Reward for effort

RE: William Barak’s ‘Corroboree’. I was dismayed to read, in your excellent article (Mail, 28 July), that this beautiful drawing had been sold for the massive sum of $504,000, none of which is intended to be allocated to the Wurundjeri people.
This is, to my perception, a racist affront to this gracious group of Aborigines, who are the direct descendants of the Ngurungaeta whose skill produced this drawing.
In my view, the intellectual property of paintings and drawings belongs to this tribe.
It is akin to Native Title, which, since Mabo’s case, vests in this Aboriginal tribe who possessed it before Europeans confiscated it.
My researchers reveal that, although there has been no case law on Intellectual Property of Aboriginal people, there is a moral right of ownership of paintings and drawings at International Law. The United Nations has passed a code to that effect, but, sadly, and in my view, improperly, Australia has not ratified this code. Certain proposed legislation however lies on the Federal table.
I urge all members of Parliament to lobby vigorously to ensure that this legislation be swiftly passed – and to ensure that it applies retrospectively so as to provide the Wurundjeri people, and other tribes, to benefit from their just desserts.
Failure to accomplish this would make a mockery of Kevin Rudd’s promise of Reconciliation.
The least that can be done is for the sellers of this drawing to make a substantial ex gratia payment to the tribe.
And, legislation ought also be passed to exempt Aboriginal art from the 70-year copyright limitation (in the Federal Copyright Act).
J. Neville Turner
LL.B. (Hons), B.A.
Warburton