Native title
From Freepedia
Native title, or indigenous land rights, is a concept in the law of Australia that recognises the continued ownership of land by local Indigenous Australians. The colonisation of Australia was conducted under the false assumption that the land was unoccupied (terra nullius) and could therefore be claimed for the Crown and distributed to colonists by the government.
Native title can co-exist with non-indigenous proprietary rights and in some cases different indigenous groups can exercise their native title over the same land. In this way, it represents a local example of the fragmentation of proprietary interests. More particularly, it is also an example of two distinct systems of law operating within the same geographic, national and jurisdictional space. It is a recognition by the common law of Aboriginal law.
The National Native Title Tribunal is the body that investigate claims by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Native title determinations are made by the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia or a recognised body, such as South Australia's Supreme Court and Environment Resources and Development Court. The National Native Title Register (NNTR) contains approved determinations
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Before Mabo
There had been long campaign by Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders for land rights. This included the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill, cattle station in 1966 followed by the Woodward Royal Commission and the Aboriginal Land Rights Act of 1976.
Mabo
Only in 1992 was the assumption of terra nullius struck down by the High Court in the Mabo decision, which granted Murray Island in the Torres Strait to its native residents.
As Justice Brennan stated in Mabo (No. 2), "native title has its origin and is given its content by the traditional laws acknowledged by and the customs observed by the indigenous inhabitants of a territory".
Native Title Act 1993
As the legal concept of Native Title was not created directly by legislation, but by the judicial system, the Keating government later enacted the Native Title Act in 1993 to clarify the legal position of landholders.
Pastoral leases
The law was subsequently modified by the High Court's Wik Decision in 1996 and by further legislation (the Native Title Amendment Act) in 1998 which intended to grant better security of tenure to the holders of pastoral leases on potentially Aboriginal land.
The concept of claiming land rights is independent of native title. In a land rights claim Indigenous Australians can seek a grant of title to land from the Commonwealth, state or territory governments.
That grant may recognise traditional interest in the land, and protect those interests by giving indigenous people legal ownership of that land.
See also
- Aboriginal land claims
- Aboriginal Land Rights Act of 1976
- Central Land Council and Northern Land Council of the Northern Territory
- Indian reservation, land which is managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.
External links
- Native Title Act 1993
- Native Title Resource Guide at Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
- National Native Title Tribunal
- Information about native title determinations is available
