Town camp interviews

David Timber — I Mile Dam (Railway Dam)

"Bernie Valadian was supposed to be working for the people, look after the interests of the people and and not the other way round. But ever since ADF was formed, it’s always been Bernie doing this for the people and the people is doing what Bernie wanted them to do. He has all the say of what goes on in the community. He hires and fires who ever he wants. He’s been just a one man show and no one’s been able to say anything against him during the past, even if you were a member on in the committee, he’d have you voted off or kicked out. Not that you vote so much, he’s manipulative and the way he gets other people on the committee to agree with him to get rid of people, he’s cunning like that. He’s very good at that."

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NO! We are not moving. I said that to Denis Burke when he came here with Bernie Valadian on 1st April. They looked desperate, both of them, they sounded desperate to. When you have people say ‘if they give you somewhere else to move would you relocate there?’ I said NO! You know they want you out.

Denis Burke said this was prime land. I agreed with him. It’s a form of racism when it comes to being asked to relocate us and for another group of people to move in. In this case it’s Aboriginal people being asked to be relocated and it’s called ‘institutionalised racism’.

About the only thing that ADF (Aboriginal Development Foundation) does for us now is collect rubbish once a week. The workers might occasionally check for leaky taps. They fixed a dangerous power problem in the wet season after 2 months. But I had to get legal advice and put a complaint to ADF and ATSIC for anything to happen.

Before CDEP (Community Development Employment Program) started, I was the presidient of ADF in 1997. ATSIC wanted someone to take over community workers into one body for all of Darwin. ADF took it over in 1998 only for town camps to start off. Other communities wanted to come on board. Beluyen, White Eagle in Finnis River, Larrakia Nation — from in town and regional areas. Then it became Regional CDEP Corporate. Bernie didn’t want that CDEP Corporate. It was incorporated under ADF until they incorporated themselves and moved out.

Before, ADF cut the grass, brought firewood, some maintenance on house, smashed iron, windows and gave CDEP permission to take money out for water. This isn’t happening any more. He stopped providing slasher for big areas of long grass last dry. I did it with the ride on last year.

We used to get two lots of power and water bill. One from Power & Water Authority and one from ADF. I think people decided not to pay after that. Power to ablution blocks with communal washing machine and community hall was turned off 2 years ago; reason being nobody paid power. The outside water taps where closed off a couple of years ago by ADF We run the hose from inside the house.

ADF worker came about 3 years ago, he was curious about power set up. He turned the water meter off. The water from the communal toilet and shower next to me got turned off. I was paying for that communal water and power. I got legal aid onto it. Bernie Valadian admitted to that and then said ‘that will be your toilet block then’. The two houses down the end they just go bush to use the toilet.

Streetlights never worked. Once they went off, they never went back on. They put a solar power street light in 1994 but it lasted 1 or 2 months and never got fixed. While power and lights were off at the main toilet, big mob were drinking there and one lady drowned in the dam. You can’t see anything round the dam at night. She was in there from Wednesday night and started floating Friday. They talk about pool fencing - we need some sort of dam fencing here. Bernie Valadian knows, he found a dead body himself there about 15 years ago.

What we’d like to see is more decent houses built.

He’s going to say ‘why didn’t you tell me these things before’. The trouble with Bernie Valadian is you try to tell him something but he says later, later or makes some excuse.

We have to think how Bernie Valadian thinks to counteract what he’s going to say when we ask for something. He just wouldn’t be interested anyway. You can tell him over and over and he just wouldn’t do it. You give up trying.

One off Quote

There was always problems with tribes and land. And government mob have always used this tactic - stir one mob against another. That’s one thing that government mob do - divide Aboriginal people. David Timber

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