Skip to main content
The traditional connection to land and waters is inextricably linked to the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Time to respect First Peoples’ traditional fishing rights

For 65,000+ years the First Peoples of Australia have been custodians of this land, practising culture and protecting Country.

Yet today, Aboriginal communities along the South Coast of NSW face constant surveillance, harassment and prosecution for carrying out their ancient fishing traditions. This has resulted in hundreds of First Peoples from these communities being fined, prosecuted and even jailed for these offences over the past two decades.

Oxfam Australia has worked with these communities since 2018 to help amplify their voice and secure just recognition of their traditional rights to fish and gather. We’ve helped produce a series of short documentaries, initiated some media and political engagement, and provided modest financial support to the NSW Aboriginal Fishing Rights Group.

This work has helped to bring about a Parliamentary inquiry into the failure of successive NSW governments to recognise Aboriginal cultural fishing. Oxfam worked with people from these communities to lodge their submissions and in some cases, tell their stories publicly for the first time. In one submission, Gadigal Wondandian and Wulbunja man Bill Cooley told of how his prosecutions led to his marriage breakdown and homelessness.

Oxfam’s submission showed evidence of systemic bias against Aboriginal people going back 25 years. We obtained data (see table 1 below) showing how the rate of over-representation in court proceedings increases with the severity of the punishment, culminating in Aboriginal people account for eight of ten people jailed for these offences in since 2009.

We argued that the elders who still engage in traditional fishing are among the fittest and healthiest Aboriginal people found in this country, so the government’s campaign against them is contrary to its Closing the Gap police. And we also demonstrated that there’s a better way forward, such as the Torres Strait and New Zealand examples that have involved First Peoples in the sustainable management and exploitation of these resources.

Wally Stewart, a Walbunja man and an applicant for the South Coast native title claim, wrote this week to thank the organisations that had helped the community to tell their stories. He said that some of the stories were “heartbreaking to listen to…and our people had to relive that by telling their story, and there was the occasional good story, but not many,” Stewart wrote on the fishing rights group’s social media page.

Without you guys coming on board giving up your personal time to support our south coast communities for this inquiry, we may not have been able to do what we just achieved.

Wally Stewart, Walbunja man

“So on that note I want to THANK YOU on behalf of all the people who rang you guys up to help them put their submission together. You will not be forgotten.”

We’ll keep you posted on this inquiry and Oxfam’s broader campaign to influence decision-makers.

And here’s a link to the homepage for the inquiry by the NSW Legislative Council’s Portfolio Committee No. 4 – Regional New South Wales, Water and Agriculture:

Commencement of the Fisheries Management Amendment Act 2009 (nsw.gov.au)

Read more blogs

South Sudan: Achol Ring Tong Longar, 21, washing her hands after arriving at the South Sudan border from war torn Sudan. Photo: Peter Caton/Oxfam

The Cholera Outbreak in South Sudan

South Sudan is currently experiencing its largest-ever cholera outbreak, with confirmed cases reported across multiple states. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), from September 28, 2024, to April 11,...

Read more
South Sudan: Thousands of refugees from Sudan are currently living in makeshift homes in the transit centre in Renk, South Sudan, with more refugees arriving every day. Photo: Herison Philip Osfaldo/Oxfam

The Sudan Civil War: An Overview

Nearly 13 million people have fled their homes during the recent conflict in Sudan. That’s nearly one third of Sudan’s population. A large proportion are seeking refuge in neighbouring South...

Read more
South Sudan: Asia Ahmed* stands with her mother, Suad, and her brother at their home in Renk, South Sudan. They are among nearly a million people displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Photo: Herison Philip Osfaldo/Oxfam

World Refugee Day 2025: What it is, why it matters, and how to take action

Each year on 20 June, the world marks World Refugee Day, a day to honour the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their homes. Refugees...

Read more