Queensland takes a step back in aboriginal land rights

Vanguard June 2012 p. 5

The Queensland Government has taken a step back in Land Rights with the eviction of the Tent Embassy at Musgrave Park in South Brisbane on 16^th May.

It is no accident that this has occurred shortly after the election of Campbell Newman as Premier and Graham Quirk as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, as it is a message to all the people of Queensland that the full force of the police will be used to smash any form of dissent.

While Newman tried to wash his hands of this obviously political act, Quirk was most recently Newman’s deputy Lord Mayor until Newman’s political ambition thrust him into the State political race, which he recently won. The two are fairly close bed fellows.

Reminiscent of the Joh Bjelke Peterson days, 200 police were sent at 6am in the morning to evict the approximately 60 inhabitants of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Once the inhabitants were evicted and 30 people arrested, 200 people marched to Parliament House to voice their anger at what had occurred and demand to speak to the Premier Campbell Newman.

 

 

On their arrival at Parliament House, a number of speakers including Sam Watson and Ian Curr spoke, but despite requests, Campbell Newman did not come and meet with these Ambassadors for the Tent Embassy. It was pointed out that during the recent election campaign, Campbell Newman was often seen wearing a badge of the Aboriginal Flag, but on this day he demonstrated his true attitude to the Murri Community and Land Rights.

 

 

A banner was displayed by the protesters saying ‘For a Just Republic and Aboriginal Sovereignty’, a message Newman obviously does not want to hear.

Members of the Tent Embassy and their supporters then marched to the Watch House and waited for 2 hours until those arrested had been released. From here they then proceeded to march back to Musgrave Park across the Grey Street Bridge. On a number of occasions police attempted to intimidate the people, but it was pointed out that under the Peaceful Assembly Act 1992, people are allowed to march as long as they are not going against the flow of traffic.

The reason given by new Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk for his order to evict the Tent Embassy was the Paniyiri Greek Festival to be held on the following weekend. The Greek community however, have indicated that they had no problem with the Aboriginal Tent Embassy being present at Musgrave Park. Cambell Newman showed his insensitivity to the issue of Sovereign Rights when he said not long before the eviction, “I don't believe that squatters’ camps in our public parks are appropriate.”