National Parks 1788-present
From 1879, laws set aside areas of land as National Parks. They did not include provisions for the involvement of Aboriginal people in their management. In recent decades, laws and policies have introduced mechanisms that facilitate Aboriginal people’s ownership and co-management of some National Parks.
In 1879, the Royal National Park was the first national park to be established in NSW under the Crown Lands Alienation Act 1861 (NSW) (). It had the role of ‘providing recreation for a mushrooming population’ (), as well as providing public health benefits in response to urban living conditions and polluted air and water (). Aboriginal people were not referenced or included in the park’s management.
Until 1967 there was no specific legislation for national parks, although other lands reserved under Crown land laws for the purpose of ‘public recreation’ were sometimes known as national parks.
In 1967, the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1967 (NSW) () established a number of national parks (alongside other conservation areas) and provided for the ability to reserve further national parks. The government had to prepare a management plan for each park, considering objectives like appropriate use, preserving natural conditions, protecting special features, conserving wildlife, and designating wilderness areas. Zoned wilderness areas prioritised wilderness preservation, with limited access and controls on human activities. Aboriginal people’s interests were not referenced.
In 1969, the National Parks and Wildlife Act was changed to allow the dedication of an ‘Aboriginal area’ to protect ‘relics’ (), however this relates to Aboriginal cultural heritage and did not give Aboriginal people any particular role in managing or accessing national parks or protecting Aboriginal areas.
In 1974, the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NSW) () replaced the previous national parks law. The relevant law remained substantially the same, although state parks became classified as national parks. Aboriginal people were not referenced in relation to managing or accessing national parks.
It has been said that NSW national parks law ‘has traditionally used the “museum” approach, where tracts of land are “locked” away, usually precluding settlements, promoting public ownership and government control. This approach overlooks the fact that indigenous people have been managing their environment for over 60,000 years’ ().
In 1980, the Keane Report (a report of a Parliamentary Committee’s Inquiry into Aboriginal people in NSW) noted the weakness of the National Parks legislation in relation to ‘protected sites’ was that ‘the protection of sites does not require Aboriginal involvement – nor even consultation’ ().
In 1983, the Aboriginal community’s blockade of Mootwingee National Park (now called Mutawintji National Park), in the far west of NSW, led to the importance of joint management of National Parks between Aboriginal people and the government being more widely recognised ().
In 1996, a process for culturally significant lands, like Mutawintji, to be handed back to Aboriginal people and managed by a majority Aboriginal owner board became law (). This was partly in response to the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody which recommended the involvement of Aboriginal people in the development of management plans for national parks, granting access to Aboriginal people to national parks and nature reserves for subsistence hunting, fishing and the collection of material for cultural purposes, and the reservation of areas of land within national parks to which Aboriginal peoples have access for ceremonial purposes () ().
The law recognised the cultural significance of certain lands set out in ‘Schedule 14’ to the National Parks and Wildlife Act and provided a process for Aboriginal Land Councils to negotiate with the Government for those lands to be owned by a Land Council on behalf of the Aboriginal owners of the land, leased back to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and managed by the majority Aboriginal owner management board ().
The law also provided for a similar leaseback arrangement for lands claimed under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) for land that would be granted by the Minister except for the fact that the land is needed for nature conservation ().
Four of the seven areas recognised in ‘Schedule 14’ as having particular cultural significance have been returned and are now the following National Parks:
- Mutawintji National Park in 1998 ()
- Mount Grenfell Historic Site in 2004 ()
- Biamanga and Gulaga National Park in 2006 (, )
In addition, two areas have been returned following Aboriginal land claims under the Land Rights Act:
- Worimi Conservation Lands in 2007 ()
- Gaagal Wanggaan National Park in 2010 ()
It has been noted that in some instances decisions of majority Aboriginal owner management boards have not been implemented and there are issues with funding these parks’ core operational budget ().
In 1992, the Mabo decision () and subsequent Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) () meant the law could recognise Aboriginal people’s rights and interests in some NSW lands. Native title has been recognised in some National Parks in NSW, including the right to hunt, fish and gather and to access and camp on the land (, , ).
In 1998, amendments to the Native Title Act introduced the ability for native title holders and the government to enter into Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) about the use and management of land. ILUAs have been used in NSW to set out a native title group’s involvement in managing and using National Park lands. For example, the Arakwal National Park, which was the first National Park to be created under an ILUA (, ) and the Githabul ILUA, which covers over 112,000 hectares of national park and forest land ().
The NSW Government has also entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with Aboriginal groups regarding the management of culturally significant protected areas including national parks (eg ). For example, there are two MOUs listed on the NSW Environment and Heritage site in relation to national parks:
- Kinchega National Park in 2010 ()
- Paroo Darling National Park in 2010 ().
The law and policy in this subject is accurate as of 31 July 2024.