First published in The Australian

Young Australian of the Year Tania Major has criticised governments for focusing exclusively on social and economic empowerment in Aboriginal communities while removing the right of indigenous people to "take responsibility for culture and land".

Ms Major, a 25-year-old Aboriginal Kokoberra woman from the west coast of Cape York Peninsula, said yesterday indigenous people were being refused the right of joint management of national parks and funding to set up regional land-management organisations. She said indigenous people had been forced to watch as feral weeds and animals spread across the Cape York Pensinsula.

Ms Major is particularly angry at the Beattie Government over its Wild Rivers legislation, which passed through parliament as part of a deal to secure the preferences of the Greens and the endorsement of environmental groups, such as the Wilderness Society, at the 2004 election.

The legislation aims to keep four rivers on Cape York and others on Fraser Island and Hinchinbrook Island in as pristine a condition as possible. But indigenous groups, led by the Cape York Land Council, argue that the legislation denies Aborigines employment because it prevents mining, farming and tourism development in those regions.

Ms Major said that although government, other stakeholders and the public were pushing indigenous people to take responsibility for re-building healthy communities, governments were damaging the strongest pillar of responsibility - "our connection to land".

"What government must understand is that by undermining indigenous people's connection to land, my people's right to take responsibility in the area where it is strongest will be eroded and destroyed," she said.

"Governments are starting to say we need to rebuild economic and social responsibility by reforming welfare, involving people in the real economy and changing social norms.

"But how can one arm of government achieve this, if another arm undermines the exercise of cultural responsibility."

Ms Major said there was a need to return to the use of heads of agreement to secure rights to land, to uphold and protect connections to the country.

"I cannot stress enough the importance of reaching agreement on the use, management and conservation of Cape York Peninsula," she said.

"Without such agreement, my people will continue to be marginalised, the land will continue to go unmanaged and both the natural and cultural heritage of region will die because of this".

Patricia Karvelas writes for The Australian about Aboriginal people taking responsibility for culture and land.