Editing Native title in Australia (section)

====1972–1976: ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act'' ====
In the wake of ''Milirrpum'' and the election of the [[Whitlam government]] in 1972, the [[Aboriginal Land Rights Commission]] (also known as the Woodward Royal Commission) was established in 1973 to inquire into appropriate ways to recognise Aboriginal land rights in the [[Northern Territory]]. Prime Minister [[Gough Whitlam]] introduced a new policy of Aboriginal [[self-determination]], and initiatives such as the Aboriginal Land Fund and the [[National Aboriginal Consultative Committee]] was set up. The latter consisted of elected Aboriginal representatives, who would advise the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. The Whitlam government introduced legislation later passed by the [[Fraser government]] as the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976'',<ref name=Brock>{{cite book|title=Colonialism and its Aftermath: A history of Aboriginal South Australia|url=https://www.wakefieldpress.com.au/product.php?productid=1385|publisher=[[Wakefield Press (Australia)|Wakefield Press]]|isbn= 9781743054994|date=2017|editor1-first=Peggy|editor1-last=Brock|editor2-first=Tom|editor2-last=Gara|chapter=3. From segregation to self-determination in the twentieth century|first1=Peggy|last1=Brock|first2=Tom|last2=Gara|page=57}}</ref><ref name="Aboriginal Land Rights Act">{{cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|alrta1976444|Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976}}.</ref> which established a procedure to transfer almost 50 per cent of land in the Northern Territory (around 600,000 km2) to collective Aboriginal ownership.<ref name="dfat.gov.au">{{cite web|website=[[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)]]|url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/indigenous_land_rights.html|title= Aboriginal land rights and native title|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126061620/http://dfat.gov.au/facts/indigenous_land_rights.html |archive-date=26 January 2012|access-date= 30 January 2012}}</ref> The Fraser government continued to implement many of the previous government's initiatives, under the description "self-management" rather than self-determination.<ref name=Brock/>