Congrats jen, must have been hard work thinking up all the reasons why a person from a particular ethnic group should not own their own home. Why did you leave out your main reason? ie. I, J.Clarke, know more about what you, poor dumb black fella,want.

Well considered arguments were presented in this brief overview and its a pity that more Australians don't know about how land legislation and rights and history before they criticize these views.
As usual, scholars such as Clarke find themselves writing and then explaining their views to a disremembering audience.

That these arguments are well and truly understood in nations like Cananda, New Zealand and the USA speaks to how far behind this country is in terms of resolving the status of Indigenous peoples within the liberal democratic polity and laws relating to land tenure and true equality.

I for one do not think that Jennifer Clarke is arguing against Aboriginal people owning their own home, on the contrary, she is pointing out the dangers and pitfalls of privatizing Aboriginal land that those on both the left and right of the politics fail to recognize - and in typical white moral panic mode the search in favor of a silver bullet panacea solution to all Aboriginal ills continues

couldnt agree more with you wandii and ms clarke. am very dubious about this privatisation issue and seriously doubt that it will assist aboriginal people. as a stand alone quick fix to the ills of aboriginal communities it will be just another bandaid, but with more dire consequences than every other bandaid that has fallen off.

Jennifer has tackled a difficult issue . just as other people in Australia can que up and receive their own publically funded housing ,so should Aboriginal people have this facility available for them in their homelands .

Be it leasehold , freehold ,perpetual lease with an option to purchase, or simply free, we, the rest of affluent Australia have a responsibility to make sure decent, health improving all weather and well designed secure title homes are available for all our Aboriginal Brothers and Sisters and their families today .

Both the Howard and the state government Premiers are a disgrace in their attitudes to Aboriginal Health and Housing , they have no excuse other than the disgusting ignorance and apathy of a fairly large percentage of relatively wealthy selfish Australians who like their policies and voted them in .

''WITHOUT PREJUDICE''

DEAR JENNIFER
If you think the majority of Australians wish to enter the debate of Aboriginal native title and land rights,or any rights for that matter,you are hugly mistaken.
Where i live(in a major capital city Aboriginals sit and drink alcohol or smoke drugs all day and then provide trouble for people going about there everyday business(not to mention the poverty and filth of how they live in the housing dept. estates).Now,if ''white people'' do exactly the same they are arrested,police down here dont really solve the problem due to(and this is a word used time and time again to remove oneself from the laws of our society)''discrimination'',so in turn,Aboriginals become un-touchable,above the law.
Sure lets open debate,first however,to allow a culture/group to enter that debate,let alone obtain any rights,dont you think that they should contribute to society in the first instance.Lets not talk about native title or land rights,lets talk about re-education,putting them to work with thier entire culture ''assimulated'' into ours,yes the white mans,like it our not its a ''white Australia'',for you see we are one,one nation,not the Austrlian nation along side the Aboriginal nation,not two nations in one.
If you did your research you would find the Aboriginal culture lazy,un-productive and failing in ethics and leadership(that's one reason why domestic violence and child abuse is out of control,in ''ALL'' Aboriginal communitys).
Jennifer i am not ''raciast'' i am a human being like you,demorcratic with a opionin like you,however,and i am proud to say,i am a national socialist-communist,in other words,where i come from if you want even basic rights in Australia you have to do the most basic thing that most hard working,intelligent,educated Australians do every day,from the factory worker to the docter,and everybody else in between-''CONTRIBUTE TO OUR COUNTRY'S SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND BE ALL YOU CAN BE"".
And,finally,i will debate Aboriginal land rights and native title,at any time,with anyone,as long as they prove that the land that is being obtaind is subject to the exact rules/obligations/responsibility's as the land titles/deeds of hard working Australians.

dear Al , have you ever heard of accepted INTERNATIONAL Law , where "land rights" CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED BY FAIR AND AGREED EXCHANGE ?

You must be joking about assimulation . How can, and why should, Aboriginal people accept us white people unless we give something of lasting value to them , for stealing the very best and most of the rest of their land ?

Had the Japanese won 2ND world War and left the remnants of us whites diseased and starving down at polluted waterholes, or working almost as slaves [i,ve seen it, in fact been part of it], it would be interesting to see how you and your family members would be travelling now .