Two land councils representing more than 40,000 Aboriginal people have lodged a formal complaint with the Independent Commission Against Corruption over the number of staff and students at the University of Sydney who self-identify as Indigenous.The complaint, signed by Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council chief executive Brendan Moyle and backed by Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council chief executive Nathan Moran, says the university is failing to ensure that those who receive benefits for Aboriginal people are in fact Indigenous.
“Local Aboriginal people have tried talking to them and they have not listened, so now it’s time to see whether this is in fact corrupt conduct by the University of Sydney,” Mr Moyle said.
“These resources – jobs, scholarships for Indigenous people – are funded by the public.
“They are designed to help Aboriginal people lift themselves out of disadvantage.
“But how does the University of Sydney determine who is Indigenous? We believe it lets people self-identify. There is important legislation in this area, backed by common law. There is in fact a three-part test to determine Aboriginality, worked out by the giants whose shoulders we stand on, and the local land councils are a very important part of the process.
“The University of Sydney is not checking (the bona fides of those who claim to be Indigenous) and jobs, and scholarships and other benefits are flowing to people we call the box-tickers.
“This issue concerns local Aboriginal people, who want opportunities for their children, and their communities.”
Mr Moran said he met with the University of Sydney’s new vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, in October “and I personally told him: you have a problem. But he’s from the Department of Education so he knows
the whole state government, every university … has the same problem.
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