This submissions is the personal opinion of the writer and is intended to be read as an idea.

Wantima (Standing Up).

The current Australia copyright timeframe of works being covered between 70 years after the death of the author is unjust when dealing with Indigenous information.

Why is it that if an Aboriginal person participation, cultural information and intent of sharing with future the generation is ignored in preference to the researchers and publishers rights?.

Aboriginal Australian at the time was unable to place their thoughts and words down in a foreign language (English), so it was shared with Australian settlers. Yet today we are being punished with laws that do not acknowledge our contributions to Australian history.

With the current reforms I can only see a way around this dilemma through the Disability Access. It should be changed to “person with a disability means an Indigenous cultural with equity and socioeconomic disadvantage; as well as a person with a disability that causes the person difficulty in reading, viewing or hearing copyright material in a particular form”.

This disability in relationship to “Indigenous cultural with equity and socioeconomic disadvantage” should occur because: -

·  The moral rights and understanding of the Indigenous people presenting their historical information has been ignored. Copyright covers the publisher and authors rights, but not the intent of the presenter of the information.

·  Copyright law is a bias Anglo-Saxon Australian laws denying legal obligation to the Indigenous Intellectual property rights and Traditional Knowledge of sharing.

·  Indigenous people as forgotten Australians are a socioeconomically group that cannot acquire access to information that is housed in major information institutions due to financial burden of travel in a large country like Australia

·  To allow ‘‘Key cultural institutions” to provide “Equity” to Indigenous information through allowing online access to original material resources relevant to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and groups.

Especially in the relationship to Australia copyright allowing works to be inaccessible until 70 years after the death of the author and unpublished works copyright which creates a barrier to Indigenous information with the deadline of copying access never ending. These two clauses should be ignored with the intent to gaining access to traditional knowledge.

Equity to for Library institutions means prioritising Indigenous unpublished collections in timely manner, through allowing digitise access in accordance to clan group names and users abilities.

Aboriginal Australia is unique and existed in a time-frame beyond current expectations or understanding. It is time for Australian laws to consider the original owners of this land and to change unjust laws to allow us equity to information.

Tania Schafer | Project Officer | Indigenous Library Services | Regional Access and Public Libraries

State Library of Queensland

www.slq.qld.gov.au