Indigenous Affairs Minister Snubs Butchulla Concerns
Representatives of the Butchulla community left the Queensland Government's Community Cabinet Meeting in Hervey Bay on Sunday feeling offended and ignored by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Lindy Nelson-Carr.
A formal delegation of three, including an Owens Clan Elder, met with the Minister to voice their concerns about the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal and the impacts it will have on Butchulla cultural heritage, but the Minister was not willing to discuss the issue.
"She dismissed our meeting, claiming the issue was not part of her portfolio," said Elisabeth Berry of the Greater Mary Association, who took part in the delegation.
"We didn't want to discuss the dam with her as such. We wanted to know why Butchulla people have been excluded from the consultation process, and why the Queensland Government has considered them irrelevant to the cultural heritage of the Mary River. The Butchulla see the Mary as the life-blood of their country, so this exclusion has been a grave insult to them. Even if the Minister could not answer these questions, she could at least have offered to ask them on our behalf.
"She showed no concern that the people she is employed to represent are hurting over this issue, and made no attempt to provide them with assistance. She simply referred us to Minister Craig Wallace because his portfolio covers native title issues."
The response left Owens Clan Elder Joyce Smith, who had earlier been called upon by Premier Anna Bligh to welcome the cabinet to Hervey Bay, feeling ignored. "I felt left out. Not good. It shouldn't have been like that," she said.
The Minister's attitude was not a complete surprise to Butchulla spokesperson Norman Barney, "but it still makes us feel like we're not respected, and that's not a very good thing for a Minister of Indigenous Affairs to do,' he said. "It makes us lose respect for that person. And that is certainly not good."
The Butchulla community is concerned about the impacts a dam on the Mary River would have on the Great Sandy Strait, and how changes in the river would affect their sacred sites and traditional practices. They believe a reduction in river flows would be devastating for both the estuary and Butchulla culture in general.
"That the Butchulla feel their very culture is threatened by the proposed dam is a very serious matter," Ms Berry said. "It means there may be serious ramifications within the Butchulla community, both culturally and socially, if the project goes ahead. Such a level of concern must be addressed by the Government. It must be taken seriously."
Representatives of the Butchulla community left the Queensland Government's Community Cabinet Meeting in Hervey Bay on Sunday feeling offended and ignored by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Lindy Nelson-Carr.
A formal delegation of three, including an Owens Clan Elder, met with the Minister to voice their concerns about the Traveston Crossing Dam proposal and the impacts it will have on Butchulla cultural heritage, but the Minister was not willing to discuss the issue.
"She dismissed our meeting, claiming the issue was not part of her portfolio," said Elisabeth Berry of the Greater Mary Association, who took part in the delegation.
"We didn't want to discuss the dam with her as such. We wanted to know why Butchulla people have been excluded from the consultation process, and why the Queensland Government has considered them irrelevant to the cultural heritage of the Mary River. The Butchulla see the Mary as the life-blood of their country, so this exclusion has been a grave insult to them. Even if the Minister could not answer these questions, she could at least have offered to ask them on our behalf.
"She showed no concern that the people she is employed to represent are hurting over this issue, and made no attempt to provide them with assistance. She simply referred us to Minister Craig Wallace because his portfolio covers native title issues."
The response left Owens Clan Elder Joyce Smith, who had earlier been called upon by Premier Anna Bligh to welcome the cabinet to Hervey Bay, feeling ignored. "I felt left out. Not good. It shouldn't have been like that," she said.
The Minister's attitude was not a complete surprise to Butchulla spokesperson Norman Barney, "but it still makes us feel like we're not respected, and that's not a very good thing for a Minister of Indigenous Affairs to do,' he said. "It makes us lose respect for that person. And that is certainly not good."
The Butchulla community is concerned about the impacts a dam on the Mary River would have on the Great Sandy Strait, and how changes in the river would affect their sacred sites and traditional practices. They believe a reduction in river flows would be devastating for both the estuary and Butchulla culture in general.
"That the Butchulla feel their very culture is threatened by the proposed dam is a very serious matter," Ms Berry said. "It means there may be serious ramifications within the Butchulla community, both culturally and socially, if the project goes ahead. Such a level of concern must be addressed by the Government. It must be taken seriously."
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