Indigenous people own traditional lands

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The Australian high court recently rejected the notion that indigenous people did not own the land on which they had traditionally lived.

Called the Mabo land decision, it has provided a new basis for relations between the indigenous and other Australia, said Prime Minister Paul Keating.

"The High Court's historic decision is a threshold and positive one for the nation. By rejecting the doctrine of Terra Nullius, the court has provided a new basis for relations between indigenous and other Australians and given impetus to the process of reconciliation. It provides an opportunity and a challenge," Keating said.

"The nation now has the opportunity to address the fundamental issue of Aboriginal traditional land ownership and indeed the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in contemporary Australia.

"There is also the challenge to get it right, for the benefit of all Australians, including the generations of the future," Keating said.

Keating announced steps the government is taking in response to the Mabo decision.

He said the government had initiated consultations with state and territory governments, key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organizations and mining and pastoral industries, on the implications of the high court decision.

The consultations will be directed by a committee of ministers, chaired by me,

and will be led at official levels by a senior officer in my department," Keating said.

The first round of discussions will be completed before the end of the year a progress report considered by the government before March 1993, and a final report

by September 1993.

The government will also encourage negotiations between parties as a way of resolving differences," he said. If it seems the government could help with such negotiations, it will do so.

Keating said that the Mabo judgment was complex and its implications equally complex.

"We need to consider the implications carefully, but as quickly as possible. Before deciding on the right long-term approach, it is essential that we first consult all the governments of Australia, key Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and industry groups, to discuss policy responses.

"It is important to recognize that existing legal rights in relation to property continue, and it is wrong to see the court's decision in terms of existing landholders losing their land. However, the decision introduces a new element into Australian land tenure, in the form of Native title, and thereby creates a need for clarity in the definition and application of Native title rights, especially in relation to other interests in land.

"The Australian government seeks a balance which protects Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander rights and gives benefits to all Australia. Indigenous groups and the pastoral and resource sectors are seeking clarity, certainly and a constructive resolution. Consultation is the first step in that process," Keating said.

(This information provided by Policy Note, which is produced by the Australian High Commission in Ottawa.)