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Aboriginal Law Bulletin |
by Bryan Keon-Cohen
According to an opinion written by the NSW Solicitor General and provided to the NSW Government several years ago, 15,000 hectares of Aboriginal reserves have been illegally revoked by Government agencies. These revocations apparently occurred following World War I in the interests of soldier settlement, and again during the 1950s. According to the Solicitor General, government bodies which took the land either lacked power to do so, or acquired the land through incorrect procedures.
These revelations come at a somewhat embarrassing time for the NSW Government. It has promised, as a first step in introducing land rights, to transfer 90 Government owned reserves to local Aboriginal communities in freehold title, a grand total of 4,400 hectares. However, the Government refuses to contemplate introducing compensation schemes into its proposed land rights legislation. The revelation that 15,000 hectares of former Aboriginal reserve land was removed illegally will, at the least, increase demand for such compensation.
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URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLawB/1982/65.html