Qld: Legal bid fails to stop takeover of Aboriginal company

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Qld: Legal bid fails to stop takeover of Aboriginal company

By Ainsley Pavey and John Sheed

BRISBANE, Aug 6 AAP - A legal bid to stop ATSIC-led receivers taking over a troubledAboriginal housing and land company failed today as 350 workers walked out over the debtrow.

Lawyers for the Bidjara Aboriginal Housing and Land Company at Charleville in south-westernQueensland had applied to Queensland's Supreme Court to stop the receivership after failingto meet a deadline to repay the debt.

But the application was withdrawn after receiver-managers were sent in yesterday.

Justice Debra Mullins adjourned the case for a costs hearing to a date to be fixed.

The move follows allegations by former ATSIC deputy chairman Ray Robinson of bias byIndigenous Affairs Minister Philip Ruddock over revelations he briefed a journalist abouta police investigation into Mr Robinson.

Mr Robinson had headed Bidjara - an interlinked group of five companies - before hestood down last month pending proceedings on a fraud charge.

Bidjara group chairwoman Lizzie Adams said the receiver-managers had come to Charlevillewith little warning apart from a letter of demand for the $700,000 debt after banks hadclosed on Monday.

"They had clearly travelled to Charleville knowing that the Bidjara group could notmeet the terms of the letter of demand," Ms Adams said.

"This left the Bidjara group with no option but to suspend its operations from today."

She said the closure would affect legal services in Roma, Cunnamulla, Mitchell andQuilpie, the voluntary work for the dole scheme in Roma and Cunnamulla and a host of businessenterprises in Charleville.

Ms Adams said the workforce would immediately apply for unemployment benefits as aprotest against the ATSIC action.

"They could lose their jobs anyway," Ms Adams told AAP.

An ATSIC spokesman told AAP it was unnecessary for any of the workers to walk off the job.

The spokesman said Bidjara companies, other than the housing and land company, hadmet terms and conditions for month by month financial support.

It is understood senior ATSIC figures are concerned the workers are being used as pawnsby Bidjara-linked figures with vested interests.

AAP ap/jfs/pjo/sc/cjh/br

KEYWORD: BIDJARA