Australian Human Rights Commission Australia and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Shadow report to the CERD Committee – 8 July 2010 6.12 Native Title (ICERD Articles 2, 5 and Declaration Articles 3,10,11,20,25,26, 27,28,29,32) 65. While the Commission welcomes the Government’s commitment to improving the operation of the native title system, recent legislative reforms do not overcome the system’s limitations. 60 For example, Indigenous peoples bear the burden of demonstrating continuity, from sovereignty to the present: 66. • of their society • in the observance of traditional laws and customs and • in the content of those laws and customs, to prove native title. This is despite the impact of colonisation. 61 The Committee expressed several concerns about the native title system in its 2005 Concluding Observations on Australia. 62 The Government’s Report does not sufficiently address the Committee’s concerns that: • the 1998 amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) rolled back protection of native title, and provide legal certainty for Government and third parties at the expense of native title • the burden of proof for Indigenous peoples in Australia continues to be a significant barrier to achieving a determination that native title exists. Recommendation 23: That the Australian Government take immediate steps to review the native title system and to implement measures to address the above concerns. Such measures should include amendments to the Native Title Act to provide for presumptions in favour of native title claimants, including a presumption of continuity in the acknowledgement and observance of traditional law and custom and of the relevant society. 63 6.13 Homelands (ICERD Article 5 and Declaration Articles 3,11,12,20,21) 67. Homelands are located on Aboriginal ancestral lands with cultural and spiritual significance to the Aboriginal people who live there. Homelands provide a healthy alternative living environment for Aboriginal people who want to avoid some of the problems that can be associated with living in larger regional centres. 64 Due to the relatively small populations of Homelands and their dispersal over large unpopulated regions homeland populations have been under-resourced and underfunded for many years. 68. Current government policy prioritises service delivery to 15-20 selected towns across the NT. This limits the delivery of services in homeland communities to existing homelands. No funding is being provided to construct housing on homelands, and most services are being made available through hub towns. 65 This could result in homeland communities being unable to access adequate housing, water, sanitation, power, education, and health 21