Australian and International
INTERVENTION NEEDED URGENTLY

BEFORE GOVERNMENT PUTS ALL CLANS INTO ONE TO CONTROL THEIR LAND AND DESTINY.

 HOPEVALE SHIRE COUNCIL APPEARS TO BE OPERATING IN CONSPIRACY WITH
FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT

Community Development worker with Quinton Cooper International Consultants has worked with a local advocate to glean the horrendous and secret suffering of HopeVale residents  in order to GIVE HOPE TO HOPEVALE.   Arthur Von Keysirlingck has compiled the sad story of oppression. 

-In 1997,  with much struggle from Gordon Charlie to obtain funding from the State of Queensland to pay lawyers to fight the case, the Dingaal obtained a right to have native title over their heavily contaminated land at Cape Flattery.  Locals quote “Fish are floating belly up and people are dying from the Mine and our local council is in conspiracy with the Queensland and Federal Governments to sit back and watch us get sick”.  One elder stated, “When I was at the mine working I got sick and then they fired me”. Now in 2005 after some 9 years since getting native title in 1997 with the HopeVale Determination won by Gordon Charlie an elder for the Dingaal, the people still do not have full native title as the historical or stolen generations do not have their boundaries sorted out.  This means compensation for the Dingaal and other traditional owners.  Presently, the government is refusing to acknowledge the compensation owed to the stolen generations and T.O.’s.  They are refusing to acknowledge the pollution from te mine at Cape Flattery from Cape Flattery Silica Sand Mines Pty Ltd  (Mitsubishi Corporation)

Presently, it appears that the Federal and State governments who owe in excess of $ 1Billion Dollars to the community in statutory royalties and compensation under the Mineral Resources Act and Native Title Act and other Acts, are allowing contaminated land at Cape Flattery to be transferred under the Aboriginal Land Act.  Once all the land in the HopeVale Deed of Grant in Trust area is transferred, the governments plan to disinherit the traditional owners who have thirteen separate clans by putting them into one land trust.  This is happening so the government can control the small amount of royalty amount from the mine of about $650,000 per year which is a pitence.  The HopeVale Shire Council Mayor was quoted by lawyers for the other clans who are not beneficiaries of the mine that he does not remember what happened to the $14 MILLION DOLLARS IN ROYALTIES THAT was provided to the council since 1968. 

-In 2004 Chris Griffith in the Sunday Mail wrote that Gordon Charlie depleted government funds to fight the case for native title for every clan in HopeVale.   This is not true as his expenditure was self funded and Noel Pearson who purports to assist indigenous self sufficiency should have promoted Mr. Charlie's fight for land tenure and the people of HopeVale especially that he is from HopeVale.  Instead, he told Chris Griffith that he did not support indigenous funding for land issues.  BUT It appears NOW THAT THE LAND is in the process of being transferred after the hard work of Mr. Charlie and Associates hired by members of the HopeVale Community, Mr. Pearson wants to control the land by pushing everyone into ONE LAND TRUST. 

-Gordon Charlie struggled to pay for the court case himself with minor donations from the government. Gordon Charlie paid in excess of approximately $20,000 to fight his case in the court with the stress faced by him in trying to obtain land title for himself and his clan. 

-In 2003,  the Cape York Land Council held a meeting in HopeVale with the aim of jousting Gordon Charlie off as an elder for the Dingaalwarra clan.  Gordon Charlie was to stressed from cunning manipulations from the government  to attend as elder for his people and the government officials made statements at the meeting encouraging the removal of Gordon Charlie. 

-In 2004 the Dingaalwarra took the government to court to try to vary the Determination Agreement to be awarded their entitlement to royalties that the Cape York Land Council lawyers made them sign their rights away for.  The Dingaal and traditional owners at Cape Flattery are owed in excess of $40 million in royalty payments due to an agreement made between the HopeVale Council and Cape Flattery Silica Sand Mine Pty Ltd., which is  mine operating on their traditional land. 

-Presently, Gordon Charlie and the people in HopeVale have not received their native title in full that they were promised, due to a process of the government.  It is important that the people have a lawyer not funded by the State of Queensland or Cape York Land Council so they can get their own native title as lawyers receiving government funding have worked against the people.  This occurred with the signing of the Native Title Determination in 1997.  Lawyers paid by the state of Queensland told Gordon Charlie and the other members of the 13 clans in HopeVale to sign the document as they would individually receive royalties from the mine.  This was far from the truth as the Determination read in one section "We acknowledge that we will not be entitled to any royalties from Cape Flattery Silica Mines".  The lawyers did not show the clan members this important section and only showed them the signature panels to sign.  Lawyers for Cape York Land Council stated to the clan members upon signing, "Trust me I am a lawyer, hurry up and sign you don't have to read the Determination, just sign it".

-To date the community of HopeVale and Gordon Charlie have engaged a community development worker with her heart on her sleeve, Ms Ruth Schaefer to be their Erin Brokovich prototype to bring them justice and make sure that the State of Queensland does not dishonour them in any way with the present land trust transfer process and interest regularisation process.  Many people in Hopevale want to control their own land trusts under their own clan group prescribed body corporates.  The HopeVale Council is proposing that they give their traditional lands back to the government and allow the government to control them.  The Council member want to be the trustees of the one land trust by controlling it with only a few people who are confused about their rights at the expense of the traditional owners of HopeVale. They want to lease lands owned by stolen generations to make money from them rather than insist the government pay them compensation for displacing them onto the traditional lands of HopeVale.  The community is crying out in desperation for separate legal representation from the Cape York Land Council.  They require funding for this to occur.  Lawyers receiving government funding and working with the CYLC have worked against the people. 

2005-The Australia State government and commonwealth government are presently not allowing the people of HopeVale to have funding for a separate lawyer and are asking the people to trust them after the State government and Federal Government in the Determination allowed them to be conned.

2005-the State and Federal government are refusing to allow Gordon Charlie as elder for the Walmbarr Corporation and clan of the Dingaal people to attend community meetings.  Cape York Land Council members and State of Queensland government visiting workers have excited a community member of HopeVale to threaten to kill Ms. R. Schaefer and Mr. Gordon Charlie on March 22, 2005.   

The State and Federal government are holding community meetings in HopeVale  encouraging residents to keep the land title under the control of the HopeVale Council so the State government, Federal Government and Cape Flattery Silica Mines Pty Ltd can maintain FULL CONTROL over the land and mine.