Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy

The Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy was an Australian legal and political controversy that involved the clash of Indigenous Australian religious beliefs and the rights of property owners. The Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission found that claims of "secret women's business" were fabricated, however, in 2001 a civil case in the Federal Court of Australia found against the developers and the claims of fabrication. [ [http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/2001/1106.html Chapman v Luminis Pty Ltd (No 5) (2001) FCA 1106 (21 August 2001)] ] . The bridge attracted much controversy because the issue intersected with broader concerns about Indigenous rights in the Australian community at the time. It coincided with the Mabo and Wik High Court cases regarding Native Title and the election of conservative Prime Minister John Howard.

History

In 1988 a plan to build a bridge from Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island in the Murray River estuary, South Australia, was proposed by local marina owners, Tom and Wendy Chapman. However a group of Ngarrindjeri women objected, claiming the island was sacred to them for reasons that could not be publicly revealed. Initiating legal action in April 1994 they applied to the federal government for an order prohibiting construction. As a part of this process they wrote down some of these secrets and sealed them in two envelopes marked 'Confidential: to be read by women only'. [ [http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLB/1996/64.html Chronology of the Kumarangk / Hindmarsh Island Affair - (1996), "Aboriginal Law Bulletin", No. 64] ] In July 1994 Robert Tickner, then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, placed a 25 year ban on the bridge construction.

In 1995 the media and politicians aired the claims of other Aborigines who stated that what has become known as "secret women's business" was a hoax. In March, Shadow Minister Ian McLachlan resigned after tabling some of the secret documents in Parliament and misrepresenting how he obtained them. In June, the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission was called by the South Australian government and by December found that the secret women's business was a fabrication.

When John Howard's Coalition government came to power in 1996, it legislated to allow the bridge to proceed (see Hindmarsh Island Bridge Act 1996 [ [http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/Pubs/BD/1996-97/97bd050.htm Bills Digest 50 1996-97, Hindmarsh Island Bridge Bill 1996, Australian Parliamentary Library] ] ). In 2001 a civil case in the Federal Court of Australia was determined against the developers and the claims of fabrication. [ [http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/2001/1106.html Chapman v Luminis Pty Ltd (No 5) (2001) FCA 1106 (21 August 2001)] ]

References

Further reading

* Kenny, Chris (1996)."Women's Business: The story behind the Hindmarsh Island affair", Duffy & Snellgrove ISBN 1-875989-10-2
* Simons, Margaret (2003)."The Meeting of the Waters - The Hindmarsh Island Affair", Hodder Headline Australia ISBN 0-7336-1348-9

External links

* [http://www.ipa.org.au/files/news_774.html Ron Brunton (4 April 1998) Unfinished Business, "The Courier Mail", Queensland] from IPA in the News
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/05/08/1052280376344.html Margaret Simons, (9 May 2003), Hindmarsh: where lies the truth? "The Age, Victoria]