A decade on from the decision in Mabo, this book remains a key mechanism for distinguishing between fact and myth among the claims and counter-claims which bedevil Australia’s native title debate.
It provides an accurate, accessible and unbiased account of what the judges and the Acts of Parliament have actually said about native title, what it means and what problems are likely to arise.
Recognising that the High Court’s 1993 ruling in Mabo remains the basic legal document on native title, this fourth edition retains the plain language version of the ruling as its core. There follow equally straightforward explanations of the Native Title Act 1993, the 1996 High Court judgment in Wik, and the Howard government’s legislative response in 1998 with the 10 point plan . Finally, there are two completely new chapters on how the Native Title legislation has worked in practice, what important issues remain to be resolved and some possible future directions for solving them.