WA Giving Away Land (Not to You)

The Cook Labor Government in Western Australia is drafting a bill to give away 20 million hectares of land, approximately 8% of the total area of Western Australia, equivalent to three Tasmania’s worth of land, to “Traditional Owners”, i.e. Aboriginal people. Apparently there are 142 permanent Aboriginal settlements settlements in the area home to an estimated 12,000 people. I’m a maths guy, so I like to crunch numbers. If this bill goes through, 12,000 people will have control of 8% of the land. WA has a population of approximately 2.8 million people. So 12,000 people represents 0.4% of the population. This means 0.4% of the population will own 8% of the land, almost 19 times more than their fair share if we were to distribute land evenly to all Western Australians. If all land was distributed evenly, then 12,000 people should own 1.1 million hectares, not 20 million hectares.

Look, I’m not suggesting that all land is equal in Western Australia. Perhaps much of this land is not very inhabitable. Perhaps it’s not very good for growing crops, or raising animals, or anything else. I don’t know. But I wonder, will the Traditional Owners be paying council rates on this land like the rest of us? Will they be paying land tax? According to the WA Government, “You must pay land tax if you own land valued in excess of $300,000”. Man, the land tax on 20 million hectares must be astronomical! Of course, I’m being facetious. I presume these communities will be exempt from paying land tax, while the rest of you foot the bill.

According to the Western Australian Government, the purpose of this massive land transfer is “to empower WA First Nations communities by giving them direct control over their land”. The land is currently under the control of the Aboriginal Lands Trust, which apparently has prevented land development in these communities, leaving Indigenous people mostly locked into public housing.

In a written statement, the Government said, “The Cook government is committed to delivering on its objective to divest the Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT) estate into the direct control of Aboriginal people and entities, to facilitate social and economic outcomes that can be delivered through land tenure. A draft bill is being prepared for parliament to remove barriers to divestment and open up more opportunities for Aboriginal people living on the ALT estate. The draft bill has been informed by consultation with ­Aboriginal community residents, native titles parties and other stakeholders, and will be subject to a further round of consultation. A key outcome of legislative change is to maximise opportunities for Aboriginal land ownership and management and economic activity.”

Again, it seems like only certain people were consulted. I wonder if the vast majority of Western Australians were ever consulted on this? I doubt it. The biggest thing I have reservations about, something that has been brought to light during the disastrous Indigenous Voice campaign, is that it seems again that only people of a certain ancestry will be entitled to certain land.

It was only last year when hundreds of farmers succeeded in killing off Labor’s Aboriginal heritage laws in Western Australia, which were introduced to protect Indigenous culture at the expense of land owners, but the laws were axed just weeks after coming into operation after a massive backlash.

But the WA Government doesn’t give up. They’re set on giving WA back to its traditional owners, your opinion and democracy be damned.

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Allégro by Emmit Fenn