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November 14, 2007
A conflict is looming in Cape York between economic development for indigenous people and the protection of wild rivers. It is argued by Noel Pearson that the region's embrace of the fundamental reform in indigenous affairs with the commencement of welfare reform in Cape York is intertwined with economic development. He said early in the year:
At the very time we are seeking to rise out of welfare to grasp opportunities for economic development, the opportunities are being shot down by a combination of wild rivers and a radical prohibition on the limitations of vegetation clearing.Aboriginal people are paying the cost for election deals made by Peter Beattie over the past three terms. The state government Natural Resources bureaucrats who met in communities with traditional owners were even accompanied by Wilderness Society activists. The negotiations with traditional owners took place with Wilderness Society persons present ... it seems to me the state Government has delegated its public-service functions to a green organisation.
Conservation is seen as blocking economic development for indigenous people rather than the wild rivers, better land management and economic growth and employment opportunities working together as envisioned by The Cape York Peninsula Heritage Act 2007.
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Its a pity that"conservation" is seen as interfering. Given the resulting problems of global warming to all community groups, right across the globe, we are going to need inputs from all sources that can be can mustered. The Australian community, as a whole,has a long way to go before it begins to grasp the cultural, social, and economic changes that will have to be made. Life is going to be different from the present but not necessarily adverse.