The Greens support the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania’s calls for the Federal Government to return culturally significant land in divesting of its defence facility at Fort Direction.
The mutton bird rookery at Fort Direction is a place of deep cultural significance for Tasmanian Aboriginal people. Despite the impacts of invasion, Palawa have continued cultural mutton-birding practices there.
With the Federal Government planning to divest this site, now is the time to hand over the rookery and ensure access through the existing barracks site. This land return would ensure the Tasmanian Aboriginal community is able to continue its unbroken connection to this Country for future generations.
Recognising the land rights of Palawa is a tangible way to address the legacy of dispossession, and a step towards restoring land justice. We urge the Rockliff Government to work with their federal counterparts to facilitate this land justice and return the rookery at Fort Direction.
