Why
do you start, and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair?
Macbeth, Act one, Scene three.
Inside Story have just published (link
here) a short article I wrote built around developments related to Huckitta
station on Arrernte and in the NT. The article explores the fascinating historical
intersections between Huckitta, its traditional owners, the criminal justice system,
the Native Title Act, and the role of individual agency in driving developments
across these disparate policy spheres.
While the article stands on its own, it is also an attempt
to acknowledge that policy reform is never easy, nor straightforward. Developing,
reforming, and at times resisting policy is inherently a collective exercise in
the widest sense of that term. Policy is necessarily communal in nature, although
it is rarely inalienable. It is inevitably shaped by the past and can only aspire
to shape the future.
While social, cultural, economic and legal structures and systems
are ubiquitous and determine in large measure both what is feasible and the
order in which policy change might occur, the roles of individuals for better
or worse, whether deliberate or random, are also crucial in shaping and determining
policy outcomes.
4 July 2024
Correction
In the Inside Story article linked to above, I wrote that Bill Gray had overseen the preparation of the 1976 Aboriginal Land Rights Bill in the Northern Territory. Bill has contacted me to advise that the preparation of the legislation within the Department was overseen by former patrol officer Jeremy Long. Bill was the senior public servant repsonsible for the administration of the legislation over its first decade or so. I apologise to readers and of course to Bill for this error for which I am solely responsible.
18 July 2024
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