Millewa-Malle native title allows First Nations people in Victoria's north-west the right to control access to their land

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Research fellow and native title lawyer from the Australian National University, Virginia Marshall says these rights are not an exclusive power but a re-establishment to grant others permission of the land.

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00:00Australians know when you have your home and you own your home that people can't just walk

00:08through the door without seeking permission and I think anyone watching today can understand

00:14that concept so it's very similar it's not so much a power but it's actually re-establishing

00:20what a number of decisions many decisions for example in a native title Justice Gilmore was

00:29one that says we're only determining your rights to the land that already exists so it's it's that

00:37it's that it means that for the first time when you do have that ability to say well no somebody

00:45who wants to come on our land and perhaps in terms of mining or you know going to access water for

00:54example there's a permission and I think that's a very clear way to describe what exclusive rights

01:01are and this is important in many ways because for the first time you're right this is a landmark

01:08decision and it's probably one of many that are going to occur in the future but it's also an

01:14opportunity to look at ecotourism to also reignite caring for country on your own terms to bring back

01:23that caring for country relationship that's always existed and those exclusive rights give you those

01:30opportunities and other opportunities to have economies and that's a strength because as we know

01:37we we need a financial basis to run a business but we also need a financial plan and an ability

01:47to sustain ourselves on country and and this is a huge social justice win as well because it gives

01:58aboriginal people the opportunity to really wake up on that day that you've received native title to know

02:06well the court these important judges have decided yeah in this case a single judge alone that this

02:15is my country so we we we know now that the court has recognized and it just opens up such an

02:23incredible wealth of opportunities that australians understand very well now and as you say these

02:29rights the strongest form of native title they haven't been recognized in victoria until now you

02:33mentioned a moment ago virginia there are likely to be many more will this decision uh set a precedent

02:38perhaps and pave the way for other traditional owners to pursue similar protections of their land

02:44well i i think that we all also have to remember we have a very strong and robust system

02:52in the native title system and we have a australian law reform commission inquiry at the moment that's

03:00looking into a range of issues uh under the native title act so there's always improvements and room for

03:07improvement but what it does do it it gives people the ability and the courage to say well perhaps i will

03:16take out you know myself and and my countrymen on this journey and and we we may on the evidence

03:23choose to go to court uh to have that determined it doesn't mean that everybody will be successful

03:29because it is a rigorous process and i and i think for your viewers if you see it this way that it takes

03:3620 or 30 years um 20 or 30 years sometimes to actually get a native title determination so in the courts

03:43generally we know that um many cases are uh dealt with in a number of years or a year but in this case

03:52it takes a lot of strength um community strength um financial support uh it takes um the passing of elders

04:04um during this process um during this process so there's a lot of spiritual and cultural loss

04:10as well during this process and and as i said it's a very robust and rigorous process to get

04:16exclusive native titles so that will be a case-by-case basis yeah and we'll be continuing to follow that

04:22closely of course as you say a long journey particularly with this case virginia great to hear your thoughts

04:26thank you very much for joining us thank you managool

04:29you

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