The Wire

Tasmanian Aboriginals are calling for supporters from around the country to write to lawmakers in the island state – asking them to pass a bill returning land to traditional owners. The government has tabled a bill in the Lower House, proposing the transfer of Crown land on Cape Barren Island, Clarke Island and Goose Island to the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania. The Legislative Council is currently on a break, with the bill due to be debated after Parliament resumes on the 16th. It will then have to be passed in the Upper House to become law. State Secretary of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council, Trudy Maluga, says the Indigenous community is ecstatic about the plan. She says that while the transfer is long overdue, it’s a step in the right direction.