When people talk of a treaty between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, the debate is often about high-level principles. Issues like sovereignty, self-determination and constitutional guarantees are undeniably important. People hold different views about them and these are debates we need to have if Australia is to move forward. For many people, however, a key question...

If Australia does choose to go down the path of modern treaty-making then inevitably it will be influenced by the opportunities created and the limitations imposed by the native title system, argues Sean Brennan.

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...