Native Title Reform

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Join us in Sydney on Friday, 23 August at the Centre for Independent Studies, as we welcome shadow minister for Indigenous Affairs, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price for a conversation on the impact and effectiveness of Native Title legislation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. This event will be moderated by CIS Executive Director, Tom Switzer.

For three decades, Native Title has legally recognized the land rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Despite this, many of these communities are left people land rich, but dirt poor. It’s a lovely notion for Indigenous people to be connected to land spiritually and to utilise it for traditional activities like hunting and fishing. Unfortunately, Native Title all too often is a mechanism to lock up land and keep communities stuck in time, preventing economic progress.

Despite the legal recognition of land rights, the current system may hinder economic development and property ownership. This system needs to be overhauled in order to better support community advancement. Laws need to encourage private home ownership and business creation on native title land.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is shadow minister for Indigenous Affairs. A former director of CIS’s Indigenous program, Jacinta was a prominent leader of the successful No campaign during last year’s referendum for a Voice to parliament. She is a former deputy mayor of Alice Springs.

Tom Switzer is the Executive Director at the Centre for Independent Studies, and formerly hosted Between the Lines on the ABC’s Radio National. He is also a regular contributor to The Australian, the Australian Financial Review and Sky News Australia.