At Yintarini Farm, we have made a commitment to pay the rent for the land we live on via a yearly donation to Ramahyuck Aboriginal Corporation. This is our acknowledgement that we live on stolen land.
The reality is that First Nations people paid with their lives for us to benefit. Heralded as the explorer who opened up Gippsland, the real story about Angus McMillan and his Highland Brigade is one of murder. Not far from our farm, the Warragul Creek Massacre, one of five major murder sites across Gippsland, was estimated to kill 100 Gunaikurnai women, men and children. The truth and reality of Australia’s dark history continues to go unacknowledged, stalling the progress of reconciliation and unity of all Australians.
Paying the Rent is not about guilt. It’s simply an acknowledgement of our privilege, the ways we have disproportionately benefited from the continuing dispossession of Indigenous people. Colonisation has contributed to an over-representation of First Nations people in our prisons, child protection system and health system, with the privileging of English law over Aboriginal lore, the removal of children from families under the White Australia policy, and the introduction of diseases, alcohol and processed foods. We have personally witnessed the devastating effects of colonisation for ourselves whilst living and working in the Northern Territory for over a decade. White people have impacted on the land in destructive ways, clearing bush to make way for farming, denying First Nations people of their right to live on country and care for it, thereby contributing to the climate crisis. Paying the rent goes some way to repairing our ecosystems, by putting care of country back in the hands of Indigenous caretakers and knowledge-bearers. We are starting to see this with the re-introduction of cultural practices like cool burning and more money for Indigenous Ranger programs.
We encourage you to make a commitment to paying the rent where you live. The Pay The Rent Collective recommends 1% of your income as a starting figure. A donation to your local Aboriginal Corporation or community is ideal. Otherwise, the Pay The Rent Collective accepts donations across Australia which are distributed by First Nations people for the benefit of First Nations people.
