Media Release

20 January 2017: KAP Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter said “I will be moving Legislation on the resumption of Parliament that all products sold as Aboriginal craft are made in Australia and licensed by a First Australian organisation”.

Mr Katter’s move comes in response to calls from First Australian groups, Indigenous Art Code, Arts Law Australia the Copyright Council of Australia for it to be illegal to import and sell art sold as ‘Aboriginal style’ souvenirs. The push comes in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games where the market is expected to be flooded with fake Aboriginal arts and crafts.

One media story reported 80 per cent of tourist shops and markets sold ‘Aboriginal style’ souvenirs, with some using products imported from Indonesia.

Under Australia’s Competition and Consumer laws it is not illegal for imports to be sold, so long as they do not claim to be authentic and have a label stating where they are made.

“I think this is a fair call, the ad says -- ‘the oldest continuous culture on earth.’ And in particular artwork has blossomed into finer paintings in colour and form as we would find anywhere in the world,” Mr Katter said.

Mr Katter said, “And these fraud imports give a guarantee to the consumer that the woomera will throw a spear, and the bullroarer will roar.

“There is a huge industry using “our” name as Kalkadoon and First Australians for these cheap inferior replicas and paying us First Australians nothing for the privilege.

“Also I’m a bit sick of buying boomerangs that don’t return for my grandchildren.

“As Qld Northern Development Minister we organised a famous tourist trek for the press. Of all the magnificent tourist sites in Nth Qld, it was the Dreaming Trails at Mossman that got their first vote.

“Spears and woomeras were made in a simple galvanised iron shed. ‘Uncle Norman’ took them on a tour describing how they secured food (birds, wallabies, fish) in days gone by. ”

“Laws protecting native art are long overdue.

“The Government sold our industries, our public assets, and now they’ve managed to sell our own culture.

“Without these laws my Kalkadoon brothers, who died defending their home land, they will have done so for nothing.

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