Paper short abstract:

The authors of the paper on 'Developing Northern Australia: Our North, Our Future' (2015) appear to be unaware of the contradictory values raised by linking the Aboriginal future to northern industrial development built on native title and what this might mean for Indigenous community development.

Paper long abstract:

In granting recognition to Aboriginal property rights very little thought has been given to the consequences of the way that we have done this or could have done it. We have just let our legal processes, practices and thinking run their course and only subsequently started to think about how these property rights can benefit Aboriginal people collectively. The white paper on 'Developing Northern Australia: Our North, Our Future' (2015) takes native title land as central to its vision. This vision, and the specific matters identified in order to make possible its realisation, raise a number of questions including what is wanted from development by the various affected parties. The authors of the white paper appear to be unaware of the contradictory values raised by linking the Aboriginal future to northern industrial development built on native title and what this might mean for Indigenous community development. In this paper I want to address some of the issues raised by these contradictory values as they relate to improving the circumstances of Aboriginal people's lives and helping to support them in their life projects.