Certain State Governments granted interests in land without reference to the Act. Nevertheless, the Tribunal's first national audit of native title agreements, released in September 1998, revealed that over the previous five years more than 1200 agreements had been struck between Indigenous groups and miners, pastoralists, industry bodies and governments. Agreements, and the development of a culture of agreement-making, are just as significant outcomes of the NTA as formal determinations of native title. For it to have any meaning to Indigenous people and indeed to the Australian nation as a whole then native title must be seen for what it is. It is a special form of land title.
Native title is about family and community.
It is about country, culture and law. It is about the right to live and die on traditional country. It is about the right to visit the graves of your forebears. It's about the right to teach your children their responsibilities as traditional owners. It is about our fundamental rights as Indigenous people.