Thinking about the value of extinguished native title rights and interests

Nearly six years ago, Jon Altman provided expert evidence in the Timber Creek Native Title Compensation case.

He argued that just terms as constitutionally defined could neither imagine nor encompass the entirety of native title rights and interests and proposed a radical alternative based on his research.

His evidence was given little attention by Mansfield J in his judgment and did not figure in subsequent appeals.

In this seminar, Jon critically reflects on the content and quality of his evidence in light of recently published observations by Mansfield J and a request from AIATSIS's Native Title Research Unit to engage with his observations.

In particular, Jon is interested to explore how non-market economic values and lost opportunities might be compensated; and to what extent Timber Creek as a test case was the first, rather than last, legal say on the matter of compensation.

About the Speaker

Jon Altman has a background in economic and anthropology and a long-standing interest in developmental leverage that might be generated by land rights and native title, including from compensation payments made for the unjust loss of native title rights and interests. He is an emeritus professor based at RegNet and an adjunct professor at the Jumbunna Institute at UTS.

COVID protocols

•     As there is a maximum capacity for this venue, registration is mandatory for this event. Please register here.
•     Places are offered on a first come, first served basis.
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•     If you do not register, it is possible you may not be accommodated should you attend on the day.
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Image of Timber Creek by Thomas Jundt on flickr, with CC BY-NC 2.0 permissions.