Anna Gibson, Lilly Alexander, Kristine Tay and Jessica Solla
On Wednesday 3 June 1992, six High Court judges reached a decision that legally recognised the rights of Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo as a Traditional Owner of Mer (Murray Island), rejected terra nullius, and recognised the existence of native title for the first time in Australia’s common law.
Twenty years on, native title remains the only nationwide framework through which Indigenous Australians can apply for legal recognition of their traditional rights and interests to lands and waters.
In two decades, despite the finalisation of 134 determinations of native title, there are still 442 active claimant applications yet to be finalised. Not only are these figures demonstrative of the lengthy process behind each and every native title outcome, they are indicative of the amount of work yet to be done.
Today, fifteen Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) across Australia are working to prepare a portion of these 442 native title applications. Though the quantity of work in this sector is monumental, the staffing remains, at best, limited.
For over half a decade, the Aurora Project has introduced high achieving Anthropology, Social Science and Law students to the native title sector, providing much needed support for representative bodies, in addition to valuable work experience for students and graduates.
Extended to 62 other Indigenous affairs organisations, the Aurora Internship Program has facilitated nearly 1,000 internships to date. The 2012 winter round saw seven Monash interns placed at NTRBs and other host organisations working in the area, across Australia.
Law student Anna Gibson was placed at the NTRB for Victoria, Native Title Services Victoria (NTSV). Anna worked on a single claim under the recently enacted Traditional Owner Settlement Act (Vic), enabling her to learn about the diversity of issues that are negotiated under a settlement agreement with the State. Such matters included: defining the boundaries of the settlement area, involving negotiations with other traditional owner groups; the drafting of a ‘statement of recognition’ of traditional ownership; developing protocols for acknowledging Traditional Owners and for conducting ‘welcomes to country’; negotiating terms for land use and management and for economic development; and identifying capacity building opportunities and group participation within the claim area. For Anna, spending time working with members of the claimant group and drafting parts of the agreement brought the law to life in a way her years of studying native title and related Indigenous issues cannot compare.
Kristine Tay, studying Law, Science and a Diploma in International Studies, headed to sunny Darwin for six weeks with the Northern Land Council (NLC). This NTRB represents Traditional Owners not only in native title, but also in a stronger form of land title unique to the Territory. This title, called Aboriginal Land, covers some 40% of the Territory. The internship allowed Kristine to gain insight into the legal team’s diversity (including negotiations on safari hunting, snakes and spiders, mining and joint management of parks) and offered a chance to meet Traditional Owners caring for country in remote locations.
Working in Indigenous affairs more broadly, Indigenous Studies and Anthropology student Jessica Solla was placed in the Aurora office in Sydney with the Charlie Perkins Trust for Children & Students. During her internship, Jessica was given the opportunity to travel to Darwin and the remote community of Wadeye for two weeks. There she worked alongside the Director of the Trust and the Project Officer, contributing to the development of Tooth Mob, which is a program designed to improve access to professional dental care in remote Indigenous communities. Jessica found the visit to Wadeye particularly enriching, as she was able to meet with locals and learn about the different organisations around the town. In Sydney, Jessica also attended meetings, prepared documents, and conducted a website audit. Working with a highly professional and dedicated team, Jessica learned a great deal from her Aurora internship, and found it an invaluable opportunity to gain experience during her undergraduate degree.
Second year Anthropology and Indigenous Studies student Lilly Alexander interned with Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council (NPYWC) in Alice Springs. NPYWC exists to protect and represent the interests of Indigenous women from the NPY tri-state region regarding domestic and family violence, youth, child nutrition, income management, traditional healing, retailing the women’s fibre art, reducing harms such as substance abuse, caring for the elderly, and people with a disability and those who are carer for them. Working closely with the Co-ordinator, Lilly worked to develop an initiative around encouraging the leadership capabilities of young women by finding viable strategies for employment and training in remote areas. Within this role she travelled to and conducted interviews in remote communities in South Australia, engaged with researchers and professionals at both local and federal levels of government as well as from other organisations, conducted research into welfare reform and compiled a report of her findings. The internship has sparked Lilly’s desire to contribute as a graduate to the further economic empowerment of Indigenous women in Australia.
Providing support to overworked and under-resourced Indigenous affairs and native title sectors, Aurora internships offer accessible and diverse work opportunities for students and graduates in Law and some Arts and Social Sciences. To date, 45% of full-time lawyers and 40% of full-time anthropologists employed at NTRBs are Aurora internship alumni. The mutually beneficial program between universities and Indigenous organisations is still growing, with applications for the 2012-13 summer round now open (closing 31 August 2012). For more information about the Aurora Project, or the Aurora internship program, visit www.auroraproject.com.au.
