Indigenous People & Their Land

In recognising native title, the High Court was aware of the limits of its understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law and culture.

So it took great care not to link native title to established common law models of relationships to land.

But, as later courts have tried to refine and constrain the concept of native title, it has come to resemble a vulnerable bundle of property rights and less a reflection of the complex relationship between Indigenous peoples and the land.