The heavy footprint of the mining sector is compounded by the legal limitations of the native title regime, the often controversial and secretive nature of mining agreements and the fact that the cards are heavily stacked against the Aboriginal people who are concerned about or would prefer to see no mining on their country.
And underpinning all is a more fundamental question: why should Indigenous communities have to trade away their land for basic citizenship entitlements that other Australians take for granted? What about the many, many Indigenous communities that do not have mineral riches underneath their country or who cannot prove to the satisfaction of a non-Aboriginal court that they have a connection to that country?
The question that looms large is how can we have a mining boom alongside deeply entrenched Indigenous disadvantage and still ensure healthy country and communities for future generations. For the answer to this we need to listen more closely to the voices of Indigenous leaders.
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