. Originally it only applied to the Bidyadanga and Bardi communities, but was subsequently extended to others.[3][4]

Earlier stages of assistance

In the 1980s and 1990s, effort was made to support indigenous communities.[5][6][7]

Politicisation of funding issues

In 2014 and 2015 the support of some of the communities was questioned in Western Australian and Australian political discussions.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

In 2015 rallies were held across Australia and the world to protest the withdrawal of government support of the communities.[19][20][21][22][23] A group of Aboriginal protesters set up a camp on Heirisson Island, as "... a place of retreat for all Aboriginal persons who have been and will be forcibly removed by the West Australian Government".[24][25][26]

See also

Notes
  1. "Appendix 4 Reference Maps". Australian Bureau of Statistic. 17 April 2007. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  2. "Aboriginal Communities Act 1979". West Australian Legislation. Government of Western Australia. Dept of Justice. Parliamentary Counsel's Office. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. "Aboriginal Courts in Western Australia". Australian Law Reform Commission. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  4. Maggie Brady (2013). "Law reforming lawyers and aboriginal social controls: The case of the western Australian Aboriginal communities act". Australian Indigenous Law Review. Informat.
  5. Western Australia. Equal Opportunity Commission; Davis, Liz (1990), "Essential service delivery to Aboriginal communities in Western Australia : a report", Discrimination in Government Policies and Practices. S.82(B) Report, Equal Opportunity Commission, ISBN 978-0-7309-3888-0, ISSN 1031-9697
  6. Peter Alexander and Associates; Western Australia. Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority (1991), Inquiry into service and resource provision to remote Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, Peter Alexander and Associates, retrieved 10 May 2015
  7. Western Australian Planning Commission (2000), Planning for Aboriginal communities, The Commission, retrieved 10 May 2015
  8. "Indigenous leaders divided over WA plan to close remote communities - ABC News".
  9. "Some of the smallest remote Aboriginal communities 'may survive plans to close': WA Government - ABC News".
  10. "Cost of closing remote communities greater than tackling issues, Aboriginal leaders say - ABC News".
  11. "Plan to close more than 100 remote communities would have severe consequences, says WA Premier - ABC News".
  12. "Police Commissioner backs push to close remote WA Aboriginal communities, saying child abuse rife - ABC News".
  13. "Number of WA Aboriginal communities facing axe revealed in leaked strategy - ABC News".
  14. "Remote community residents frightened they will be forced off their land: Aboriginal elder - ABC News".
  15. "Remote Indigenous communities will be consulted before closures decision, WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier says - ABC News".
  16. "Scullion denies remote WA communities will be 'shut down', says State Government needs to communicate plans - ABC News".
  17. "Colin Barnett pushed as anger erupts at protest over remote communities closure - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)".
  18. "WA Premier Colin Barnett remains staunch on remote community closures - ABC News".
  19. Sarah Taillier and staff (1 May 2015). "Rallies held to protest against threat of remote community closures in Western Australia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  20. "Hundreds protest against WA community closures in Sydney, Melbourne". Special Broadcasting Service. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  21. Eduardo Jordan (1 May 2015). "The remote communities closure protests gain momentum". The Wire. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  22. "Rallies demand end to Aboriginal community closures". Green Left Weekly. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  23. "MP joins Aboriginal closures protest". Rotorua Daily Post. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  24. Andrew O'Connor (3 March 2015). "Aboriginal protesters set up camp on Heirisson Island as some remote communities face closure". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  25. Rebecca Trigger (13 March 2015). "Heirisson Island Aboriginal protest: Police move in to clear campers". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  26. "Arrests as police remove tents at Perth's Heirisson Island Aboriginal protest". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
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