Speaking at the recent Negotiating Native Title Forum held in Melbourne on 26 and 27 February, President of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT), Graeme Neate, said that in the 15 years since the landmark Mabo decision there has been a number of positive outcomes but these have come at significant financial and emotional costs.
“Many of the claimants have died before their cases have been resolved,” Graeme Neate said. “Currently there are hundreds of unresolved claims. We need just and enduring outcomes in a timely and efficient manner.
“Native Title litigation is risky, expensive and doesn’t always deliver the results that are wanted. The hopes and aspirations of the claimants are often raised and then dashed.”
He said that the Federal Government has been encouraging parties to mediate agreements rather than litigate but there is a need for all parties to improve their performance and find ways to work together.
“It is the parties to the claim who determine whether, when and what outcomes are agreed,” he said. “The Tribunal and Federal Court will work together with the parties.”
He warned that if the Native Title Act Amendment Bill presently before the Federal Parliament fails to deliver then more radical reforms would need to be considered.
The forum chairperson was Indigenous Lawyer, Hans Bokelund. In his introductory remarks, he said that for Indigenous people native title is their culture and their connection to the land, their language and customs.
“There must be space within the law for native title,” Hans Bokeleund said.
Anthropologist, Dr David Martin, added that for Indigenous people native title is very much a political rather than a legal issue. He said it is the issue at the core of their relations with non Indigenous Australians.
He agreed that the Native Title Act has delivered real results in some areas but in other expectations have been dashed. He points to the conundrum of native title that demands claimants prove an unbroken connection with the past while other social and economic policy areas are requiring Indigenous people to map their future in terms of their assimilation into the wider community.
