Nookenbah

Now with the passing of that colossus , Sir Charlies Court , who bestrode the political stage we can review some of his smoting of enemies and in particular Nookenbah which has very few references on teh intertubes. LA over at PerthWorst covers Section 54b.
Here's Don Randall's ( Federal member for Canning) take on it. From the House of Representatives Official Hansard
No. 13, 2004 Tuesday, 10 August 2004.
"I lived in Fitzroy Crossing in mid-1979, while Nookenbah was in full swing. Bob Hawke had his stooge, son Steven, ensconced in the Aboriginal community. Steve was very active in signing up locals to vote Labor. It was well known by the locals that Labor went all around the north-west, smooth-talking the Aboriginals into voting Labor. Steve was also the main figure in the Nookenbah disputes, stirring up most of the protests et cetera. He used to come to town most days to phone home to dad, and no doubt to report and to get fresh instructions. " This is , of course , a steaming pile of self serving excrement that any village idiot would be proud of.
There is a rather soporific contribution from PALS.
"In 1980 the community at Nookenbah, in WA’s Kimberley, formed a blockade to stop Amax Mining drilling on a sacred site. They were unsuccessful but the conflict had national and international media coverage and helped put the spotlight on Indigenous land rights as an important issue."
For the only reference I can find on the putative current state of Nookenbah see SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Reference: Administration of Indigenous Affairs
MONDAY, 31 JANUARY 2005 Senator HEFFERNAN ( As if he is anything approaching a reliable or objective observer on anything).
Update :

Outback Upfront
Work Enterprise

Channel 2 10:00am Sunday, 4 January

Films to take us beyond the romantic myths of The Outback. This week: Steve Hawke, famous 20 years ago in the Nookenbah Community's fight against mining; an outback psychologist and the Aboriginal undertakers of the Kimberley.