Native title agreement made in Daintree

December 9, 2007 - 11:19AM, The Age

A recognition of native title rights announced on Sunday will hand the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people in far north Queensland a major role in managing 126,900 hectares in the Daintree.

The consent determination made by the Federal Court of Australia at a special sitting at Cape Tribulation recognises the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people's native title over land and waters between Port Douglas and Cooktown.

The original native title claim was over 144,000 hectares and was lodged 13 years ago.

The new agreement gives the native title holders rights to exclusively occupy and use 30,300ha of state-owned land.

It also recognises non-exclusive rights over 96,600ha, including the right to camp, hunt, gather resources for personal needs and conduct ceremonies.

The native title holders will have non-exclusive rights to the water and to fish and hunt in the water.

The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people will have ownership of 16,500ha of Aboriginal freehold land for residential and economic development.

National Native Title Tribunal member Graham Fletcher said the deal was the culmination of negotiations over a complex range of land tenure issues in the Daintree World Heritage area.

"From now on the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people will be able to exercise their native title rights under their traditional laws and customs," Mr Fletcher said.

"They will also experience a whole range of benefits negotiated under the broader indigenous land use package that will start to flow through."

The benefits include a greater role in managing parks and reserves and the doubling of the national park estate between Cooktown and Mossman.

In April, the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people signed 15 indigenous land use agreements with local councils, graziers and private companies and the Wet Tropics Management Authority.

AAP

Qld to add fluoride to water supply

December 5, 2007 - 1:29PM

Queensland is to join the rest of Australia's states and territories in adding fluoride to its water supply.

Premier Anna Bligh said the move would tackle the poor condition of Queenslanders' oral health.

Ms Bligh said 80 per cent of Queenslanders would be drinking fluoridated water within two years, growing to more than 90 per cent by 2012.

"Together with oral hygiene and good nutrition, fluoridation has been proven to reduce tooth decay by up to 40 per cent, and a Smart State cannot ignore the extensive scientific evidence that shows fluoridation is the missing link in Queensland's oral health system," Ms Bligh said.

Ms Bligh said Queensland's five to 12-year olds had twice the tooth decay compared to children in the ACT, which introduced fluoridation in 1964.

"Research has shown that Queensland six-year olds have nearly 30 per cent more decay in their baby teeth than the national average, with a similar result for permanent teeth in 12-year olds," Ms Bligh said.

The north Queensland city of Townsville, which has fluoridation, has 65 per cent lower tooth decay rates in children than Brisbane.

The government will spend $35 million on capital works to roll out the program to ensure that more than 90 per cent of Queenslanders would have access to fluoridated water by 2012.

Council water rates would rise by about $1.50 per person each year to cover ongoing operational costs, Ms Bligh said.

"This is a nominal cost when compared to what families could save in dental bills," Ms Bligh said.

She said the decision was based on scientific evidence, public support, the state of Queenslanders' oral health, and the timing of the government's water reforms.

Fluoridation involves a small amount of fluoride being added to top up the natural levels already in water.

This equates to between 0.6 and 0.9 parts of fluoride per million parts of water - roughly equating to one drop in a bathtub of water.

Australian Dental Association president Dr John Matthews said Queensland had been lagging behind the nation, with the issue clouded by anti-fluoride campaigners.

"Naturally, we are delighted," Dr Matthews said.

"A lot of people, particularly dentists, have worked very hard promoting fluoride in public water supplies, usually with very firm resistance from a very small minority."

Dr Matthews said some Victorian cities were yet to fluoridate their water supplies, but Queensland's delay was in a different category.

"It's been an embarrassment," he said.

"It's a very courageous decision for any politician - a lot of them have duck-shoved and put it down to a referendum.

"People are easily frightened about some scare campaigns."

But studies were overwhelmingly in favour of fluoridation, Dr Matthews said, particularly to prevent tooth decay in the most vulnerable parts of the population.

"For the people who are poor and who suffer some form of socio-economic disadvantage, this is fantastic," he said.

"We would expect something like a 40 per cent improvement ... in dental decay, which is a significant saving to the public health sector, which is already overstretched in dentistry."

AAP