Introductory sources about native title

The following is a listing of materials in print or video format. The printed materials provide an introduction to native title. The videos offer an insight into the some of the issues surrounding native title.

Journals, newspapers and newsletters

Australian Indigenous Law Reporter, Sydney, Prospect Publishing

Indigenous Law Bulletin, Sydney, Indigenous Law Centre, Faculty of Law, NSW.

Koori Mail, Lismore.

Land Rights Queensland, Brisbane, Federation of Aboriginal and Islander Research Agencies (FAIRA).

National Indigenous Times, Batemans Bay, NSW, Destiny Publications.

Native Title News, Sydney, Butterworths.

Native Title Newsletter, Canberra, Native Title Research Unit, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).

Annual reports

National Native Title Tribunal annual reports 1994-

Native Title Report: Report of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner to the Attorney-General as required by Section 209 of the Native Title Act 1993, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission annual reports

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Services Annual reports

Attorney-General's Department annual reports

Books

Bartlett, R. 2000, Native title in Australia, Butterworths.
The introductory sections in each chapter are excellent reading for a comprehensive overview of native title.

Behrendt, Larrissa 1995, Aboriginal Dispute Resolution, Federation Press.
Written from an Aboriginal perspective, the author focuses on the law's role as the instrument by which Aboriginals were dispossessed of their land. She proposes dispute resolution to be resolved by Elders on land using traditional Aboriginal methods

Fulcher, J. 1998, "Cultural heritage law and practice', AMPLA Yearbook, 556-568
An introduction to Aboriginal cultural heritage and its relationship with native title.

Butt, Peter & Eagleson, Robert 1998, Mabo, Wik and native title, Federation Press.
Directed to readers who are not lawyers and who would like to understand just what the High Court decided in the Mabo & Wik cases and what the government did in response.

Healey, Kaye 1998, Issues in native title, Spinney Press

Healey, Justin 2002, Aboriginal land rights, Spinney Press.
Looks at the history of the Aboriginal land rights movement in Australia; native title legislation; and the process involved in native title claims

Hiley, Graham 1997, The Wik case: issues and implications, Butterworths.
Contains the text of the judgment with commentary from various important perspectives. Considers the impact on various stakeholders.

Indigenous Support Services 2001, Agreements between mining companies and Indigenous communities: a report to the Australian Minerals and Energy Environment Foundation, prepared by Indigenous Support Services and ACIL Consulting.

Joint Parliamentary Committee on Native Title and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund.
From your library holdings or via their web page follow native title through reports, transcripts and submissions. The JPC is the statutory body looking at and reporting on the working of the Native Title Act and the effectiveness of the Tribunal.

Kauffman, P. 1998, Wik, mining and Aborigines, Allen & Unwin.
Examines mining agreements made with Aboriginal people during the past 30 years.

Keon-Cohen, B. (ed) 2001, Native title in the new millennium: a selection of papers from the Native Title Representative Bodies Legal Conference April 2000, Melbourne, Aboriginal Studies Press for AIATSIS Native Title Research Unit.
Major conference covering all aspects of native title. Papers not included in this volume are on the accompanying CD at the back of the book...

Land, rights, laws: issues of native title, AIATSIS
Series of papers designed to contribute to information and discussion on native title.

Lane, P. & Phillips, S. 2000, Hot topics: burning issues in plain language: native title, Sydney, Legal Information Access Centre.
Chapters include:
From terra nullius to native title;
Land rights;
Native title in the Courts;
Timeline;
Further reading and contacts and;
How to find native title legislation and decisions.

Looks at Mabo and native title; the Wik decision; and reconciling differences.

McRae, Heather 2003, Indigenous Legal Issues: Commentary and Materials (3rd ed.), LBC
This casebook explores the legal issues arising from the coexistence in Australia of distinct societies with distinct laws.

National Native Title Tribunal, Speeches.
Speeches by Graeme Neate, Robert French and Tribunal Members cover a wide spectrum of native title issues and development. Copies are available in various publications of the Tribunal and on the National Native Title Tribunal Homepage.

Native title, 1998, 2nd ed, Australian Government Solicitor.
Although there have been amendments to the Native Title Act, this volume has valuable reading in it's Commentary (including a section on the legislative history of the Act) and Second Reading Speeches for 1993, 1997 and March 1998

Reynolds, H. 1992, The law of the land, 2nd ed, Penguin, Ringwood, Vic.
Reassessment of the legal and political arguments used to justify the European settlement of Australia.

Reynolds, H. 1996, Aboriginal Sovereignty: reflections on race, state and nation, Allen & Unwin.
Confronts the question of whether Aboriginal society exercised a form of sovereignty before 1788 & considers legal interpretations of what happened when the Britons arrived.

Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody 1991, National report 5 vols.
Often overlooked as a major source of information of all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and society.

Strelein, L. (ed) 1998, Working with the Native Title Act: alternatives to the adversarial method, AIATSIS, Native Title Research Unit.
Papers from a workshop examining issues for practice in non-adversarial native title processes, such as those set up for the Tribunal.

Wright, Lisa 2003, Themes emerging from the High Court's recent native title decisions, National Native Title Tribunal.

Conference Papers

Conference papers are an excellent source of information on issues relating to native title.

Keon-Cohen, B. (ed) 2001, Native title in the new millennium: a selection of papers from the Native Title Representative Bodies Legal Conference April 2000, Melbourne, Aboriginal Studies Press for AIATSIS Native Title Research Unit.

Native title conference : Native title on the ground, Alice Springs, 3-5 June 2003 / [AIATSIS, Central Land Council and ATSIC]

Videos

Mabo — life of an island man 1997, Sydney, Film Australia.
Biographical documentary of the man synonymous with native title

After Mabo The Long and Difficult Road to Native Title, 1997, Video Education Australasia
Interesting case studies, including: the challenges posed by the Mabo decision, the limitations of the decision, the important roles of the Tribunal and the government, the positions of the Aborigines and white landholders and leaseholders, and examples of successful outcomes of land rights legislation.

After Wik :Intolerance, Compromise and Heartfelt Support, 1998, VEA
This program, which is divided into easily accessible segments, follows the Wik Debate for 12 months after the High Court's decision. Initial celebration by the Wik people; the reaction from vested interests; the compromise contained in the 10 Point Plan and its reception by both sides; the developing opposition from the churches, the Governor General and the Aborigines; and the debate and rejection by the Senate. In the process, learn a great deal about native title and the politics surrounding it.

From Wave Hill to Wik and Beyond : The Struggle for Native Title, 1999, VEA
Using material from the archives of the ABC, this video looks at the struggle to win native title and land rights since the 1960s. The two terms are, of course, not one and the same in their meaning. 'Native title' refers to customary rights for indigenous people and includes the right to use land leased and possibly owned by other people. 'Land rights' has a wider meaning and includes the owning or leasing of land, as happened in the Northern Territory following the passing by the federal parliament in 1976 of the Northern Territory Land Rights Act.

The program is divided into segments for ease of use:
1. From Wave Hill to the Labour Party's Failure 1963—1986
2. The Mabo Decision 1992
3. The Mabo Family
4. The Native Title Act 1993
5. The Wik Judgement 1996
6. The Government's Response

This is an excellent overview of the major developments in the struggle for native title.

Mabo Myths, 1993, VEA
The High Court's Mabo Decision late in 1992 was probably the most significant legal decision ever made by an Australian court. Sadly, it led to widespread scaremongering and the so-called 'Mabo Myths'. This program carefully examines the myths related to the security of various types of land title in Australia and, as one viewer said, 'admirably clarifies the decision and its meaning for all Australians'.

Native title in brief, 2000. National Native Title Tribunal.
A brief overview of native title and the work of the National Native Title Tribunal.

Native title stories : rights, recognition, relationships, 2004. National Native Title Tribunal.
Explains native title through the real life experiences of six different communities around Australia.

White Australia Has A Black History, 1999, VEA
An overview covering: the coming of the Europeans, wars, massacres, disease and dispossession, missions, reserves, racism, population decline, stolen children, political activism, land rights, native title and culture.

WIK: The Battle For Hearts and Minds : The Prime Minister Versus the Leader of the Opposition, 1998, A VEA Production
Soon after church leaders and the Governor General joined the opposition to his Wik Bill, the Prime Minister (John Howard) decided it was time to take his case direct to the people, via an 'Address to the Nation'. The only problem was that the Leader of the Opposition accepted his right to deliver a response on the following evening. The speeches and the immediate press reaction are on record for all to learn from and to judge on this very important issue for all Australians.

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