ANTaR (ACT) update # 21 (Thrursday 4th December, 1997)

Action Alert! Vigil and gallery presence tonight (Thurs): Due to the speed with which the Senate has been progressing through the amendments to the Native Title Bill, it appears that a final vote on the amended Bill may happen in the next 48 hours. Consequently, the ANTaR meeting last night decided that a vigil will be held outside Parliament House tonight (Thursday 4th) from 6.00 pm onwards. At 7.30 pm we plan to move into the Senate galleries to provide a visible presence till debate finishes for the day, probably late in the night. We also hope to have a strong presence when the final vote on the Bill is taken, although at this stage we don't know exactly when that will be. This is an important time to demonstrate the strength of community concern over the Bill, so please try to come along, even if you only have an hour or so to spare. Also, please pass this information on to interested friends and colleagues. If you can, wear colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, ribbons, armbands etc so our presence will have greater impact. The outcome so far of the Senate committee stage has been mixed with Senator Harradine often voting with the Government but joining with the opposition parties against some key aspects of the Government's amendments, particularly with respect to the sunset clause and the registration test for native title claims. Remaining issues to be debated include the right to negotiate provisions, validation of illegal grants by the states and territories, renewals and upgrading of interests including the expansion of pastoralists' rights, and the Racial Discrimination Act provisions. ==0==0==0==0==0== ANTaR ACT Contact Details: ==0==0==0==0==0== Community Aid Abroad 6257 4472 (bh), or Cate Buchanan 6257 4225 (w), 6247 0164 (h) e-mail: antaract@interline.com.au Last modified: Tuesday, 12-Sep-2000 21:04:56 EST