Raelene Webb QC
President of the National Native Title Tribunal
Ms Raelene Webb QC was appointed President of the National Native Title Tribunal in 2013 after a distinguished career as a barrister, and is recognised as one of the leading native title silks in Australia. Prior to her appointment she appeared as lead counsel in many native title and Aboriginal land matters and advised upon, and appeared in the High Court, in most land-mark cases on the judicial interpretation and development of native title law since the decision of Mabo v Queensland (No 2).
Raelene is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and was awarded the Law Council of Australia President’s Medal in 2014, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the legal profession in Australia. Raelene is in great demand as a public speaker on a range of topics, native title matters especially, and has presented or chaired sessions at various conferences throughout Australia and internationally, including at the 2015 and 2016 Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty held in Washington DC.
presents
‘Whither native title?’
In 1992, the legal recognition of the on-going existence of native title by the High Court in the Mabo decision was a watershed moment for Australia, finally freeing the country from the legal doctrine of ‘terra nullius’. For indigenous Australians there was hope of positive change and empowerment, politically and economically. But terra nullius is also a state of mind, as well as a legal doctrine, and there was a reluctance in some quarters, which still lingers, to accept the reality of native title.
More than two decades on from Mabo and its federal legislative response – the Native Title Act 1993 – the law has defined and often constrained the scope of native title, with dismay in some indigenous groups as to what native title has not delivered.
Is there still scope for native title to achieve positive change and empowerment for indigenous groups? What are the key priorities if native title is to realise some of the hopes engendered by the Mabo decision?
