THE ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS ACT
History
The first concrete step in the development of the New
South Wales Aboriginal Land Rights Act came in November 1978 when
the Wran Labor Government established the Legislative Assembly
Select Committee upon Aborigines.
The select committee, chaired by Maurice Keane, MP comprised members of Parliament from the main political parties and was established to inquire into and make recommendations about the causes of the socioeconomic disadvantages of Aboriginal people, particularly in the areas of housing, health, education, employment, welfare and cultural issues, as well as the effectiveness of current arrangements in Aboriginal affairs and land rights for Aboriginal people in New South Wales.
Initially the Select Committee had been established under very broad terms of reference, only one of which specifically considered the issue of land rights. Its principal object was to inquire generally into 'the causes of socio-economic deprivations and disadvantages suffered by the Aboriginal citizens of New South Wales'.
However after the community proclaimed its concern the Select Committee shifted their principal focus directly to land rights
The select committee produced the Keane Report in 1980, which represented a major departure from previous assimilationist government policies by recognising Aboriginal people and culture as part of Australian society.
The committee emphasised that the granting of land rights was of paramount importance to Aboriginal people in New South Wales and should be regarded as an act of elementary justice for past actions designed to destroy Aboriginal societies and as accompanied by recompense for removal from their lands.
A key recommendation of the Report was that Aboriginal land rights was fundamental to Aboriginal self-determination and autonomy and that there needed to e a viable land base for Aborigial self-management to suceed.
The Keane Report set out a range of recommendations and matters requiring further consideration including the provision of rights to claim not only Crown land, but also possibly leasehold and freehold land.
It acknowledged the need to return responsibility for the protection and management of culturally significant places and raised the suggestion of making payments of royalties from all mining, quarrying and forestry operations.
Although it was generally well received by the Aboriginal community, the Government baulked at endorsing the Report on the grounds of the financial cost of its implementation. Instead, a green paper containing a draft Bill was circulated, with the legislation enacted only two months later. Not only was the consultation considered entirely inadequate but the final legislation represented a substantial retraction from the Report's recommendations.
The first step towards
redressing the injustice and neglect
Three years later in 1983, the then Minister for
Aboriginal Affairs, Mr. Frank Walker on behalf of the Wran
Government, stood at the dispatch box in the Legislative Assembly
and introduced the first ever land rights legislation in New South
Wales.
Mr. Walker described the reformist legislation as "the first step in this state towards redressing the injustice and neglect of real Aboriginal needs since Captain Philip stepped upon the shores of Port Jackson in 1788."
"The Government," Mr. Walker continued, "has made a clear and unequivocal decision that land rights for Aborigines is the most fundamental initiative to be taken for the regeneration of Aboriginal culture and dignity."
The Act was proclaimed on June 10, 1983.
The preamble to the Act acknowledges four different but key aspects of the relationship between Aboriginal people and land in NSW, stating that:
- Land in the State of New South Wales was traditionally owned and occupied by Aborigines.
- Land is of spiritual, social, cultural and economic importance to Aborigines.
- It is fitting to acknowledge the importance which land has for Aborigines and the need of Aborigines for land.
- It is accepted that as a result of past Government decisions the amount of land set aside for Aborigines has been progressively reduced without compensation.
The purposes of the Act are as follows:
- To provide land rights for Aboriginal persons in New South Wales.
- To provide for representative Aboriginal Land Councils in New South Wales.
- To vest land in those Councils
- To provide for the acquisition of land, and the management of land and other assets and investments, by or for those Councils and the allocation of funds to and by those Councils.
- To provide community benefit schemes by or on behalf of those Councils.
The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 established a statutory fund consisting of funds derived from annual payments until 1998 of 7.5 per cent of gross State Land Tax revenue, half of which is set aside as capital to finance Aboriginal development in the future with the balance meeting the costs of land council administration and land purchases.
Today the NSW Aboriginal Land Council does not rely on government funding and is financially independent in all its operations.
Importantly, the Act provides a system of Aboriginal Land Councils that obtain inalienable freehold title to land through the process of land claims, purchase or bequests. Land claims may be made to Crown land so long as the land is not lawfully used or occupied and not needed, or likely to be needed, for any essential public purpose.
Land rights are fundamental to redressing the past injustices and alleviating social and economic disadvantage. The NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act assists Aboriginal people on the path for social and economic independence through the acquisition of land for housing, business enterprises, education and training as well as promoting Aboriginal culture, identity and heritage.
There have been a number of amendments to the Act since it was first introduced. The following link will take you to the latest version (July 2009) of the Act.