Non-indigenous eviction ruled out of order
22.12.2009



By: Tony Koch

THE power of Aboriginal councils to exclude non-indigenous residents has been thrown into question, with Queensland's chief magistrate overturning a decision by Aurukun Council to expel Daniel Bracegirdle, who has lived in the community for the past decade.
Mr Bracegirdle, 40, lives at Aurukun with his Aboriginal partner and local Wik woman Sharon Ngallmetta and her child, and has run a successful video-production business.
In August he was served with an eviction notice for interrupting a public meeting arranged by the council to establish support for the reopening of the local tavern, which was closed in November last year.
When the eviction notice was served, Aurukun Mayor Neville Pootchemunka said it was because Mr Bracegirdle allegedly abused the council's chief executive, John Bensch, and embarrassed Mr Pootchemunka and others in front of guests.
``The council met after the incident and we acted under section 23 of the Local Government (Aboriginal Lands) Act to lawfully exclude him from the community for an initial six months,'' Mr Pootchemunka said.
``He lives with a woman who is a cousin of mine and they have adopted a child, but we are sick of being told by outsiders how we should run our community.''
But in his decision last week overturning the eviction, the chief magistrate, Brendan Butler, said: ``I find that the applicant (Bracegirdle), being a person intermarried with an Aboriginal person entitled to reside in the Shire of Aurukun, is authorised under section 19 (f) to enter and reside in that shire.''
Thus, he said, he proposed to set aside the council's order.