The respondents who selected Issue L (‘other, please specify’) were invited to describe an
issue in their own words. The issues women cited in these responses as most important to
native title included: nepotism, corruption, lateral violence, lack of time to engage in processes,
secrecy, land council exclusivity, informal conflict resolution, incorrect and/or false connection
reports, and more. These issues echo those heard in the in‑depth interviews that my team and
I conducted for this Report. These issues are categorised under ‘other, please specify’ but are
no less significant than the other issues listed in Table 1.1.
My team and I analysed the top issues through a governance lens. As noted above, 21 of the
respondents were in governance roles within the native title sphere.
The priority issues between respondents who had said ‘yes’ to being part of native title
governance were largely aligned with those respondents who had said ‘no/unsure’.
Respondents who are involved in native title governance prioritised the following issues:
native title holders lack power under the Native Title Act
other laws like heritage laws do not protect native title holders
insufficient resources for PBCs.
Respondents who are not involved in native title governance or unsure of their involvement
prioritised the following issues:
no resources to heal from trauma which has surfaced in native title processes
native title holders lack power under the Native Title Act
unequal power dynamics with third parties (e.g. mining companies) funding negotiations.
The primary difference in priorities between these groups is clear in the overall preferencing
of Issues C and D (refer to above Table 1.1). Respondents who are not involved in native
title governance or unsure of their involvement prioritised these issues in their responses.
Respondents who are not involved in native title governance had this noticeably lower in their
ranking of priority issues.
(b) Women’s views of gendered experiences of native title
The survey results observed significant challenges and barriers for both men and women within
the native title landscape. Responses to questions in the survey that sought to understand
these issues through a gender lens provided insight into the different ways women can
experience challenges and barriers. That is, barriers for all First Nations people in native title are
exacerbated by the intersectional experience of being a First Nations woman. Several results
described this, including that the respondents felt that:
women are less supported to provide information for native title claims in a culturally-safe way
women bear the brunt of unpaid native title work
women’s business, roles and sites are comparatively less respected in native title
women are less able to participate in native title processes due to other family and
community commitments (see Table 3.1)
young women are less involved in native title than young men, and are less supported to
learn about and develop skills in the native title system.
Most survey respondents expressed that the native title system is culturally unsafe for all First
Nations peoples. However, they reported that this lack of cultural safety was more significant
for First Nations women.
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Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024