What has native title done for me lately?

What we found during the course of our native title claim is nothing but an endorsement of the existing status quo enjoyed through the process of invasion and the subsequent colonisation of Yorta Yorta country. This went unabated from the early 1800s to the present day, resulting in the occupation on our traditional lands and waters by people with rights “greater” than the Yorta Yorta’s rights.

The prevailing discrimination in the process of devising native title legislation, including later amendments by both Labor and Liberal governments, meant the redistribution of our lands and waters. This discrimination left Yorta Yorta people the most disadvantaged in regards to land holdings and the waters in our own country.

This loss of jurisdiction over our own lands and waters has severely restricted our ability to receive an economic base from the natural resources and its investment within our traditional country.

When posed with the question of the waste of money fighting a legal battle, I answer, “What is the price for justice, when compared to the social, cultural, spiritual and emotional cost of having your land appropriated and exploited for European economic greed?” Thus the question of equity is very much alive with regards to the ability of the Yorta Yorta people to fulfill our obligations in the protection and maintenance of our social, cultural, economic and environmental way of life.

The fact that the Yorta Yorta/Bangerang native title application was not successful does not and will never change the fact that my people of the Yorta Yorta are the traditional and sovereign owners of our lands and waters. For justice to be met there is need for a treaty or treaties to be negotiated with the Yorta Yorta nation and all other Indigenous nations, recognising that the invasion and possession of our lands was illegal and unlawful. Native title is nothing more than window dressing to continue to exploit and deplete our resources and it will never meet the need for land rights and self determination.

Oh, and what happened to Kaia as he was screaming obscenities at the white intruder?

A young girl, Undyarning, had heard of the fire stick that made a big sound and smoke and could strike people down dead and even though she was shaking, she quietly walked out along the log and gently took the old man’s hand and led him back to the safety of the bank. The old man lived but he could never have imagined the degradation that not only his people but also his beloved river would endure over the next 150 years.

That small girl would one day speak to her children and her grandchildren, who then would pass it on to their grandchildren, of what she learnt about speaking your mind, making your point, regrouping and waiting to continue the struggle another time. At the end of the day, when Curr, his descendants and most other white fellas have had their fill and used all the resources from our lands and waters, Undarnying’s people will always be where they belong; in their traditional country.