Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia (IAPA), Media Release 22 April 2023

Members of the executive of the Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia (IAPA) were pleased to welcome Senator Lidia Thorpe onto Barkindji Country, in far west NSW, this week (18/04/2023). Gathering at Mutawindji National Park, one hour from Broken Hill, the IAPA executive yarned with Senator Thorpe about current issues affecting IAPA members, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

Uncle Owen Whyman, IAPA Convenor and lead NSW Senate candidate in 2022 federal election, said, “It was great to see that Lidia supports our policies, including the need for local solutions for local issues. I know very well the issues and problems we have in my hometown, Wilcannia, but I don’t pretend to know what impacts other Indigenous Australians, although, there are a lot of things we all have in common right now.

It was particularly poignant for us to meet at Mutawintji National Park as some of the executive families were involved in a blockade which resulted in the first ever total hand over in NSW of a National Park to the ownership and management of Traditional Owners, the Barkindji. The 1998 Lease of Mutawintji National Park was the first lease agreement under the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Aboriginal Ownership) Act of 1996.

This model is held up as an example of what can be done for and by local Traditional Owners in caring for and managing their Country. Some of the IAPA executive remain involved in the highly successful management of Mutawintji and its Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) It is the only NSW National Park to have all Indigenous rangers.

Uncle Owen and Walpa Thompson, executive members of the IAPA have long activist and community nurturing backgrounds as well as family histories of that same staunch commitment.

Uncle Owen Whyman says, “Of course the Indigenous Voice to Parliament (VTP) is a big issue facing all Australians right now and we had a chance to talk about that too.

In recent weeks IAPA has been surveying our members so we can get an idea of their views regarding the question of a VTP. We have members all over Australia, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and we were able to impart these views and concerns to Senator Thorpe.

IAPA is still formulating an official position on the VTP as we collate the myriad of responses from our members.  These views range from believing a Yes vote is the only way to move Indigenous Affairs forward, to concerns that the VTP will be made up of Aboriginal Corporations and ‘corporate Aboriginals’ that will not represent the everyday Indigenous people at all.

Joining Uncle Owen and Lidia at Mutawintji were IAPA executives, Jaharlyn Mitchell and Warlpa Thompson.

Jaharlyn Mitchell, a Barkindji man, travelled from Dareton NSW, where the Baaka meets the Murray, with his partner Reannan Whyman, also Barkindji, and their four adorable kids. Jaharlyn, an IAPA executive since the formation of the party in 2020, does some impactful work in suicide prevention for Indigenous youth. (Check out one of his collaborations at https://ictv.com.au/video/item/9049 )

Warlpa Thompson, a Wiipatja man from Far Western NSW, is the Mutawintji NP Board of Management chairperson with tertiary qualifications and extensive experience working in Cultural Heritage Management. Warlpa has a passion for Country, language and strengthening local communities, and has done so in his career for over 20 years.

Warlpa says, “It was good to see and chat with a federal politician who had made the effort to come out of her office, all the way out to far west NSW to talk to us, not as a public relations/media opportunity or in response to a crisis, but just to have a yarn.

Lidia says she is a firm believer in coming onto Country to talk to mob, and that is exactly what she did. We congratulate Lidia and thank her for taking the time to come and visit us.

“Barkindji means ‘people of the river’ ” Uncle Owen Whyman says, “The Baaka is our mother. That’s why we say, Healthy River, Healthy People”.

Senator Thorpe’s visit gave us the opportunity to let her know the concerns of our members regarding issues affecting all Australians right now such as the VTP, NSW concerns regarding Local Aboriginal Land Councils making decisions for local mob and selling off land when the council consists of non-locals, as well as discussing matters closer to home such as the environmental and cultural issues with the Baaka (the Darling River) due to water extraction from farming upriver.”

As the only federally registered Indigenous political party in Australia, with over three thousand members from all over Australia, we are well placed to provide a picture to Sen. Thorpe of both the concerns and the celebrations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians on Indigenous issues that affect all of us.

Uncle Owen said, “Senator Lidia Thorpe bought her teenage daughter on the trip with her, and it was great to see her daughter getting to know two of my daughters. This is what we do. We bring the next generation along with us to model, teach and coach and to help forge relationships with other young people. These kids are our future and the bonds they create now will hold them in good stead going forward.”

Uncle Owen Whyman is a cultural leader and respected elder in his community. Whyman holds a plethora of leadership positions, including president for the Paroo National Park, deputy of the Mutawintji Board of Management and Land Council.

Always eager to share Aboriginal culture and Traditional ways, Owen founded the dance group Barkindji Baaka Dance and Cultural Group where he continues 20 years of teaching traditional dance and digeridoo while mentoring the young people of Wilcannia and surrounds.