Yesterday's split decision rejecting the Yorta Yorta appeal marks the end of another phase of the community's long struggle for recognition of their traditional interests. I spoke with many members of the community after the decision. The decision left senior members of the community saddened on the one hand , but also somewhat bemused, heartened and full of fight. Saddened , because the decision greatly reduces the chances of some senior members of the community, who have played a huge role in their struggle, seeing the day when justice is finally done (as they are certain and determined it ultimately will be). Saddened,too, because they saw this as another opportunity for the white justice system to redress great wrongs, and believe that the non-indigenous community is greatly diminished as long as they fail to do so. Bemused, because of the ironies of a result in which two junior judges failed to take note of the wisdom of one of their own judicial elders. Bemused too , because the "elder" judge relied in part on arguments of another senior judge who had been forced off the case by the State Government legal counsel when the appeal hearings had first begun. The result could so easily have been different, but for such twists of fate. Heartened, because the most senior judge of the Australian Federal Court had found in their favour - and in a well argued and thorough judgement had understood the fundamental issues involved. Heartened too, though less so, by the fact that even the two junior judges had recognised many of the serious defects in the original judgement, though they had not been swayed to overturn Justice Olney's decision (and, in their reasons for failing to do so ,may have increased even further the height of the bar over which Indigenous people will need to jump if they wish to obtain recognition of Native Title through the courts). Full of fight, because they are who they are. The Yorta Yorta are not the sort of people to leave a matter like this as "unfinished business." As always, they face an uphill battle, struggling to find even the money necessary to mount a High Court appeal, because of a lack of any official funding, and facing the challenge of perhaps several years more legal activity before the matter is resolved. Unless a negotiated solution can be reached quickly they know that some who played a major role in the current round will not be there when they finally win. But in the court for the decision were many young children who had not been born or were babes in arms when the Native Title hearings first began, listening attentively not just to Justice Branson handing down her sad decision, but to the energy and fire in the voices of their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. These children will not grow up to be easily put off by setbacks such as the present one. They learn strength and resilience from life in one of Australia's strongest and most enduring communities. Cheers Rod Hagen -- Rod Hagen [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hurstbridge, Victoria, Australia WWW http://www.netspace.net.au/~rodhagen ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
