Recognition hijacked by political class: Stephen Hagan

A powerful new body of native title holders has accused Tony Abbott of sidelining “grassroots’’ Aborigines.

Aboriginal leaders Cheryl Buchanan and Stephen Hagan, co-chairs of the native title Prescribed Body Corporate Council of Australia, at Musgrave Park in Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

A powerful new body of native title holders has accused Tony Abbott of sidelining “grassroots’’ Aborig­ines in the debate over constitutional recognition for indige­nous Australians.

The Prescribed Bodies Corp­orate National Council, which represents more than 50 indigenous tribes that have secured native title over their lands, yesterday warned that most Aborigines were not engaged in the debate and did not support change.

Council co-chairman Stephen Hagan said the debate had so far been dominated by a small group of unelected Aboriginal leaders and the political class who, he ­believed, risked presenting a ­referendum without any popular indigenous support.

“At the moment, the majority of indigenous Australians don’t think the Recognise campaign has anything to do with them,’’ he said.

“The question hasn’t been ­really put to the Aboriginal people around the country, to the people in the remote communities, the traditional owners and native title groups.

“It has largely been debated by white politicians, by commentators and an anointed few ­Aboriginal people, most of whom haven’t been elected by their ­people.’’

Mr Hagan, a veteran activist and chairman of the Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corp in far- southwest Queensland, said the Prime Minister had made a grave error in rejecting the push for a ­series of indigenous-only conventions around Australia on constitutional ­reform.

“The government has a responsibility to make sure this is a ­proper, thorough debate — that means funding both sides of the ­argument in any plebiscite of this kind,’’ he said.

The national councils have to be set up after ­traditional owners secure native title to handle the group’s business affairs, with each member elected by their people.

Indigenous leaders Noel ­Pearson and Murandoo Yanner have argued that the officials of Australia’s PBCs should form the membership of a proposed advisory council to government being championed by both as part of the constitutional reform model.

It is estimated that there will eventually be 300 PBCs representing native title groups across Australia.

The council co-chairwoman, Cheryl Buchanan, who heads the Kooma Aboriginal Corp in western Queensland, said she ­suspected Mr Abbott wanted to sabotage constitutional reform.

Ms Buchanan said it was critical for the government to engage both black and white Australia in the debate to change the treatment of indigenous Australians.

“It is a rare occasion that Aboriginal people have an opportunity to have a say about anything that’s going on in our own country,’’ she said. “And therein is the problem because it is our country and there has never been any real acknowledgment that Aboriginal people were the first nations of this land.’’