When Parliament enacted the Native Title Act 1993 it left fundamental questions to be resolved by the judiciary. High Court decisions in three test cases in 2002 substantially defined the potential of native title. Proceeding on a mistaken view of Parliament's intention, the court confirmed a doctrine of extinguishment highly destructive of the original rights...

Is 'sovereignty' a roadblock to a modern-day treaty or treaties between Indigenous peoples and the wider Australian community? In this second issues paper from the Centre's Treaty Project, Sean Brennan, Brenda Gunn and George Williams identify the different ways in which the term sovereignty is used. Domestically, it notes the range of Indigenous voices on...

Much of the symbolic and rights aspects of the reconciliation process are being undertaken at the state, local and community level, rather than federally. Yet the commitment of federal government is vital. Without it, argue Sean Brennan, Vanessa Bosnjak and George Williams, the reconciliation process will not encompass the national acknowledgment of Indigenous peoples or...

The federal government must recommit itself to reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the wider Australian community, argue Sean Brennan and George Williams.

It is not the first time there has been talk of a treaty or treaties between Indigenous peoples and the rest of the Australian community, and this time round the debate has only just begun. The debate has already taken off on a number of fronts. Who will negotiate a treaty or treaties? How long...