Thoughts on Freedom

The indigenous struggle for legal concessions favourable to traditional customary law and culture is encapsulated in the quest for land rights. Aboriginal society is inextricably interwoven and connected to land. In Mick Dodson’s words, “Removed from our land we are literally removed from ourselves.” Noel Pearson concurs, noting that for Aborigines the loss or impairment of land is “not simply a loss of real estate, it is a loss of culture.”

It is important to note two competing versions of justice. One version of justice, espoused by Mick Dodson and Diana McCarthy in this recent paper, sees communal title as the norm until government consults with indigenous people to see if their cultural beliefs permit something different. The other version, which I prefer, places property rights in the broader developmental context. I would suggest Mabo (No.2) has had a detrimental effect on indigenous policy as a whole for the simple reason that it has legitimised communal title as a worthy ideal.

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