It hasn’t taken long for Western Australia's Premier, Colin Barnett, to show his true colours in his newly acquired native title portfolio. It is clear from his recent speech at a meeting of business leaders that the native title rights and interests of Traditional Owners are not high on his list of priorities.

Stephen Hall, the Chairperson of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) in WA said:

“In Opposition Mr Barnett lobbied hard to try and protect the rights of Traditional Owners over the Woodside development on the Burrup Peninsula – yet now he is in Government those positive messages have become a distant memory.

“Mr Barnett’s "unashamedly pro-development" stance means that once again Indigenous rights and interests over land will be subordinated in favour of mining. A development at any costs approach will not provide any benefits for Indigenous communities in the Kimberley.

“If this is the position of the new State Government in Western Australia then there is not much hope for the future of Indigenous rights.”

“Until Traditional Owners have an equal seat at the table in negotiations over land there is no hope of closing the gap for Aboriginal people – Traditional Owners, under the Native Title Act, have the right to negotiate over mining development on land, which has the potential to provide significant long term economic and social benefits for communities.

“The State Government will achieve a much more positive outcome if they were to sit down and talk to the Traditional Owners and negotiate for the future of Indigenous people in WA.” said Mr Hall.