02 NEWS
THURSDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2023 TORRES NEWS
National Redress Scheme inquiry seeks submissions The Joint Standing Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme is inquiring into the operation of the Scheme. After the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse a National Redress Scheme was created so people could get help and make things right (give redress). Chair of the Joint Standing Committee looking into the Scheme, Senator Catryna
Bilyk, said it was important the Committee heard first-hand the experiences people had accessing the Scheme. “There are low rates of access in parts of our community amongst people who are eligible to access the Scheme,” Senator Bilyk said. “We need to understand what the barriers to access are to ensure that everyone who is eligible to seek redress does so.” The new inquiry will look into a range of areas, including:
• The experience of First Nations applicants and applicants with disability in their dealings with the Scheme. • Accessibility, performance and effectiveness of support services and legal advice for survivors and their advocates. The Committee wants to hear from individuals and organisations on their experience with the Scheme. Submissions can respond to some or all aspects of the
inquiry terms of reference. Full details of what the inquiry will examine can be found in the terms of reference on the Committee’s website. Submissions from interested individuals and organisations on the inquiry’s terms of reference are encouraged by Monday 27
Waratah Coal drops appeal against Land Court
February 2023.
For more information about the Committee go to: https:// www.aph.gov.au/redress.
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ON COUNTRY: Kapua Gutchen giving evidence on Country in the Torres Straits last year. Pic: Youth Verdict. The Queensland Land Court’s recommendation to refuse the massive Galilee Coal Project will stand after Waratah Coal dropped its legal appeal last Friday. The news was welcomed by Youth Verdict and The Bimblebox Alliance, who argued before the Land Court the mine would destroy the nature refuge and infringe the human rights of people in Queensland by contributing to dangerous climate change. Environmental Defenders Office Senior Solicitor Alison Rose said it was “very significant” that President Kingham’s decision would stand. “This mine would have destroyed the Bimblebox Nature Refuge and added 1.5 billion tonnes of climate pollution to the atmosphere,” she said. “It is likely that these impacts will now be avoided because these emissions will now
stay safely locked in the ground where they belong. “All the evidence tells us that there is no room for new fossil fuel development if we are to have any chance of a liveable planet. “This case marks a line in the sand and sends a very clear message – continued development of coal in 2023 is incompatible with our human rights.” In a legal first, the Land Court travelled out on-Country to Gimuy (Cairns) and Erub and Poruma islands in Zenadth Kes to hear oral evidence about how climate change is currently affecting people’s ability to practice and develop culture, live on country and protect their country. The Land Court found that if the mine were to be approved, burning the coal overseas would contribute to further climate change that limits the human rights of people in Queensland, including the cultural rights of First Nations Peoples.
