Land Rights at Risk? Evaluations of the Reeves Report

Abstract

Building on Land Rights for the Next Generation: Report of the Review of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was completed in August 1998, and became publicly available in September. Now commonly called the Reeves Review or the Reeves Report, after its author, John Reeves QC, it is the product of an expansive (and expensive) review of the federal Land Rights Act that began in October 1997. The main report is 617 pages and a second volume of appendices is 413 pages. It contains many controversial recommendations that, if implemented, would fundamentally change the nature and functioning of land rights legislation in the Northern Territory. There has been a strong and broadly negative reaction by indigenous stakeholders to the review’s public policy and constitutional recommendations. The controversial nature of the Reeves Review has been recognised by the Federal Government. In January 1999 the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs formally instructed the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to undertake an inquiry into the Reeves Review. It is anticipated that the Standing Committee will complete its deliberations by late August 1999.