No clear title; a reply

In 'No Clear Title' (Quadrant, January/ February 1979), P.W. Nichols takes issue with some of the main points I made in my article Title to their Land' (Quadrant, September 1978). His article is in effect an attack on the concept of Aboriginal Land Rights in general, and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act in particular. Though Mr Nichols states that his main aim is to attempt to reconcile Aboriginal and European concepts of ownership, his main argument comes close to being a denial of justice to Aborigines. Moreover, many of the 'facts' he uses in support of his thesis are open to question.