Indigenous Land Management in NSW

Abstract

This paper sets out to do a number of things. First, it reviews and comments on some research on sustainable development on Aboriginalowned land in north Australia, specifi cally in the Northern Territory in the tropical savanna. This review is not undertaken to suggest that the wholesale transportability of institutions and practices is possible, or even desirable, it is merely provided to highlight some overarching economic possibilities. Second, it makes an argument for stronger advocacy of Indigenous economic development issues in NSW—economics has been under-represented in discussions to date. This is partly due to an absence in policy discourse of the actual and/or potential signifi cance of the Indigenous customary (some use the term cultural) economy and its intersections with commercial sectors of the economy. It is also possible that existing levers, in the form of customary property rights, have been under-utilised—although as already noted such opportunities have only arisen recently in the native title era. Third, the paper argues that evidence-based research will be essential to demonstrate to all stakeholders—the public, government, parks authorities and Indigenous people themselves—that existing levers can deliver practical outcomes. The paper ends with an optimistic envisioning of a new economic deal in NRM and use for Indigenous people in NSW.