Getup just notified me that the Government is trying to pass a Bill to pressure Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory into giving up their land for the next century, in exchange for securing basic services (such as housing and schools). I gather the current land rights act expires this year, and the government does not want to renew it. They are trying to rush this through on Tuesday, and have done a fine job of avoiding consulting anyone, particularly, of course, indigenous populations.

I admit that I know virtually nothing about the issues involved with this, and do not have time this week to research them, so I am not going to try to write anything especially eloquent here. But if you are Australian, I’d appreciate it if you would go here and read more: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign.asp?campaign_id=36

And if you are more knowledgeable than me, please call your senator, or write in your blog and let others know about this. I can’t imagine any way in which this would benefit the Aboriginal community in Australia, which has quite enough problems without losing one of the few assets it has.