Wayne Bergmann appointed to Northern Australia Advisory Group
As you’re no doubt aware, the Australian Government has a vision for opening northern Australia to development. Wayne Bergmann, CEO of KRED Enterprises, has been appointed as a member on the Northern Australia Advisory Group. Here’s some of his thoughts on the prestigious position:
“It’s important for northern Australia to build on its strengths and natural values, while also increasing the opportunity to bring in services that currently don’t exist. I’m hoping to bring a perspective to the role shaped by being the chair of the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance.”
The White Paper on Developing Northern Australia is due to be released later in the year and we’ll keep you posted with updates. Make sure you also ‘Like’ us on Facebook because this is where we share our big stories first! https://www.facebook.com/KREDEnterprises
Minister Lauds our Leader
In Perth on Friday, the WA Minister for Water Mia Davies praised Wayne Bergmann’s Aboriginal pastoral vision and offered her full support. The Minister delivered the speech at the CEDA event ‘National Agriculture Series Leadership in agriculture: Seizing the Opportunity.’ Here’s an excerpt:
‘Wayne Bergmann and his team … are setting up a framework for mosaic irrigation along the Fitzroy River to help Aboriginal stations lift their combined herd from its current 25,000 head, to 100,000. While beef is a primary target, they are also interested in land tenure changes that broaden the economic base of their stations and allow the creation of irrigation precincts for high value food crops for export.’
‘Half of all Kimberley Pastoral Stations are now in Aboriginal hands, with many of them strategically placed along the Fitzroy River and its tributaries. There is an opportunity of a lifetime to engage with Aboriginal pastoralists, traditional owners and Indigenous leaders like Wayne to negotiate partnerships and pathways to lift productivity in the Kimberley,’ the Minister said.
Pictured above – there’s not only cattle on our Kimberley stations but also herds of haughty camels. For more photos of the pastoral project check out our Instagram account: http://instagram.com/kredenterprises
Traditional Owners Negotiate a Successful Agreement
KRED Enterprises and the Jaru native title claim group have successfully negotiated an agreement with Northern Minerals, locking in substantial economic benefits for the Jaru people of the East Kimberley, should the Northern Minerals project to mine rare earth progress.
The Browns Range Project Co-existence Agreement was put before the Jaru native title claim group at a two-day meeting (10 and 11 June 2014) attended by close to 200 people at Ringer Soak.
Jaru people consent to grant a mining lease to the company in exchange for a comprehensive benefits package and ongoing participation in the operation of the mine. The package includes financial benefits, share options and support to Ringer Soak and Jaru to sustain Jaru heritage, law and culture.
Northern Minerals have also committed to implement best environmental practice at all levels of operations, to carry out a full social and cultural impact assessment in conjunction with KRED and Jaru and to prioritise employment and contracting opportunities for Jaru people that will increase over the life of the mine.
KRED’s CEO Wayne Bergmann says it’s a strong agreement and a major achievement for the Jaru people.
“Here in the Kimberley, we’re setting national benchmarks with our agreements between Traditional Owners and mining companies. We’re confident this particular agreement protects the Jaru people’s cultural heritage and environment as best it can within Australian law. If the project is progressed as planned then it has the potential to provide many positive economic and social benefits to the Jaru people and the wider community,” Mr Bergmann says.
Jaru named applicant and signatory to the agreement Bonnie Edwards, says, “I’m confident we’ve got the best agreement we could have. KRED has worked hard to represent the Jaru people and I’m hoping as the benefits flow in, this will mean a higher standard of living and more opportunities for Jaru people.”
Consistent with the cultural values and responsibilities of KRED’s membership to look after each other, the agreement also has a provision for a portion of the benefits to be contributed to KRED’s regional fund, which is used to support and enhance all its members across the Kimberley, including Jaru.
Whilst the signing of the Browns Range Project Co-existence Agreement signals an important step in the strengthening of the relationship between Jaru and Northern Minerals, the full benefits for Jaru people are dependent on Northern Minerals securing investors for the project and confirming the mine will proceed. If they’re successful in doing this over the next six months, construction of the mine will begin in 2015.
Nyikina Mangala Native Title – is it enough?
“In our traditional economy we created opportunities, we shared gifts and we looked after each other. Now that we participate in a western wage economy, we need to do this again. The challenge is finding a balance. The responsibility rests on us to make this work.”
This was the muscle behind Wayne Bergmann’s first speech as Chairperson of the Nyikina Mangala Prescribed Body Corporate (PBC).
Bergmann delivered the speech as part of the Nyikina Mangala Native Title Consent Determination at Lanji Lanji last week.
But now the dust at Lanji Lanji has settled, his reflections are more somber.
“We can’t rely on native title law to protect the things that are important to us. It’s not strong enough, so we have to continue to assert our rights to ensure our interests are protected.”
Nonetheless, it was a momentous occasion.
The respected John Watson opened the ceremony by calling everyone to Lanji Lanji with a Boogardi Garda (Dreamtime) story. The story was about the creation of the country, the Fitzroy River, and the people who walked the country before the creation of the river.
Usually the story is sung over a couple of days but Mr Watson cut it short to fit with the program.
Hundreds of people then gathered under tents and the shade of the majala trees to listen as Attorney-General Michael Mischin, and Federal Court officials including Justice Gilmour, handed native title rights to the Nyikina Mangala people.
Nyikina Mangala country covers over 26,000sq kilometers of land and the native title determination means that there’s now one million square kilometers of recognised native title in Western Australia.
According to Robert Watson, a Traditional Owner who also runs Nyikina Mangala cultural awareness packages for KRED, it’s about time.
“Twenty-one years ago I stood in Canberra pushing for native title legislation to be passed. For years, we’ve seen other people receive native title on their respective countries—now it’s our turn. Today is a part of our history, much of which is untold, unsaid, unheard and unacknowledged.”
The path ahead, however, looks to be equally as challenging, particularly given the mining interests in the Canning Basin, much of which is on Nyikina Mangala country.
While native title law alone is not strong enough to protect our interests, KRED is currently working as best we can to protect our members’ cultural values, intellectual property and fundamental rights as traditional owners in the Kimberley.
We negotiate with companies on behalf of our members, eight native title claim groups from across the Kimberley, and give our members the best possible information so they can make informed decisions about what happens on their country.