An important turning point in the fight for Indigenous connection, land rights and recognition occurred in 1992. This was the landmark Mabo judgement. It acknowledged and provided a legal framework for recognising and protecting Indigenous Australians’ rights to their ancestral lands and waters.
While the Mabo ruling and subsequent legislative and collective changes were positive developments, there is still a long way to go in developing partnerships with Indigenous groups and fully recognising Indigenous peoples’ land rights.
Here we explore the current difficulties surrounding land rights in Australia and how Mabo’s legacy has shaped Indigenous land rights in the 21st century.
Building Relationships with Indigenous Communities
The Mabo decision upheld the reality of native title, validating Indigenous people’s claims to land ownership. While significant legislative, policy, and practice developments have occurred in the three decades since, there are still obstacles to accessing and administering traditional lands.
Many Indigenous communities are still fighting to acknowledge their rights. The difficulties occur with overlapping claims, insufficient finance for legal counsel, and competing interests with resource extraction industries.
What’s changed since 1992?
The NT, Qld, and WA have passed Land Rights Acts, which recognise and protect Aboriginal land claims, meaning Indigenous groups can claim ownership of their traditional lands or get long-term leases. They also set up ways for their communities to provide input, negotiate, and make land management decisions.
Indigenous communities and government agencies have made Joint Management Agreements to work together to control and protect national parks and conservation areas. These deals recognise the traditional custodians’ role in managing the land and allow them to participate in decision-making.
Other ways Australia is developing partnerships with Indigenous groups
- Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are areas of land or water controlled by Indigenous communities and the Australian government. IPAs help protect biodiversity and cultural assets and ensure they are managed sustainably. Aboriginal groups work closely with government agencies to make and carry out management plans. These plans use traditional ecological knowledge and practises.
- Cultural heritage laws have been passed in different places to protect and keep Indigenous cultural heritage sites, artefacts, and traditions. These laws are to mark significant areas from being destroyed or damaged. They also ensure that Indigenous connections to cultural values and practises are known and respected.
- Many groups, including government agencies, businesses, and educational institutions, have made Reconciliation Action Plans. RAPs list promises and actions to promote reconciliation, such as projects to support Indigenous land rights, work with Indigenous communities, and Indigenous cultural sensitivity training.
The way forward, together
Indigenous land rights are essential for justice and human rights, and honouring Indigenous peoples’ spirituality, identity, and well-being that is so deeply connected to the land. Protecting their land rights preserves cultural legacy, traditional practices, and generations-old knowledge systems.
After millennia of living in peace with nature, indigenous cultures understand their territories for environmental sustainability and ecological longevity. Indigenous traditional wisdom helps better manage land, conserve biodiversity, and mitigate climate change.
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