Do You know your local native title landscape

Abstract

There is a growing awareness by councils of their obligations in relation to native title and Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage legislation. A fundamental step in addressing these obligations is to form an awareness of the native title and cultural heritage landscape that sits over your LGA. It is vital to know the status of the land that public works projects are undertaken on, both in terms of what native title determinations have been made and if any registered native title claims are in place. It is also the responsibility of any infrastructure provider to ensure no harm comes to cultural heritage in the process. This paper will take a detailed look at the native title and cultural heritage landscape across IPWEAQ’s NQ Branch local government areas.