Perth’s new airport runway and developments on the holiday island of Rottnest are among billions of dollars worth of projects and government works facing delays after the Aboriginal corporation recognised for its cultural heritage work across the metropolitan area imploded.

The Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation – the representative corporation for all traditional owners of Perth and surrounds – has been cut off from the money that flows from Australia’s biggest native title settlement following months of tumult.

Perpetual, the trustee of the Noongar Boodja Trust established as part of the historic $1.3bn settlement struck by former Liberal premier Colin Barnett, on Monday gave the corporation a suspension notice, telling the three remaining board members to go into administration.

Chaos within Whadjuk has included a months-long stalemate during which two people insisted they were both the chairperson, and surprise redundancies last month that left the corporation with just one paid staff member.

In a dramatic climax to the conflict, at the end of last month, police were called to the Whadjuk offices of in the southern Perth suburb of Applecross to remove Noongar grandmother Rosemary Walley, who had been appointed chairperson in November 2023.

However, Noongar man Reg Yarran told her he was now the chair. “I got up and I went to the door and I said hello to the police,” Ms Walley, 60, said.  “One of them told me ‘we’ve been called for you, you have to leave’. “There were four police officers there to tell me to go.  They were not rude but they said if you go back in there we will have to charge you with misconduct.”

In subsequent correspondence seen by The Australian, Whadjuk told councils and other proponents of projects across Perth that it had entered an arrangement with a private company which would do the Aboriginal cultural and heritage work previously done by corporation staff. The Australian has been told this caused confusion in some cases.

News that Whadjuk’s trust funding had been suspended has created anxiety across WA’s government and industry.

The mayor of one metropolitan council, who asked not to be named in order to speak freely about sensitive matters, told The Australian that all the council’s Aboriginal heritage work was now halted. This included public spaces where relevant approvals for development had been obtained but heritage monitoring was a condition.

Frank wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2025 at 10:28am:


Her name gets mentioned - why not the racist directors yelling and threatening her?

$1.3 billion? No wonder all those creamy Noongars are carrying on like pork chops.

With that type of cash to be handed out works out around $43,000 each for 30,000 - those on Govt welfare should lose it for 12 months.

Time for this 'native title' bullshit to be settled for good.  Nobody else gets to claim 'ancestral land ownership' and get a deal just because their ancestors might have walked there.

Total insanity.

It's 2025 - not 1787.

Who funded this .corporation?  Who pays its paid staff?

What has the WA government done to its people...

This is what you'll get in spades if AlboGroup get back in.

Frank wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2025 at 11:50am:



A lot of arse covering and lies being told by Mr. Yarran.

Holding meetings without a quorum - sacking staff & employing an outside agency Moodjar Consultancy  whose majority owner Len Collard is heavily connected to Whadjuk therefore creating a conflict of interest in that consultancy receiving funds.

Something that Yarran, Hayden did not appreciate being told by 2 CEOs and a special expert financial officer.

I hope Ms Dobrins lawyers take him & Geri Hayden on for his threats and she for her racist comment.

With this sort of money these people need to held to account and made open to independent scrutiny/audit like any other corporation/business.

Afterall - it's not really "their" money - it's Govt/taxpayer money.

freediver wrote on Apr 21^st, 2024 at 5:24pm:


Brian?

It isn't that the behavioural standards are impossible for Aborigines - many succeed admirably in life without resorting to this chip on the shoulder nonsense .... it's mostly a matter of choices in life and often early upbringing.

Notice how the 'stolen generations' are mostly polite, civilised, reasonable etc?  Saved from an early death or a living death can work wonders for the individual.

BTW - as an aside .... anyone else notice how the Borderline Thinking In Place of Reality all started with the advent of feminism, alongside the sudden mass introduction of women to universities under Whitlam's free education, since most men were tied up working the industries etc to support their families and most had not the time, energy or focus to do a degree as well- something men are still obliged to do even when they do not HAVE those families and now in an environment when they are pushed out of genuine equal education and employment opportunities - and the sudden perceived 'need' to 'explore' all these apparently amazing and endless 'social science' ideas?

That kind of 'thinking' is what gives rise to not only the Pascoes of this world - but also to those cloud-educated followers of fools without the mental acuity to see how utterly fantastic those kinds of ideas and conclusions are... and many of those occupy places in government - either elect or in The Shadow Government of public service ... and if you do not know by now the true situation of the PS ... I can't save you.  I've told you  all over and over.... and now we have the realisation that EVERY election here is a Stolen Election via the half-hidden under many rocks 'preference voting' ... wherein a third of the vote can secure a party a two-thirds majority in the Houses DESPITE the will of the people.