Source:
SBS
10 Apr 2006 - 12:00 AM  UPDATED 22 Aug 2013 - 12:18 PM

An indigenous group in Melbourne has vowed it will return if it's evicted today from a camp near the city centre set up in protest against the Commonwealth Games.

The group, called The Black GST, had been given a deadline of 4pm to get out, but Melbourne City Council has said it wants to meet with the group tonight before it carries out the eviction order.

Camp Sovereignty spokesman, Robbie Thorpe says the campsite is sacred ceremonial meeting place, and he's threatened legal action in order to stay.

Mr Thorpe also says the camp is educating people about continued Indigenous disadvantage.

"What about the United Nations study that saw indigenous Victorians having the second-lowest quality of life in the world? You would think the world's most livable city would be desperate to reverse this fact.

Has it hit home that our kids die at an earlier age than East Timor's? We're going to keep coming back. This is our land, this is our right to do this. We're going to continue to do that until they resolve these issues."