4 November, 2009
Researchers study State's unique land rights legislation
5 November 2009
NSW Aboriginal Land Council Chair Bev Manton, and NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Paul Lynch today welcomed the announcement of formal research into the State's landmark land rights legislation.
The research, to be undertaken by the University of Technology in Sydney, will analyse the political history of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act and how land rights have developed for Aboriginal people.
The project is part of the $1.8 million Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development scheme announced by the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr.
Ms Manton said that despite the Aboriginal Land Rights Act being one of the best pieces of land rights legislation not just in Australia but the world, many people are unaware of the true history of Land Rights in NSW.
"The political history of land rights in NSW rose out of a quiet revolution driven by recognition, rights and substantial and ongoing reform."
"When the Act was proclaimed in 1983, it meant a recognition of the prior ownership of this State of New South Wales by Aborigines."
"It was the first time any Australian government made a clear cut statement of Aboriginal prior ownership."
"What people generally forget is that the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Rights Act is our only form of compensation for dispossession," Ms Manton said.
Mr Lynch said the Act attempted to overcome the historical fact of dispossession.
"This legislation reflects the coming together of both the rights agenda and the economic development agenda," he said.
"It allows Aboriginal people, through democratically-elected structures, to pursue in ways they choose, appropriate economic development," Mr Lynch said.
"Land assets are critical for Aboriginal communities - not just for the social and cultural benefits they bring - but for the economic benefits they deliver," he said.
The four-person research team from the University of Technology in Sydney is Professor Gillian K Cowlishaw, Professor Jock H. Collins, Professor Heather Goodall and Ms Heidi Norman.
The study will encompass the background to events that saw the legislation developed and what it has established, such as the establishment of land councils and the State peak body, the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, and the provisions for land recovery and enterprises and how it reshaped Aboriginal people's relationships with the State.
MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew Williams (Mr Lynch) 0408 602 936 ... Peter Windsor (NSWALC) 0400 554 603