Native title deal angers WA Tent Embassy

WA's Tent Embassy labels an historic $1.3 billion offer to settle the Noongar people's native title claim over the state's southwest an insult.

Native title deal angers WA Tent Embassy

WA's Tent Embassy labels an offer to settle the Noongar people's native title claim an insult.

A group of Aboriginal activists has objected to a $1.3 billion native title deal offer by the West Australian government to the Noongar people of the state's South West region.

The out-of-court package involves the transfer of up to 320,000 hectares of crown land to the Noongar Boodja Trust for cultural and economic development.

A payment of $50 million a year into the trust over 12 years is also included in the package, announced on Saturday.

The deal must be accepted by the majority of six native title claimant groups in the area, but the Tent Embassy, led by activist Marianne Mackay, says the offer is an insult because the group stands for sovereignty.

The Tent Embassy held weeks of protests at Perth's Heirisson Island last year after the previous deal was announced and is not party to the negotiations.

But the WA government says it will make reasonable efforts to take the group's views into account.

"Some Noongar people have made the decision not to take part in the negotiations with the government," the Department of Premier and Cabinet's native title unit said.

"All reasonable efforts will continue to be made to ensure that all eligible members of the Noongar community have the opportunity to be informed about the settlement negotiations and to have their views taken into account."

The WA government has given the groups six months to finalise the agreement and wants to start implementing it from July next year.

Negotiations have so far taken three and a half years.

If the deal is accepted, all native title rights to land in the area will be surrendered.

It compares to a previous package worth $1 billion, which included 200,000 hectares of land.

The Noongar people hail from territory that stretches from the Perth area to towns as far south as Albany.


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Source: NITV News, AAP


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