Indigenous Australians and Resource Access: Comparative Analysis of Inclusive Policies
Abstract
Despite Australia's ratification of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2009, Aboriginal peoples continue to face obstacles in exercising their inherent rights to self-determination and to free, prior and informed consent regarding the development of their traditional land. Recent decades have seen advancements in legislation and government-backed programming to support the recognition of Aboriginal peoples' land rights; however, the current framework often fails to achieve meaningful outcomes for impacted communities. This paper provides an overview of Australia's current legislative and programming efforts to secure Aboriginal peoples' land rights, evaluating the benefits and downsides to each initiative from a rights-based perspective, with the aim of promoting productive discourse on pathways to protecting and implementing the rights enshrined in the UNDRIP.
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