Corina Abraham
Corina Patricia Abraham is a Whadjuk Noongar woman who, in 2016, contested the Western Australian Government regarding issues of procedural fairness connected to the alteration of Aboriginal Heritage status for land impacted by the Roe Highway extension project (Roe 8).
Personal life
As a custodian of the Whadjuk Noongar community, Abraham descends from the Beeliar Whadjuk Noongar tribe. Her ancestry includes Calyute, a survivor of the Pinjarra massacre, and her grandfather was Reverend Sealin Garlett.
In 1997, Abraham collaborated with other indigenous artists from the Djidij Djidji Arts Group to produce linocut prints, which are now held in the City of Melville's art collection.
She held the position of co-chair for the City of Cockburn Aboriginal Advisory Committee in 2010.
Abraham was the Socialist Alliance's candidate representing the Willagee electoral district during the 2017 Western Australian state election.
She has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Opposition to Roe 8
The Barnett Government announced the Perth Freight Link in May 2014, which included an extension of Roe Highway known as Roe 8 that would traverse the Beeliar Wetlands.
Abraham openly opposed the Roe 8 highway extension.
On 2 December 2015, Senator Scott Ludlam read a letter from Abraham addressed to the Prime Minister of Australia, expressing concerns about the Perth Freight Link and Roe 8. In her letter, she emphasized the cultural and historical importance of the wetlands to the Noongar people and criticized the removal of sites from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs registry, accusing the Western Australian Government of showing disrespect towards Beelier Whadjuk Noongars.
WA Supreme Court writs
On 30 March 2016, Greg McIntyre QC, representing Abraham pro bono, filed writs in the Supreme Court of Western Australia. The legal action claimed that Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Peter Collier and the Department's cultural committee failed to provide procedural fairness by not consulting Abraham, who had participated in earlier consultations acknowledging the significance of the area. The Supreme Court dismissed Abraham's case on 24 August 2016.