Protest condemns town camps takeover

A 30-strong protest outside the Federal Court in Sydney on August 27 demanded the Rudd Labor government stop its move to compulsorily acquire the Alice Springs town camps.

Speakers included Barbara Shaw, a resident of the Mt Nancy town camp in Alice Springs, who has launched a federal court case against the acquisition, and lawyer George Newhouse who is representing the town residents.

The previous day, Professor James Anaya, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights and freedoms of indigenous peoples, released his report. He found the NT intervention breached international treaties and was racist.

He told ABC radio's PM program on August 27: "These measures overtly discriminate against Aboriginal peoples, infringe their right of self-determination and stigmatise already stigmatised communities."

Shaw told the protest the residents want to "control the decisions that affect our lives".

From GLW issue 809