26.9.00

To Peter Foss
Minister for Justice, Attorney General
12th Floor, Dumas House,
2 Havelock St
West Perth WA

Re: letter dated 5th Sept 2000 to Mr N. Gray from Karry Smith, Chief of Staff for the Attorney General, Minister for Justice.

Dear Mr Foss

Your Chief of Staff, Carrie Smith sent to one of our supporters on 5.9.00 a letter regarding your Pyrton Prison proposal. In it she says that the location of the proposed detention faculty does not impinge on the Aboriginal significance of the land. It also states 'extensive ethnographic and archaeological surveys of the area....., have indicated that the areas of significance lie outside the places the Ministry wishes to use'.

This is simply not true. The ACMC findings following your departments S18 application states the complete opposite. Either Carrie Smith is not aware of this information, in which case we could question her competency for such an important job or she is misrepresenting the truth which is worse.

Also how can you state that a Cultural and Environment Centre be 'established in the area of the Pyrton Prison Proposal'?

A Prison - a place of containment - would totally destroy the purpose of the community's endorsed option of a Culture and Environment Centre on the land.

We immediately request a letter from you stating that you understand that the proposed Pyrton Prison site is a registered sacred site. We also ask you to state whether you will stop saying that a Cultural and Environment Centre can exist around a prison. Most importantly will you stop this campaign of lies and impossible notions and cease your stubborn and arrogant attempts to build a Prison at Pyrton.

Pyrton Action Group
6 Mary Crescent Eden Hill WA 6054

Swan Valley Nyungah Community
C/o Post office Guildford WA 6055

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Contacts
Swan Valley Nyungah Community (08) 9377 3550
Pyrton Action Group (08) 9279 6781