Victoria

In Victoria, the Cain (ALP) government was unable to persuade the Upper House to pass its 1983 Land Claims Bill. The Victorian Government asked the Commonwealth to exercise the powers conferred on it in 1967 - resulting in the Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act 1987. This Commonwealth statute created Aboriginal Corporations to hold title for each of the two named areas, and to determine membership and land use. Powers over mining are substantial, but the Aboriginal freehold land area is so tiny (20 square kilometres, or 0.01 per cent of Victoria) that it fails to register on Australia's most authoritative land tenure database.

Keywords: Aboriginal Land (Lake Condah and Framlingham Forest) Act, 1987, land rights, States' rights, Victoria, 1983-1987

Author: Rowse, Tim and Graham, Trevor