Aboriginal Law Bulletin; Graham, Duncan --- "News: Yipirinya School Seeks Registration: High Court Challenge; ALRU Commences NSW Land Rights Project" [1982] AboriginalLawB 48; (1982) 1(5) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 9

• News
• Yipirinya School Seeks Registration: High Court Challenge
• Alru Commences Nsw Land Rights Project

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News

Yipirinya School Seeks Registration: High Court Challenge

The Yipirinya school opened in 1979 with classes in the Alice Springs fringe camps. The Aboriginal-controlled bilingual and bicultural school was started in response to the demands of parents asking for more appropriate schooling for their children.

The parents and the children had grown dissatisfied with the worth and style of education provided by Government schools, and had been shamed and angered by the taunts and racism of some white children and teachers. Many camp children have limited access to adequate washing facilities. When they are in competition with well-fed, well-dressed children who live in houses that are warm in winter and cool in summer - and in an environment where books, papers and the opportunity to learn are usually present - then most Aboriginal children come out on the underside of the system.

So Yipirinya was established to counter problems and meet needs perceived by the Aboriginal people themselves. Funding has been provided by national and international church and philanthropic groups; so far well over $100,000 has been raised to keep the school operating.

The project has never been supported by the NT Education Department, although offers have been made to supply teachers, offers rejected by the Aborigines who wanted to retain control. (The Department has made special efforts over the years to cope with the needs of Aboriginal students and with some success, though most attempts have been 'white fella' initiated and controlled.)

In June 1981 the Yipirinya School Council applied to have the school registered as a non-government school. Education Department staff inspected the school, reports were compiled but in April 1982, the application was turned down by Education Minister Jim Robertson. He said the education provided by Yipirinya was 'not efficient and suitable education having regard to the age and capabilities of the children'. The Minister's decision effectively denies the school access to about $800 a year per child from Federal and Territory Government sources. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs has rejected a plea for special funding because the school has not been registered.

Acting on instructions from the Yipirinya School Council, the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service has commenced proceedings in the NT Supreme Court to challenge the Minister's decision. Under the NT Education Act, the Supreme Court is empowered to uphold, modify or overturn the Minister's decision. In the latter event, the court can grant registration. The issue does not have to go back to the Department and the Minister.

Lawyers involved in the issue believe it will be a case of national significance, equal to the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission hearing of 1965 that established the right of Aboriginal stockmen to earn award wages, and the Yirrkala compensation case in 1968 which helped create an awareness of Aboriginal land rights and paved the way for the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976.

The case is significant because it will test stated official policies of Aboriginal self-determination and self-management. Win or lose, the case is bound to have repercussions throughout Australia, not just for Aboriginal people who want to develop and control the education of their children, but for all communities and individuals who seek that right.

At this stage it is not known how long the case will take, although a month's sittings in Alice Springs at the end of this year could be a fair estimate.

by Duncan Graham

ALRU Commences NSW Land Rights Project

The Aboriginal Law Research Unit at the University of NSW is to undertake an intensive project on Aboriginal land rights in NSW. The Unit's convenor, Professor Garth Nettheim of the University's Law School, has announced that the Unit has received a grant of $10,225 from the Law Foundation of NSW to allow the project to proceed from July to December 1982.

Announcing the grant, Professor Nettheim said: `The next six months promises to be a critical time with regard to Aboriginal land rights in this State. The Government has undertaken to introduce legislation before the end of the year. The Aboriginal Law Research Unit hopes to be in a position to assist the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in developing the legislation. We also want to be able to assist groups such as the Aboriginal Legal Services and the NSW Land Council with their responses to proposals that the Government brings forward'.

The Unit has appointed Ms Meredith Wilkie to work full-time on the project. Ms Wilkie is a law graduate from the University of Western Australia and the University of NSW. She has worked for the Aboriginal Legal Service in Western Australia. More recently, she worked for eighteen months as a researcher for the Select Committee of the NSW Legislative Assembly upon Aborigines. The First Report of that committee (the Keane Committee) recommended arrangements for recognizing Aboriginal land rights in NSW which, it is understood, will form the basis for the proposed legislation.

Commenting on the task before her, Ms Wilkie said: 'The awarding of land rights is the essential first step towards redressing past and present wrongs endured by Aborigines in NSW. To secure just and meaningful land rights, it is essential that Aborigines in this State have an effective input in the formulation of policy and legislation. My role will be as a facilitator in this process.'

Ms Wilkie can be contacted at the Faculty of Law, University of NSW: [phone] Ext. 3381.