Paying The Rent

WARM’s Business Meeting accepted a proposal from Indigenous Concerns Committee to commence Paying The Rent. This brings into being a scheme whereby funds are paid to acknowledge the advantage gained in occupying Indigenous Land.

There are two primary actions to be undertaken:

1. The first is in regard to the land on which the Meeting House stands. Rent of $342.94, was paid by WARM’s Treasurer to the Deaths in Custody Watch.
2. The second part of the undertaking relates to individual Friends who wish to pay rent in acknowledgement of their personal advantage. To assist them to do so ICC has listed some organisations as possible 2007 recipients. This list is by no means exclusive and Friends may, of course, prefer to make other arrangements.

Organisations suggested to individuals who may wish to participate in Paying the Rents are:

• Madjitil Moorna choir
• Swan Valley Nyungah Community Inc c/- Post Office Guildford WA 6055 www.nyungah.org.au
• Aboriginal Community College PO Box 1389 Wangara WA 6947
• Ngalla Koort Boodja Group – Elders For Arts & Culture c/- Carol Innes PO Box 585 Cannington WA 6987
• Yorgum Aboriginal Counselling Service 176 Wittenoom St East Perth 6004 www.yorgum.org.au

The following wording is offered as a suggestion for a letter to accompany the rent:

Enclosed is the amount of $___ paid in acknowledgement of my benefit as a result of land being occupied without treaty or just compensation to the Nyungah people. The payment is symbolic of the debt incurred.

Friends are reminded that WARM now has a policy of “Paying the Rent”. This means that each year 2% of the nett income received by WARM in the previous year (less the Yearly Meeting Quota) will be paid to an Indigenous organisation. This is a practice followed by several Quaker Meetings in Australia, and is based on a suggestion by Robert Cock who attended Friends’ Meetings in South Australia in the 19th Century. Please note that basing the calculation on the previous years’ income means that the amount paid is a percentage of real income, whereas calculating on the current years’ budget, as Indigenous Concerns Committee first proposed, would mean working from estimated income, a less suitable undertaking.

This year the amount will be paid to the Boronia Pre-Release Centre for Women. This will enable the continuation of a programme in which Elders (women who have succeeded in changing their lives for the better) are brought to Boronia to speak of their experiences. It will also provide funds for exit packs, consisting of second-hand linen and some toiletries, and also for the appropriate packaging of these. This provision is made as some have nothing at all in the way of possessions when released.