Latest news with #Banjima
West Australian
3 days ago
- General
- West Australian
Film follows fight to heal Country from poison legacy
Traditional Owners call this place 'poison Country'. Spanning more than 46,000 hectares in Western Australia's Pilbara region, the Wittenoom Asbestos Management Area is the largest contaminated area in the southern hemisphere, blanketed in deadly asbestos. The contamination prevents Banjima Traditional Owners from accessing these thousands of hectares of Country. Yaara Bou Melhem was initially planning a film about the thousands of abandoned mines across Australia. But when she met the late Maitland Parker, a Banjima Elder, who spent his life campaigning to heal this Country, she knew the film had to be about Wittenoom. Mr Parker was battling mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. "His story was going to be one of many in the film, but when you're confronted with how shocking Wittenoom is, the very clear social injustice meted out against him and his community, it was just too compelling for it to be just a small part of a larger film," Ms Melhem told AAP. Mining occurred at Wittenoom until the 1960s, and three million tonnes of tailings containing asbestos were left behind. Since then, asbestos fibres have been dispersed throughout the area by wind and water erosion, a West Australian government website says. Ms Melham said if nothing is done to remediate the asbestos waste, it will continue to spread for hundreds of years. She said Wittenoom is one of the most egregious examples of environmental, health and community impacts of legacy mine sites, and the film Yurlu/Country explores this. "There isn't a Banjima family that has not been touched by Wittenoom and his story represents that whole, and I think that's why [Mr Parker] really wanted to tell that story on behalf of his community," Ms Melhem said. Mr Parker was a co-writer and executive producer on Yurlu / Country, which follows his final year, and his campaign to heal Country. "He gave us permission to use his name, voice, image, even after his passing because he felt like his story had some power, and his name had power and he wanted us to be able to use it to advocate for Banjima and for the clean up of his Country," Ms Melhem said. "That's a responsibility we're very aware of and hoping we do his story justice." Ms Melhem said she hopes Wittenoom, which has long been "out of sight and out of mind" is brought into full view through the film, and Mr Parker's wishes for a clean up can be fulfilled. "What we're hoping is that people don't walk away from this film feeling like this is an intractable issue that can't be changed - we know it can be changed," she said. Yurlu/Country will have its world premiere on Saturday at Sydney Film Festival, then make its international debut at Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand. Sydney Film Festival begins on Wednesday and will run until June 15.
Perth Now
3 days ago
- General
- Perth Now
Film follows fight to heal Country from poison legacy
Traditional Owners call this place 'poison Country'. Spanning more than 46,000 hectares in Western Australia's Pilbara region, the Wittenoom Asbestos Management Area is the largest contaminated area in the southern hemisphere, blanketed in deadly asbestos. The contamination prevents Banjima Traditional Owners from accessing these thousands of hectares of Country. Yaara Bou Melhem was initially planning a film about the thousands of abandoned mines across Australia. But when she met the late Maitland Parker, a Banjima Elder, who spent his life campaigning to heal this Country, she knew the film had to be about Wittenoom. Mr Parker was battling mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. "His story was going to be one of many in the film, but when you're confronted with how shocking Wittenoom is, the very clear social injustice meted out against him and his community, it was just too compelling for it to be just a small part of a larger film," Ms Melhem told AAP. Mining occurred at Wittenoom until the 1960s, and three million tonnes of tailings containing asbestos were left behind. Since then, asbestos fibres have been dispersed throughout the area by wind and water erosion, a West Australian government website says. Ms Melham said if nothing is done to remediate the asbestos waste, it will continue to spread for hundreds of years. She said Wittenoom is one of the most egregious examples of environmental, health and community impacts of legacy mine sites, and the film Yurlu/Country explores this. "There isn't a Banjima family that has not been touched by Wittenoom and his story represents that whole, and I think that's why [Mr Parker] really wanted to tell that story on behalf of his community," Ms Melhem said. Mr Parker was a co-writer and executive producer on Yurlu / Country, which follows his final year, and his campaign to heal Country. "He gave us permission to use his name, voice, image, even after his passing because he felt like his story had some power, and his name had power and he wanted us to be able to use it to advocate for Banjima and for the clean up of his Country," Ms Melhem said. "That's a responsibility we're very aware of and hoping we do his story justice." Ms Melhem said she hopes Wittenoom, which has long been "out of sight and out of mind" is brought into full view through the film, and Mr Parker's wishes for a clean up can be fulfilled. "What we're hoping is that people don't walk away from this film feeling like this is an intractable issue that can't be changed - we know it can be changed," she said. Yurlu/Country will have its world premiere on Saturday at Sydney Film Festival, then make its international debut at Doc Edge Festival in New Zealand. Sydney Film Festival begins on Wednesday and will run until June 15.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Dusted - the human cost of mining in Australia
Asbestos, the killer material that we now know causes lung disease and mesothelioma, was once the 'wonder mineral'. Before it was banned in Australia in 2003, many thousands of people died, because building manufacturing companies kept making and selling asbestos products despite knowing its dust was dangerous. Each generation's stories about asbestos dust tell us something new. Host Van Badham brings us the final episode in this series. Guests: Matt Peacock – journalist & author of Killer Company Matt Peacock – journalist & author of Killer Company Meredith Edelman – lecturer, business law & taxation, Monash University Meredith Edelman – lecturer, business law & taxation, Monash University Pavla Miller – academic & co-author of Mining Gold and Manufacturing Ignorance Pavla Miller – academic & co-author of Mining Gold and Manufacturing Ignorance Dr. Pamela Kinnear – academic & public policy consultant Dr. Pamela Kinnear – academic & public policy consultant Maitland Parker – Banjima elder Maitland Parker – Banjima elder Bernie Banton – asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton – asbestos campaigner Sound engineer – John Jacobs Sound engineer – John Jacobs Producer – Lyn Gallacher Link: searchable database of once-secret industry documents relating to public health.
The Guardian
04-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Woman who claims to be Gina Rinehart's niece calls on billionaire to ‘resolve any doubts' with DNA test
An Aboriginal woman who believes she is Gina Rinehart's niece is calling on Australia's richest person to take a DNA test to prove their family connection. Naydene Robinson, the daughter of Sella Robinson, who claimed she was fathered by Lang Hancock at Mulga Downs station in the 1930s, says she wants to meet Rinehart and 'resolve any doubts' about her links to the Hancock family. Sella's mother worked as a musterer and in domestic labour at Mulga Downs. Robinson says she is hopeful that if the link can be established, Rinehart would agree to an 'amicable' settlement that recognised her mother was Hancock's child and Rinehart's half-sister. She also wants Mulga Downs to be returned to the traditional owners. 'I ask [Hancock's] daughter Mrs Georgina Rinehart to respectfully consider, recognise and accept us as his descendants as well, without bias or prejudice, for us to move forward,' Robinson said in a statement provided to Guardian Australia. 'If the DNA test results are compatible with either herself or her children's and Sella's children, then I would like to work with Mrs Rinehart on amicable terms to determine what is fair and just, for all the relevant parties involved towards achieving a favourable, respectful outcome for the descendants of Sella Tucker-Robinson, without animosity, malice or discrimination,' she said. 'We ask to not be regarded or known as 'charity cases'.' Robinson is calling for Mulga Downs station to be returned to the Banjima traditional owners, who have native title over the area, saying this had also been the wish of her mother before she died. She says while the Banjima are recognised native title holders, they still face restrictions in being able to access the vast outback station that covers nearly 1m acres (400,000 hectares). 'It is rightfully [Banjima] country. It has always been their country, since time began, it's been well documented and talked about,' Robinson said. Sign up for the Afternoon Update email newsletter 'We are the oldest people still living, practising and connected to our Country. It's national and international history, our history, that for at least 60,000 years, we were here, and today, we are still here. 'This is our country, It is in our song-lines, and stories.' As part of the podcast series Gina, Guardian Australia has revealed that Lang Hancock sought ministerial intervention when Sella Robinson was removed from Mulga Downs station in the Pilbara in 1940. While there is no direct evidence that Hancock was her father, the concerns expressed by him lend weight to claims that Rinehart has Aboriginal half-sisters. Another woman, Minnit Doris, who claimed to be Lang Hancock's half-sister born to his father, George, was also abducted at the same time. The girls were removed from the station under government policies that created the Stolen Generations. A trove of previously unreported government documents, obtained from the State Records Office of Western Australia, show that Hancock requested the children be returned to the station. In a letter to the WA minister for the north-west, he suggested that they be swapped for other 'starving' Aboriginal children. 'In the absence of the manager of this station the local police officer and Inspector … ran down and captured two half-caste children who were decently clothed and fed, and cruelly took them from their mothers, to be a burden on the State, despite the fact that they and their parents were fed, clothed and insured by us,' the October 1940 letter said. 'We would suggest that the two children be returned to us and two of the starving mites substituted.' Hancock's request was denied and Sella was taken to one of the largest Aboriginal missions in Western Australia, Moore River Native Settlement, where children from all around the state were incarcerated in poor conditions and often abused. Rinehart has never publicly acknowledged the Robinson family, nor another woman, Hilda Kickett, as relatives. At the time the women made the claims in 1992, a Hancock family lawyer denied them, saying it 'was not Lang's style'. 'That wasn't the kind of thing Lang Hancock would do,' he said. 'I have spoken to young men who worked around Mulga Downs with Lang and I have spoken to confidants who say nothing like this was ever mentioned or rumoured,' the lawyer said after Hancock's death. Robinson said that she is asking with 'sincere respect' for Rinehart to acknowledge the history of her mother's removal from the station and Hancock's attempted intervention, saying the letter showed how 'furious' he was. 'As descendants … knowing she was removed from her homelands and her families by force, we often wonder what the outcome would have been like if Sella had not been 'kidnapped' and had grown up and lived on Mulga Downs Station,' she said. 'Maybe, just maybe, her and her aunty Minnit Doris would have had shares, and rights in inheriting the property, and any other shares/stakes left to George Hancock and his son Langley.' She speculates that the children might have received a mention in Hancock's will, 'if not for their cruel abduction, on that sad, mournful day from Mulga Downs Station'. Robinson, who now lives in Perth, said that if Rinehart decided not to have a DNA test, she would 'respect her decision'. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'However, for me to get peace of mind, and to carry out my late mother's wishes, I invite any one of the Hancock/Rinehart children to come forward with compassion for one human being to another, and give their DNA for comparison,' she said. 'To determine if we are connected by blood. 'I understand all the legal work regarding Lang Hancock's estate has been finalised through the legal system years ago. However I have hope.' A spokesperson for Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, said it had an agreement in place with the Banjima people covering Mulga Downs and 'complies fully with its obligations'. He said the company, under Rinehart's leadership, had given a large section of Mulga Downs to the Banjima for the Youngaleena community. 'And further, at the request of a non-Banjima community, similarly claiming long ties in the Mulga Downs area, [Rinehart] gave a further section of Mulga Downs to that community. 'We value our long-term relationship with the Banjima people and remain committed to working collaboratively in addition to positively for the Banjima people and their future generations, and in accordance with all legal and cultural obligations,' he said. The spokesperson said most of the station now housed mineral tenements of various mining companies, together with related infrastructure. The trove of documents also reveals government concerns about alleged sexual relationships between white men and Aboriginal women at Mulga Downs in the early 20th century and into the 1940s. Under section 46 of the state's Native Administration Act, it was illegal for a 'non-native' to have 'sexual intercourse with any native who is not his wife or her husband'. The correspondence claims the women, who mostly worked as domestic labour and lived in camps on the property, 'must have been used by white men for the satisfaction of their sexual desires'. The exploitation of Aboriginal women by white station workers was 'rampant' across remote areas of Australia at the time, according to the University of Newcastle's Prof Victoria Haskins, who has written extensively on Aboriginal women in domestic service and cross-cultural relationships. 'There was an understanding that Aboriginal women [on the stations] were just sexually available. It was a real sexual frontier.' She said Aboriginal women in these situations had 'no power to say no'. 'The power dynamic between white men and Aboriginal women was extremely uneven. ''Going up to the boss' was probably well understood to be part of the work that was expected of you [as a domestic worker]. Robinson said she believes the history of Mulga Downs needs to be acknowledged as part of the truth-telling required for Australia to 'grow and move forward.' 'We all should have an obligation to revisit our past history, and accept our past for what it is, in order to focus on reconciliation,' she said. 'It is a shared history. Australian History with two sides of the story, and then the facts, and finally the truth,' she said. 'It's been a long time coming, and it's long overdue. 'What is needed now is the due diligence, justice and empathy of all Australians to realise and come together and work together as a nation.' Listen to the update Gina: The DNA request Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Tourism operator calls for investigation into water levels at Karijini National Park
The condition of Karijini National Park's spectacular gorges is worrying traditional owners and business operators as Western Australia's tourism season looms. The national park, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, is the traditional home of the Banjima, eastern Kuruma, and Yingawangka people. Banjima man Felix Wilfert is a wood carver who often cuts paperbark trees from Karijini. He said there was a creek that flowed through the back roads and that the water was always deep enough to cover the bonnet of his vehicle. "The last time I went there, last year, there was no water there — nothing," he said. Felix Wilfert says he has seen trees dying in parts of the national park. ( ABC Pilbara: Mietta Adams ) Mr Wilfert said trees appeared to be dying in the area and that parts of the park were drier than usual. Mr Wilfert said that because of the area's high altitude, the water at Karijini ran down the hills to neighbouring tributaries. "Water and rain are a big thing to us," he said. "It mainly runs all underground. "It's like the backbone of our culture — that's what the elders left behind. "They said: 'Take care of the land and the water.'" Repeat visitors and tourism operators say the trail leading to Hancock Gorge is usually filled with waist-high water. ( ABC Pilbara: Mietta Adams ) Risk of partial closure Karijini Eco Retreat manager Drew Norrish said long-time staff and repeat guests were noticing lower water levels at some gorges. "We need the gorges to remain open all season," he said. "When there's no water flow, it can cause stagnated water and parts of the national park can close. " There are several hundred thousand people that come through every year and water plays a massive part in the experience. " Mr Norrish said the situation was puzzling because he believed the area had received more rain over the most recent wet season — November to April — than the previous season. The Bureau of Meteorology's only weather station in the national park has already recorded 113 more millimetres of rain this wet season than the 2023–24 season. Mr Wilfert suggested neighbouring mining companies could be causing the lower water levels. "I think it's something to do with mining and there should be water there all the time, really," he said. Karijini's waterfalls and gorges attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to WA's Pilbara region every year. ( ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates ) Miners vow to protect park The national park sits within the heart of the Pilbara's multi-billion-dollar network of iron ore mines, which are owned by some of the country's biggest companies, including BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group, and Hancock Prospecting. Rio Tinto's Marandoo mine is bordered by the national park on three sides and is about 50 kilometres from some of the most popular gorges. Since 2010, Rio Tinto has mined below the water table at Marandoo, which involves the removal of groundwater to access the iron ore. A Rio Tinto spokesperson said the aquifer connected to Marandoo was regularly monitored. There has been speculation about the impact mines in the area could be having on the park. ( ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean ) "We continue to conduct monitoring of all water sources we access as required under our environmental approvals," the spokesperson said. " Our work is ongoing to reduce water usage across our operations. " Fortescue Metals Group, which also operates mines near Karijini, said it always tried to minimise its impact on the environment. "Regarding Karijini National Park specifically, we recognise its environmental and cultural significance and remain committed to safeguarding this iconic region," a spokesperson said. Calls for investigation Mr Norrish said it was time for the state government to investigate the condition of the gorges. "It's not healthy to have speculative reasons," he said. "I just feel like we as a community … need to get the facts on the table so we can deal with it knowing that everyone has the same information." The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation did not respond when asked if it would investigate the situation, but pointed out rainfall during the past three wet seasons at Karijini National Park had been below the long-term average. "This results in low recharge to watercourses and aquifers," the department said in a statement. " The government is confident that the monitoring regimes and protections in place are appropriate. " Drew Norrish wants the government to investigate, but says the national park is still a top destination. ( ABC Pilbara: Charlie McLean ) The ABC understands an organisation representing some of the national park's traditional owners has started its own investigation and commissioned a hydrogeologist to assist. Mr Norrish said people visiting Karijini this year could still expect a great experience. "You know, [there are] two billion years of geology, but also the cultural connection to country — it's very active and still very much alive with the traditional owners," he said. "Karijini is one of the most amazing places in Australia … so we're very keen to make sure it remains at the top of the list for tourists travelling through WA."
