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Farley, Rick --- "Book Review - Talking Common Ground: Negotiating Agreements with Aboriginal People" [1999] IndigLawB 85; (1999) 4(24) Indigenous Law Bulletin 22


Book review


Talking Common Ground:
Negotiating Agreements with Aboriginal People by Rural Landholders for Co-Existence

Rural Landholders for Co-Existence, Sydney,1998

Reviewed by Rick Farley

Talking Common Ground is a valuable guide to negotiation and agreements in regional Australia. It incorporates the proceedings of a workshop held in Charters Towers in August 1998 which was attended by Aboriginal people, rural landholders, representatives of the National Native Tide Tribunal and government. The workshop was convened by Rural Landholders for Co-Existence - an organisation which grew out of Australians for Native Tide and Reconciliation (ANTaR), and which was formed in an attempt to provide more balance to the debate within rural Australia on the Howard Government's amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The workshop and publication sought to present the facts about the impact of native title on pastoral leases and to point out the benefits of agreements between pastoralists and Aboriginal traditional owners on native tide issues.

The introduction to Talking Common Ground states that the intention is not to provide a comprehensive guide, but rather, to inspire people to sit down and talk to each other with a commitment to finding common ground. The value of the publication lies in its practical approach. It identifies the disadvantages of a litigious approach through the courts, explaining that native tide cannot interfere with the valid rights of pastoral lessees. It is well presented and highly informative and in many ways complements recent Australian Local Government Association publications.[1]

Talking Common Ground is divided up into five clear sections:

A prevailing theme of Talking Common Ground is the need for direct discussions between pastoralists and traditional owners away from the glare of politics and outside the adversarial legal process. A second theme is the need for patience and goodwill in the process of negotiating an agreement.

Although the case studies discuss the many hurdles which need to be overcome in reaching agreements, they all conclude that the benefits outweigh the difficulties. The real issue is whether pastoralists can be persuaded to seriously consider agreements in the first place. If they decide to do so, Talking Common Ground will be of great value to them.

Rick Farley was previously Executive Director of the National Farmers 'Federation, a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and a member of the National Native Title Tribunal. He facilitated the Cape York Land Use Heads of Agreement and war lead mediator for the NNTT in the Century Zinc mine negotiations.

Talking Common Ground is available from Rural Landholders for Coexistence, PO Box Q1074, QVB NSW 1230.


[1] Cf Australian Local Government Association, Working Out Agreements Between Local Governments and IndigenousAustralians: a Practical Guide (1998) reviewed in (1999) 4 (21) ILB30.


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