Mabo: An Inspiration for Australian Land Management

Abstract

Recognition of native land title following the High Court of Australia's Mabo judgment of 19921 has generated considerable misunderstanding and even fear among some sectors of the Australian community. While the recently enacted legislative package has clarified property rights and has helped to set parameters for the future, many people remain uneasy about land use and management under a native title regime.Present discussion has focused on the implications of native title for Aboriginal2 and other property rights. However, as this article argues, the message of the Mabo judgment is much broader. Along with land tenure, it implicitly recognises Aboriginal concepts of land use and management, and therefore provides moral suasion for incorporating all Aboriginal people, landless as well as landholding, in national, regional and local land use planning and activities. Incorporating Aboriginal visions and expertise into land and marine management can greatly benefit mainstream Australia by assisting in the development of more sustainable regimes. Such an approach may lead to new combinations of land use more suitable to the long-term sustainability of Australia's marginal lands, areas in which Aboriginal people often form a highly significant proportion of the resident population. It may also help to promote national and international commitments towards conservation and biodiversity. Recognition and respect for Aboriginal ecological knowledge and land management expertise would not only help to improve Australian land management practices; it would also further the cause of national reconciliation.

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