Instead, they have been targeted, harassed, fined, prosecuted and jailed, simply for their cultural practices — and this has cost them greatly.

Wally, a Walbunja man and an applicant for the South Coast native title claim, shared his story.
“My father was a fisherman and made a living out of fishing. We used to fish as well. Ninety percent of our diet was all seafood … That was our way of life for coastal people,” he said.

“Over the years, as fisheries regulations came in and made it hard for us to live and stopped us from doing the things we used to do, it really impacted on our community. All of a sudden … we’re going out diving and bringing home food and next minute, we’re being prosecuted and we weren’t given the opportunity to be part of the industry,” Wally said.

“It started getting really bad in the nineties, where they started sending people to jail for this stuff that we see as our culture. It’s not a crime to us, it’s just part of how we grew up.”

While Wally and his community are raising their voices, there is damage that can’t be undone.

We’ve already lost two generations of culture fishermen … It’s affected everybody … it’s affected our whole community.

Since 2018, Oxfam has worked with communities along the South Coast of NSW, like Wally’s, and this year, we made submissions to an inquiry into the failure of NSW governments to recognise these rights, showing systemic bias against First Nations people going back 25 years.

We have called for a 2009 amendment to these laws to be acted upon, along with a community-held licence to allow a commercial quota for fisheries.

We demanded that Fisheries NSW staff are trained in native title rights and interests, and the international human rights of indigenous people; that First Nations commercial fishers are provided with culturally appropriate access; and are involved in decision-making about fisheries.