Campaign against "wild rivers" laws, 1/2 - native Australian heritage or PC white 'conservation'?

Native Australian activist Noel Pearson says he will reinvigorate his campaign against the Queensland Government's controversial wild-rivers legislation. He says the laws would stymie the Cape York region's economic development..... at least as regards his peoples' benefit, uhh. But is white "conservation" merely another kind of oppression through conceitedly assuming that white man knows it all + that, conversely, black (or brown) native Australians cannot know anything? Talk about indigenous 'heritage' means little to white Anglo Australia when it comes to land (its possession, use, management) - except as it suits their agenda. Thus, is this yet another "terra nullius-style" land-grab? Is it not simply another clever way of running native Australians (still only ever condescendingly referred to as "aborigines") off their land or at least effectively still preventing them from ever having any say in their own future - except as another ruined + dispossessed people - ultimately devoid of what remains of their own precious ancient culture? (Note: will upload interview with Noel Pearson later as part 2/2 - an interesting 17min discussion..... meanwhile, it is still available + transcript at http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2008/s2627109.htm ) NOEL PEARSON: "Well, we've never said - 'our complaint has never been consultation', Leigh. If you get the facts right. Our complaint has been... there's been no consent. There's been no consent to this. Now, if miners undertake activity on Aboriginal land, they have to get consent..... Now, we've already agreed to set aside 50 per cent of the land as national park and the Wilderness Society are now saying, "Thank you very much for the 50 per cent national park. Now give us the remainder of the land as some kind of quasi-national park that we called wild rivers." And the important point to understand here, Leigh, is these are not just rivers they've taken over here. 'Rivers' have just been the entry point to establish what is actually a quasi-national park in the middle of Aboriginal land..... And when you look at the volume of land that these areas cover, it's not the tributaries and the rivers, it's an entire takeover of Aboriginal land. And our point is that, well mate, the deal was 50/50 here. Now you want a 99 per cent takeover of Aboriginal land. And the problem with what you want is that, basically, you're condemning us to a perpetual life of welfare. And though the welfare cheque comes in recycled paper green, it's still a welfare cheque. And it's no good for our people..." Wiki: "Noel Pearson..... is an influential Aboriginal Australian lawyer, land rights activist and founder of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, an organisation promoting the economic and social development of Cape York..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Pearson_(Australian_lawyer)