Latest news with #ArnhemLand
ABC News
13 hours ago
- General
- ABC News
Trailblazing Rirratjiŋu clan leader and environmentalist M Marika dies in north-east Arnhem Land
A senior Rirratjiŋu elder who devoted his life to protecting the natural environment and his people has died at 64 years old in north-east Arnhem Land. Note to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: M Marika's name and image are used here in accordance with the wishes of his family. Guided by his country, culture and family, M Marika stood strong like the lonely rock in the sea off the coast of his Gove peninsula home. He would draw on this metaphor of the rock to fuel what Gumatj clan leader Djawa Yunupiŋu described as Mr Marika's "unwavering love for his people", even in times of great personal loss and hardship. The Rirratjiŋu Aboriginal Corporation (RAC) described Mr Marika as a respected statesman who "dedicated his life to the betterment of his people", expressing condolences to his family and the wider community as they enter sorry business. "He was a cultural authority, community guide and voice of wisdom — deeply trusted across East Arnhem Land," the RAC said. Mr Marika held leadership roles within the RAC, including as chair during what the corporation described as "critical times", and the body said his "humility and quiet strength will be deeply missed". The senior Rirratjiŋu clan elder was known as a humble man and a peacemaker, whose contributions reached across many spheres. Mr Marika was one of four founding land and sea rangers of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, an organisation he would rise through the ranks to lead over a more than 30-year career. He was also a member of the Yothu Yindi Foundation's Dilak Council, made up of senior cultural leaders from each of the 13 Yolŋu clans. He was recognised with numerous accolades including the NT National Resource Management Lifetime Achievement Award, Nhulunbuy's 2020 Australia Day Citizen Of the Year Award and a recent nomination for the NT's 2025 Local Hero Award. The son of a well-respected land rights figure, Mr Marika was descended from Rirratjiŋu clan royalty. He would go on to brush shoulders with the likes of royalty himself, hosting King Charles III during his visit to north-east Arnhem Land in 2018. Mr Marika was guided by both his Christian faith and his deep foundation in his culture. Mr Yunupiŋu, chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, called Mr Marika a "guardian of land conservation, understanding deeply that caring for country is caring for culture, identity, and spirit". "He was equally devoted to the social wellbeing of his community, working tirelessly to ensure that Yolŋu people had opportunities, support, and a strong sense of belonging and purpose," the Gumatj clan leader said in a statement. Former Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Stephen Roeger said one of Mr Marika's "greatest achievements" was his push to develop a Learning on Country program, linking school curriculum to Yolŋu culture. "There was a lot of concern about what was happening with youth, and concern about what their future prospects were and are," he said. "The Learning on Country program was really about trying to create a pathway and to create that inspiration for future leadership and direction." While Mr Marika had his "own history of struggle and grief", Mr Roeger said he overcame those challenges after making the decision to become a leader. "My gäthu [Yolŋu kinship relation] was there from the very beginning," he said. In recent years, Mr Marika experienced great tragedy, with the early deaths of both his son and grandson. Despite the losses, he remained committed to training his surviving sons for leadership, so they could take up the mantle once he was gone. Mr Marika is mourned by the Rirratjiŋu clan and throughout the broader East Arnhem Land community.
ABC News
6 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Suspected boat arrivals from China discovered in Arnhem Land
Up to eight people, believed to be from China, have been detained by border protection authorities after reaching a remote part of the Northern Territory coast by boat earlier this week. The ABC has been told the first six members of the group were discovered by local workers on Tuesday while walking near the remote Indigenous township of Maningrida, approximately 500 kilometres east of Darwin in Arnhem Land. Another two men were picked up the following day by Indigenous rangers before eventually being taken into custody by the Australian Border Force, which has so far not commented on the operation. It's unclear where the group has now been taken, but a source familiar with the interception says the men were believed to be Chinese and had reached the Australian mainland by sea before being detected. So far authorities have not discovered any boat used by the suspected Chinese nationals, raising the possibility they were dropped off the Northern Territory coast by an Indonesian fishing vessel. Last year the ABC reported on several suspected people smuggling operations involving Chinese nationals, including a venture which was disrupted by Indonesian authorities 12 months ago. The Australian Border Force and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have both declined to answer questions about the arrivals, saying the government does not comment on "operational matters". Newly appointed Shadow Home Affairs Minster Andrew Hastie says if confirmed, the arrival of Chinese nationals was a demonstration of the Albanese government's "underinvestment in our border security and defence capabilities". "We should have unblinking surveillance on our northern approaches, but instead we have illegal boats penetrating our borders and people making it ashore. This signals weakness to the people smugglers that business is back on under Labor," he said.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- ABC News
Widow 'pleased' CASA failed to have case dropped over Chris 'Willow' Wilson's helicopter crash death
A judge has rejected a bid by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to be dropped from a legal case pursued by the widow of Netflix star Chris "Willow" Wilson following his death in a helicopter accident. Mr Wilson was harvesting crocodile eggs in a 'human sling' under a helicopter in a remote area of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory in February 2022 when it crashed. The father of two, who stared in Croc Territory, died at the scene, while the pilot was severely injured. A 'no blame' investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the crash was likely caused by fuel exhaustion, which made the engine cut out. According to the report, during the crash the pilot released the 34-year-old "above a likely‑survivable height", fatally injuring him. Danielle Wilson is suing the CASA over her husband's death alongside his co-star, celebrity crocodile wrangler Matt Wright, and his company Helibrook, the operator of the helicopter. At an interlocutory hearing in the Federal Court, CASA attempted to have the case against them struck out by arguing the regulator should not be held responsible for the death when the helicopter operator failed to comply with safety conditions. Counsel for CASA, Rusell McIllwaine SC, told the court while CASA allowed Helibrook to collect crocodile eggs using a helicopter and sling, it set a height limit of five metres. "Helibrook failed to comply with that requirement or condition imposed by CASA," he said. Mr McIllwaine told the court that Ms Wilson's case against Helibrook "was that the reason Mr Wilson died was because he was released by the pilot at a height above five metres". "Their case is that Helibrook did precisely what CASA said they couldn't do," he said. Mr McIllwaine told the court this created "logical inconsistencies" in the case involving multiple respondents because if Ms Wilson was alleging Helibrook's actions caused her husband's death, they were in breach of the conditions set out by the regulator. "CASA can't take reasonable precautions; they can just impose the conditions," he said, arguing the case against CASA should be dropped as it did not have a reasonable prospect of success. Ms Wilson's legal representative David Lloyd SC told the court their primary case was that "Mr Wilson should never have been in the air' because CASA "should never have approved the activities of that kind". He said their case was based on alleged failure of CASA to conduct proper surveillance or oversight over Helibrook. "You don't just approve things for highly risky activities and leave it there," he said. Justice Elizabeth Raper did not accept CASA's claims, dismissed the regulator's application to have the case dropped and ordered them to pay Ms Wilson's costs for the interlocutory hearing. Speaking outside court, Ms Wilson told reporters she was "pleased we heard in court today that we do have an arguable case against CASA". The case continues.
ABC News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Kava smuggling to NT Indigenous communities spikes after import controls lifted, leaders say
Kava smuggling into the Northern Territory's remote Indigenous communities is on the rise, with local leaders fearing the black market price of the drink is draining family finances and fuelling social problems. Police and Indigenous leaders say the amount of kava being smuggled into communities has surged in the years since the Morrison government relaxed import restrictions on the beverage. Commercial imports of kava, a drink with sedative effects widely used in Pacific Islands, resumed in 2021 as part of a diplomatic push to strengthen Australia's relations in the region. But it remains banned in the NT due to its past misuse in some parts of Arnhem Land. Kava has been smuggled into the region's communities since the 1990s, but the illicit trade slowed following a federal government ban on commercial imports in 2007, before import restrictions were subsequently watered down. Now, local community leaders say smuggling is on the rise again — and there are fears the trade is draining family finances, with illicit powdered kava costing up to $1,000 per kilogram. "Those people who smuggle kava find there's a bit of pocket money that they create, but it doesn't help the people out here," Yingiya Guyula, who represents the Arnhem Land electorate of Mulka in the NT's legislative assembly, said. Mr Guyula said there had been an increase in social problems caused by excessive use of the exorbitantly priced, black market kava. Acting Sergeant Nicholas Mitchell, from the NT Police Force dog operations unit, said police were intercepting more kava bound for remote communities, with "an uptick" in seizures over the past six months. Five busts during that time involved quantities ranging from 120 to 250 kilograms of kava. With kava being sold for up to $1,000 per kilogram on the black market — 20 times what it costs outside the NT — criminals were trying to chase big profits, Acting Sergeant Mitchell said. Kava is sold commercially in Australia as a soluble powder — made from the roots of kava plants found throughout Pacific Islands — and importers require a permit. The drink, which has huge traditional significance in Pacific Islands, has now become a commercial product, with kava bars appearing as far away as New York. For more than a decade, the only way to bring kava into Australia was on a flight from a Pacific country where it was grown, with a limit of two kilograms for personal use. That changed in 2019 when then-prime minister Scott Morrison, during a visit to Vanuatu, announced a dramatic relaxation of the rules as part of his so-called "Pacific Step-up" policy to strengthen relations with Pacific nations. The personal limit was increased to four kilograms, and then in 2021, commercial imports of kava were allowed. Between 2021 and 2024, more than 400 tonnes of kava were imported from Tonga, Fiji and Vanuatu, according to Food Standards Australia New Zealand. But experts say it is unclear whether the increase in supply is driving the rise in smuggling to the NT. Alan Clough, professor of public health at James Cook University, said it was too early to determine a definitive link. "Just the synchronicity of it makes it highly suspicious, but it would take some really good data and some really good data analysis to draw a conclusion about that," he said. Professor Clough, who has spent decades researching the impacts of kava on communities in Arnhem Land, said the social and economic impact of the illicit kava trade was clear. "I estimated at one stage, in the Arnhem Land communities, that probably one dollar out of every six dollars that the community had available as cash was going to the illegal kava dealers," he said. Locals and experts say the ban on kava in the Northern Territory has never worked — and that smugglers have continued to bring it into remote communities. They say with commercial imports likely to continue, it's time to rethink how kava is regulated in the territory. Mr Guyula said despite the harm, many people saw drinking kava — with its relaxing, slightly euphoric effects — as a less harmful alternative to alcohol and other drugs. And they want it legalised under community-driven controls. "For a cost that would keep the family going, still have pocket money for their children and families and food." A pilot of the new kava import controls introduced by the Morrison government ended in late 2023. The relaxed restrictions will continue until the federal government makes a decision on future arrangements, according to the Office of Drug Control. An evaluation of the pilot found there had been "positive cultural, social and economic outcomes" for Pacific Islander communities but there was "limited evidence available to assess impacts on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait communities" and noted further monitoring was required.
