A Message to the Australian Parliament from the Yolngu of Arnhem Land.

Letter sticks - dharpa dhawumirr -like this were traditionally used thoughout Arnhem Land to send messages between trading partners, between clans in diplomatic alliances, or between Ngarra(the traditional chambers of law) and for many other reasons. This letter stick was sent from the Yolngu Clan/Nations within north-east Arnhem Land on 7 August 1995 to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. The purpose was to tell the Australian Parliament what the Yolngu of Arnhem Land thought about the Kevin Andrews Bill that was designed to overturn the Northern Territory 'Rights of the Terminally Ill' Act 1995 (an Act that allowed voluntary euthanasia.)

The letter stick is read from left to right.

A. The large black left hand block represents all the Yolngu citizens, Rom watangu walala, of north-east Arnhem Land.

B. The thick yellow line stands for Magaya. Magaya is a key principal of traditional law. It means to have a peaceful state in which the rights of the citizens are protected. The right to security and protection of your person and private property is the magaya way. According to traditional law, all laws should protect these basic rights.

C. The seven black lines represent the Yolngu members of the Ngarra (traditional parliaments) of north-east Arnhem Land.

D. The large yellow cross represents the Ngarra (traditional parliaments) of Arnhem Land.

E. This black line represents Djiniyini Gondarra, the Yolngu person authorized to carry the message to Canberra.

F. The first white line represents Stuart McMillan, an ARDS staff member who was an interpreter for Djiniyini and Kevin.

G. The second white line represents Kevin Andrews MP.

H. The second large yellow cross represents the Ngarra (or Parliament) of the Commonwealth of Australia.

I. The three white lines represent the elected representatives of both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament.

J. The thick yellow mark on the right-hand end represents section 51 the Australian Constitution and was put in the message to remind the Commonwealth Parliament that they only had powers to make laws for the 'peace, order and good government' of the people, similar to the Yolngu concept of Magaya.

K. The large white block on the right-end represents all the non-Yolngu citizens of Australia.

In sending this message, the Yolngu people where requesting the members of both Houses of the Australian Parliament to support Kevin Andrews' Private Member's Bill, to overturn the 'Rights of the Terminally Ill' Act of the Northern Territory. The 'Rights of the Terminally Ill' Act allowed acts of voluntary euthanasia; euthanasia that was carried out by the injection of a poisonous substance.

According to the teachings of Yolngu law, when death occurs by outside means such as the injection of a poisonous substance, it is seen as an action of sorcery which is illegal according to Yolngu Madayin law. Therefore Yolngu believed the Northern Territory Act was breaking fundamental constitutional responsibilities placed upon their Ngarra (traditional parliaments) since the beginning of time and therefore upon the Australian Parliament. For this reason this message endorses the action of Kevin Andrews MP who's Bill would overturn the NT Act. Indeed, the people believed it was the sacred responsibility of the Australian Parliament to do so.

This message urged the Andrews Bill's passage into legislation.

The following Letter Accompanied the Letter Stick; Dated: 7th day of August 1996.

Dear Members of Parliament,

We the Yolngu (Aboriginal people) delegation from North-East Arnhem Land come to Canberra bearing a diplomatic request in the form of a Letter Stick (see poster).

from: the traditional Ngärra/Parliaments of our lands
to: the Federal Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The request comes from the Traditional Ngarra/Parliaments of our lands:

that derive their power from our ancient law/Madayin;
existing since the beginning of time (djalkiringur);
having an authority and responsibility according to that ancient law, to create a state of Magaya (peace, freedom from hostilities and true justice for all) through the establishment and maintenance of a recognised system of laws.

We appeal through this diplomatic request to the Federal Parliament, (which according to section 51 of the Constitution for the Commonwealth of Australia has; "power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth"), to listen to the indigenous traditional ~arra/Parliaments, whose subjects are both bewildered and deeply offended by the 'Rights of the Terminally Ill' Act of the Northern Territory. We see this new law as an act of institutionalised sorcery, abhorrent to our ancient Law given to us by the Great Spirit Creator; a law which to this day allows us to live in peace and harmony, and without fear.

We are a people with our own Parliaments. Euthanasia by lethal injection - the taking of a life by another, voluntary or otherwise - is a violation of our ancient law, it is an act of sorcery abhorrent to us and our law.

1. The Northern Territory Legislative Assembly we consider a subordinate chamber of law to our Traditional Parliaments. So whatever way the Federal Parliament votes, the ruling of one Parliament or another is going to be invalidated.

2. We are opposed to legalised euthanasia by lethal injection because it is contrary to our ancient law, not because we are ignorant and don't understand it, as some suggest.

3. By legalising euthanasia through legal injection the Northern Territory Government is driving our people further from the medical service they so desperately need. Because now the medical profession is seen as uncivilised, according to our ancient law. No longer the defenders of life, they have become the takers of life.

We ask you display this poster so that all citizens are aware of the message that has been sent by this traditional Parliament to the Federal Parliament.

Post Script
The Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996 was passed in the Commonwealth Parliament on 24 March 1997. This Act rendered the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT) invalid.
Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, the CEO of ARDS, was involved as a private citizen in an action in the NT Supreme Court against the NT Government, prior to the Andrew's Bill. The Court found in favor of the Government.

The role of ARDS in the euthanasia issue was to answer questions when asked by members of the communities and as communication facilitators to provide assistance to the Yolngu community, the NT Government and to Kevin Andrews, MP.

We also worked with and assisted Territory Health Services to develop educational resources to explain the legislation to the communities of Arnhem Land. ARDS received no Government funding for this work.

ARDS also refused other educational contracts offered by the NT government, about the Terminally Ill Act, as we believed that:

In the time frame available it was impossible to do the education that the Government wanted. In fact we felt that the education could be counter-productive. A fact that bore out this concern was when pictures of the computer used to inject the lethal injection were shown in many Aboriginal, including Yolngu communities (by the people who got the contract to do the education) the people were horrified as it looked just like the hospital hardware that they see in hospitals with tubes and things connected to patients. This lead to a greater fear of hospitalization and had an effect that was against the intentions of the Government at the time.

ARDS believed there could have been a perceived conflict of interest in receiving such contracts.
Members of ARDS were briefed by the Yolngu clan/nation elected representatives and entrusted with the task of accompanying their chosen spokespersons to Canberra to present the letterstick and their views to the Australian Parliament and people.