Legislation provides land councils with a lot of discretionary power. For example, under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, land councils may (not ‘must’) compile and maintain a register of who in the opinion of the council are the traditional owners.
In mainstream Australia, ownership of communally owned property, such as strata title, is managed by having a list of owners, governed by rules and legislation to cover committee decisions, and to ensure corporate bodies (such as a body corporate) are elected democratically. Owners maintain their own property but are also a member of a body corporate with responsibility for communal areas such as gardens, tennis courts, and swimming pools.
In contrast, much of Indigenous land has no list of traditional owners and, therefore, no democratic elections or management of the land.
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To enable Indigenous prosperity on Indigenous lands, Aboriginal people should not be treated as inherently different to other Australians. As Jules says: ‘The West succeeded because private property and investment were used to create wealth.’ Aboriginal people, like all other Australians, should have the opportunity to become private home and business owners on their own land if they choose.
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