The Commonwealth Government announced it is closing the Cockatoo Island dockyards and the island will be sold. The 1600 workers employed by Australian National Industries, concerned about their jobs, begin a 12 week strike. The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council is also concerned about a number of significant sites on the island. The MLALC submitted a claim on the island disputing the Commonwealth's sovereign title on the island, arguing that Aboriginal people were the owners of the site prior to European settlement in 1788.