Corina Patricia Abraham is a Whadjuk Noongar woman. In 2016, she challenged the

Western Australian Government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

for failure in procedural fairness during its change to the Aboriginal Heritage status of the land to be impacted by the extension to

Roe Highway Roe Highway is a limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Middle S ...

known as

Roe 8 The Perth Freight Link was a proposed $1.9 billion project in Perth, Western Australia to improve the road freight link between Kewdale and Fremantle Harbour. The project was announced by the state government in May 2014, but was cancelled foll ...

Personal life

Abraham is a custodian of the Whadjuk Noongar people descended from the Beeliar Whudjuk Noongar tribe. She traces her family back many generations, and is directly related to

Calyute Calyute (''Floruit, fl.'' 1833–1840), also known as Kalyute, Galyute or Wongir, was an Indigenous Australian resistance leader who was involved in a number of reprisal attacks with white settlers and members of other tribes in the early days of ...

, one of the few survivors of the Pinjarra massacre. Her grandfather is Reverend Sealin Garlett. In 1997 Abraham, along with a number of other indigenous artists of the Djidij Djidji Arts Group, created a piece of artwork using

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...

print, which is part of the

City of Melville The City of Melville is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, east of the port city of Fremantle and about south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of an ...

's art collection. In 2010 Abraham was co-chair of the

City of Cockburn The City of Cockburn ( ) is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about south of Fremantle and about south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of and had a po ...

Aboriginal Advisory committee. Abraham was the Socialist Alliance candidate for the

electoral district of Willagee Willagee is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia. The district is located in the southern suburbs of Perth. Willagee has at all times been a safe Labor seat. Geography Willagee is an ...

in the

2017 Western Australian state election The 2017 Western Australian state election was held on Saturday 11 March 2017 to elect members to the Parliament of Western Australia, including all 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 36 seats in the Legislative Council. The eight-a ...

. Abraham has

type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...

Opposition to Roe 8

In May 2014 the Barnett Government announced that the

Perth Freight Link The Perth Freight Link was a proposed $1.9 billion project in Perth, Western Australia to improve the road freight link between Kewdale and Fremantle Harbour. The project was announced by the state government in May 2014, but was cancelled fol ...

would go ahead; there had already been considerable concern over the plan's first section, an extension to

known as

, that would run through the

Beeliar Wetlands The Beeliar Wetlands is a wetland located in the southwest portion of Western Australia. It is made up of two chains of lakes and wetlands that run parallel to the west coast of Australia. They are situated on the Swan Coastal Plain between t ...

. Abraham has publicly opposed the Roe 8 extension. On 2 December 2015 Senator

Scott Ludlam Scott Ludlam (born 10 January 1970) is a New Zealand-born Australian former politician. A member of the Australian Greens, he was a senator in the Australian Senate from July 2008 to July 2017 and served as deputy leader of the Greens. Ludlam ...

read a letter to the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

, written by Abraham to the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

about the Perth Freight link, in particular the area to be impacted by Roe 8. The letter is a plea to the newly appointed Prime Minister

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

for intervention, in which she describes the cultural and historical significance of the wetlands to the Noongar people. She also expresses her concern about the removal of sites from the

Department of Aboriginal Affairs The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1972 and March 1990. History The Department had its origins in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs (OAA), which was established ...

registry and the West Australian Government's "manipulating, disrespect and lack of cultural respect to the ... Beelier Whadjuk Noongars".Letter from Corina Abraham to the Prime Minister of Australia
30 November 2015

WA Supreme Court writs

On 30 March 2016 Greg McIntyre QC (the lawyer who also commenced the Mabo case), acting

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

for Abraham, lodged writs in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The writs alleged that Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Peter Collier and the

cultural committee denied procedural fairness to Abraham when it failed to consult her. The failure occurred because Abraham was a party to original consultation that recognised the significance of the area. On 24 August 2016 the Supreme Court dismissed Abraham's challenge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Corina Living people People from Perth, Western Australia Australian indigenous rights activists Women human rights activists Noongar people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) People with type 2 diabetes