Governing Australia’s Landscapes after Native Title?

The High Court’s recognition of native title in Mabo v Queensland discredited the legal fiction of terra nullius and fundamentally changed Australia’s legal and political landscape. Since the Native Title Act 1993, more than 500 positive determinations have recognised native title over approximately 57% of the Australian continent, with 293 prescribed bodies corporate holding rights and responsibilities for governing these areas.  A further 17% of the continent is Indigenous-owned under various forms of title, which may also overlap with native title.

While native title has transformed aspects of land tenure, arrangements for managing land, water and biodiversity continue to evolve. These arrangements can involve significant contestation, particularly around proposals for large-scale mining, irrigation and other forms of development.

ANU researchers are working with two Indigenous organisations in Cape York and the Kimberley to explore options for culturally appropriate governance of land, water and environmental resources.

This seminar will introduce these two projects and consider how research can support appropriate governance of natural and cultural resources:

Painting the Murtawarra – working with the Murtawarra-Fitzroy River Council (MFRC) to explore approaches to the governance of the Murtawarra (Fitzroy River) and its surrounding cultural and environmental resources.
Exploring environmental markets – working with the Binthe Land Holding Group Aboriginal Corporation, custodians of Traditional Lands near Hope Vale in Queensland, to explore opportunities and challenges associated with environmental markets.

The seminar will provide an opportunity to learn about these projects, hear from researchers and Indigenous partners, and consider broader questions about how Australia’s landscapes might be governed in ways that recognise Indigenous rights, knowledge, aspirations and responsibilities.