Australian Left Review
Article Title
Aboriginaland
Abstract
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 came mto force on January 26 of this year, Australia Day - a day commemorating the first fleet 's arrival at Botany Bay in 1788 when, under 'white law', the whole continent suddenly ceased to belong to the Aborigines and instead became Crown Land. The article takes a detailed look at the provisions of this Act and at the Aboriginal Land Rights issue as a whole. It pays particular attention to how the Act affects Aboriginal claims to the land on which uranium has been found in Arnhem Land. The effect of proposed uranium mining on Aborigines is a questwn which has largely been i!{nored. It will be obvious to readers that the article was written before publication of the Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Commission.