ANTaR Native Title and Land Rights
ANTaR–Gurindji Strike
On 16 August 1975, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam poured a handful of red soil into the hands of Gurindji elder Vincent Lingiari. The act symbolised the legal transfer of the Wave Hill station to the Gurindji people. The first time the Commonwealth government handed Aboriginal land back to its original owners, the moment marked a new stage in the national land rights movement. Even so, the formal transfer consisted of only a limited portion of their Country. It took another 45 years before the Gurindji’s native title rights and interests over their Country was formally recognised in Australian law.
Read(pdf 124.59 KB)ANTaR–Timber Creek
In 2019, the High Court of Australia handed down the landmark Timber Creek decision. The Court awarded a total of $2.5m in compensation for both economic and cultural loss, including interest. In ‘the most significant [case]… since Mabo’, the High Court ruled for the first time on compensation for the extinguishment of Native Title.
Read(pdf 124.47 KB)ANTaR Native Title Factsheet
The Native Title Act sets out a national system for the recognition and protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights to land. The Act was passed by the Australian Parliament in response to the ground-breaking Mabo decision, which overturned 200 years of injustice. After three decades of Native Title, it is estimated that ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights and interests in land are formally recognised over around 40 per cent of Australia’s land mass.’ However, the compromises involved in drafting the Act, court cases and subsequent legislative amendments have left many people wondering whether the Native Title Act fulfils the ‘promise of Mabo’.
Read(pdf 158.13 KB)ANTaR–The Mabo Decision
In Mabo v Queensland (No 2), the High Court of Australia overruled two centuries of injustice. Before Mabo, Australian law ignored the pre-colonial property rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In Mabo, the Court ruled that Australian law could recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights and interests in land.
Read(pdf 107.14 KB)ANTaR–The Yorta Yorta Decision
In 1939, Yorta Yorta man William Cooper outlined the simple injustice of British colonisation. Cooper had protested for many years, seeking to change Australian law to better recognise the rights and interests of First Nations peoples. In 1935, as Secretary of the Australian Aborigines League, Cooper secured the signatures of almost 2,000 Aboriginal people calling for representation in parliament, voting rights, and land rights. In 1938, along with Jack Patten and William Ferguson, he led the first ‘Day of Mourning’ pursuing citizenship and equality. Cooper’s determination and persistence was shared by First Nations peoples across the country who struggled against a legal framework that denied their rights.
Read(pdf 135.88 KB)ANTaR–The Wik Decision
The decision in Wik Peoples v Queensland was the ‘high point’ of common law native tile. The subsequent political reaction demonstrates the vulnerability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights in Australian law. The story of the Wik decision further emphasises the need for a constitutionally entrenched First Nations Voice.
Read(pdf 122.06 KB)SUBMISSION: Beetaloo Basin
In this submission, ANTaR briefly recaps the environmental, social, cultural and economic objections commonly levelled against both Federal and Territory governments’ pursuit of this industry in the NT before addressing two specific concerns related to due process: adherence to all recommendations of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory 2018 Final Report; and recognition of the principle of informed prior consent to the Traditional Owners of the sites in question.
Read(pdf 183.99 KB)Case Note: The Timber Creek Compensation Case
In one of the most significant native title cases since Mabo, this was the first time that compensation for both economic and cultural loss had been measured and awarded under the Native Title Act. The case signals a huge development in native title law and sets an important legal precedent which may prove to have a profound impact on compensation claims and native title generally.
Read(pdf 1.02 MB)SUBMISSION: PROTECTING FITZROY RIVER
Acknowledges the research and stakeholder consultations undertaken to date, sets out options to find a pathway to meet the twofold goal of protecting the Fitzroy River in WA, and supporting sustainable economic development in its catchment area. Includes concerned feedback from our First Nations partners and stakeholders, about some ‘serious absences’ in the Discussion Paper.
Read(pdf 310.27 KB)ANTaR Submission on Native Title Act amendments
ANTaR advocates for a fair native title system that gives equitable opportunity to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Read our submission to the Federal Attorney General regarding proposed amendments to the Native Title Act.
Read(pdf 257.48 KB)ANTaR stands with Anangu in decision to ban tourists from climbing Uluru
National advocacy organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights ANTaR, today expressed strong support for the Anangu and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board in their decision to ban people from climbing their sacred site, Uluru, from 2019.
National Director Andrew Meehan said the decision to ban climbing on Uluru from October 2019 showed extraordinary patience on the part of the Anangu and was completely justified.
Read(pdf 166.87 KB)Comment on Native Title Amendment Bill 2012 Exposure Draft
In this submission we highlight the need for more far-reaching reforms as an urgent priority,
informed by the inequities in the current system, the fact that time is running out for many
Community Elders to see land justice in their life times and the obligations imposed on the
Australian Government by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples (UNDRIP).Read(pdf 537 KB)20 years since Mabo: The Facts on Native Title
Wondering what the impact of Native Title has been 20 years on?
Read our fact sheet 20 years since Mabo: The Facts on Native Title
Read(pdf 574.31 KB)Submission to Inquiry into the Native Title Amendment (Reform) Bill 2011
In this submission, ANTaR indicates its broad support for the overall objectives of the bill, to create a fairer native title system for recognising and adjudicating the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We encourage the Committee to ensure thorough consideration is given both to the overall objectives of the legislation and the specific measures proposed within it. While the submission notes that the Act could be improved to enable it to better achieve its objectives, ANTaR encourages this Committee to urge that the current Bill be used as a vehicle to make such improvements.
Read(pdf 84.45 KB)Native Title reforms needed to create fairer and more sustainable system
ANTaR has welcomed the introduction yesterday by Greens Senator Rachel Siewert of a Private Members Bill to deliver improved outcomes for native title claimants.
Read(pdf 46.56 KB)Inquiry into Indigenous economic development in Queensland and review of the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010
In this submission, ANTaR emphasises the central importance of enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to have a genuine and ongoing say on and involvement in the development and implementation of policies, programs and laws which directly affect them. This is required by the right to free, prior and informed consent contained in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Read(pdf 72.53 KB)Submission to Native Title Leading Practice Agreements and Tax Reform Discussion Papers
In this submission, ANTaR responds to options proposed in the Leading Practice Discussion Paper relating to governance, the new statutory function and the leading practice toolkit. The paper also considers three reform options designed to clarify the tax status of native title payments including an income tax exemption, a new tax exempt vehicle and a native title withholding tax. The paper also discusses the use of deductible gift recipient categories to deliver benefits for communities, ‘consistent with the Government’s commitment to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage’.
Read(pdf 150.21 KB)