The diversity of Australia’s landscape and people is reflected in the breadth of native title outcomes and aspirations under the Commonwealth’s Native Title Act 1993, says the National Native Title Tribunal President Graeme Neate.
Mr Neate will explore this diversity in a comparative analysis of the operation of the native title system in the various jurisdictions around Australia, at the 10th annual Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) native title conference, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from 3 to 5 June.
In his national overview of native title, at 1.30pm on Thursday, Mr Neate will examine how a range of geographic, historic, cultural, legal, economic and political factors influence native title aims and results in different parts of Australia.
“In some jurisdictions, there are large areas of land where native title has been or may be recognised under the Native Title Act,” Mr Neate said.
“In other places, where there has been more widespread urbanisation or agricultural development, native title has been extinguished by grants of titles over much of the land.”
Mr Neate said that other kinds of agreements and settlements, such as co-management agreements over conservation areas, were sometimes viable options when recognition of native title could not be achieved.
Other Tribunal representatives will participate in the AIATSIS conference. Member Dan O’Dea will discuss the five indigenous land use agreements that have come out of WA’s 2008 Thalanyji native title determination (3.30pm Thursday), senior research officer David Edelman will discuss broader native title agreements and the meaning of the term ‘traditional owners’ (3.30pm Friday) and Member Gaye Sculthorpe will take part in a panel discussion about broader land settlements (1.30pm Friday).
Mr Neate said the Tribunal was again a sponsor of the conference, which this year had the theme ‘Spirit of country – land, water and life’. Conference papers will be available from the AIATSIS website at http://ntru.aiatsis.gov.au/ after 5 June or Tribunal papers from www.nntt.gov.au . |