Torres Strait Islanders Say They want Sovereignty, & Chinese Investment … What about Chinese Missiles Too? By James Reed
Keith Windschuttle, in The Break-Up of Australia, is spot-on, that the agenda behind the indigenous Voice constitutional referendum is to break up Australia. An example of this has been given by the Mer Island community, who say that they have not got enough from the Australian government, so they will consider Chinese investment. Perhaps this group has justified claims, but turning to communist China will come with ties, as people in Africa are finding out. The Torres Strait communities see themselves as distinct from mainland Aborigines, which is fair enough. But, there are massive security issues linking up with communist China, and Mer Island is part of Australia and is governed by Australian law. Following the way of the Solomon Islands, could lead to major problems in the time of war. The easiest answer is to stop this voice nonsense and try and deal with the needs of the people this is alleging to aid.
“The Mer Island community says it is considering Chinese investment, arguing it’s been neglected by its own governments.
A representative from a remote Torres Strait Islander community has criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to visit any of the islands identified locally as Torres Strait Islander land.
And in a move that will send shockwaves through Canberra, the community of Mer Island is now open to Chinese investment, arguing it’s been neglected by its own governments.
Mr Albanese has just returned from a trip to the region, where he visited multiple islands to consult on the Voice to Parliament proposal.
Speaking in Rockhampton after visiting the seat of Torres Strait governance Thursday Island as well as Horn Island, Mr Albanese declared the visit a “huge success.”
The prime minister
spoke with representatives from across Torres Strait Communities
, who travelled to meet with him.
Mr Albanese met with the Torres Strait Islander Regional Council, Torres Shire Council and the Torres Strait Regional Authority.
The member representing Mer Island on the authority, Bob Kaigey, was among those present.
But on Mer Island, the birthplace and resting place of Indigenous rights activist Eddie Koiki Mabo, there is a different view.
Melora Noah, a senior Meriam woman from Mer Island, has exclusively told SBS News her community has been ignored and overlooked by state and territory governments for decades.
“They come to Thursday island, and they think they're in the Torres Strait. But no, the motherland of the Torres Strait is out here,” she said.
Ms Noah said Australia needs to "start looking at Aboriginal people as one race of First Nation people, and Torres Strait Islanders as another separate distinct race, and start treating us like that".
“Stop putting us all into the one basket and speak from the heart,” she said.
And in an explosive revelation, she says Mer Island is open to following Solomon Islands in seeking Chinese investment, if Australia won't support her people to have an economic future.
“We look across and watch Melanisian brothers and sisters and we're thinking, well, maybe that's an option for us,” she said.
“Is Australia still interested in us? Does Australia still want to take care of us? Or should we look elsewhere.”
Solomon Islands has signed a security deal with the Chinese government which has stoked Western concerns about the potential construction of a military base.
Just how far Torres Strait communities have gone in exploring Chinese investment, and what they want to build, remains unclear.
“We don't go out and, and, you know, look for China to come in and, set up a military base here, all we want to do is feed our family,” Ms Noah said.
Mer Island is part of Australia and is governed by Australia's constitution.
Any investments from overseas companies, including those based in China, would need to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review board.
'Route of sovereignty'
While the Statement from the Heart
came from Uluru and was largely formed on the basis of Aboriginal representation, some of the Torres Strait Islands have their own statement of request, named in honour of Mabo.
2022 marks 30 years since the Mabo case, a landmark ruling for Indigenous Australians in the fight for native title.
Speaking on behalf of her community, Ms Noah said the Statement from the Heart does not stand for them.
“Our prime minister really needs to come to the motherland of the Torres Strait Islanders and do our statement,” she said.
She says they want a treaty and the potential to be a sovereign nation, with control over their land and waters.
“We're still part of the Australian government, part of the Queensland government and we have the rules and regulations in place. But at the same time, we're still going down this route of sovereignty,” she said.
Mr Albanese told Torres Strait Islanders he would be back and that the trip was shorter than he wanted it to be.
He made assurances Torres Strait Islander people will be given adequate representation in the final structure of the Voice.
“There was unanimous support for the Voice to Parliament: from the Torres Strait Regional Authority, from the three councils in the Torres Strait and the Northern Peninsula who we met with this morning,” he said.
“The general position of the Torres Strait Islanders was that they want to make sure that the voice of a minority within a minority is also able to be heard through those structures,” he said.
“The Voice isn't the end in itself. It's a Voice so that we can close the gap and address Indigenous disadvantage, which is something that we need to do, not just on behalf of Indigenous Australians, but on behalf of lifting up the whole nation.”
The trip marked Mr Albanese’s fourth visit to the Torres Strait Islands as an MP and he has visited Mer Island previously.
Indigenous Affairs minister Linda Burney will return to the Torres Strait in December for another trip.”
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