Scholars rubbish 'nonsense' claim that Indigenous rights referendum strips Australians of private land

"If the Referendum Goes Ahead. If It Gets a YES Vote and is Carried. All Land In Australia will Revert to Native Title," reads a screenshot shared on Facebook on May 18.

"You Will NOT Own the Land you paid for (your Title has been destroyed by both the Banks & The Government). You will be Forced To Pay RENT on Your Land. You Will no longer have Free Access To The Beach of Rivers or Forests."

"Do people not know this? Vote No!!!" the post's caption says.

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Screenshot of the false post, captured on June 28, 2023

The screenshot was also shared hundreds of times in Facebook pages calling on Australians to vote "No" in the referendum here, here and here.

The claim is "complete nonsense", Paul Kildea, a law lecturer at the University of New South Wales, told AFP on June 27.

'Voice' referendum

Kildea said the proposed "Voice" in parliament is a body which will give advice on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including native titles.

"The final say over law-making and decisions will remain with the government and the parliament," he added.

"No one can predict what the Voice will say," Australian National University law professor Ron Levy separately told AFP on July 4. "But there is no conceivable Australian government that, after listening to the Voice, would do what is being claimed here."

"People who are saying this are making a bizarre and wildly unlikely prediction about the future and dressing it up as being either likely or certain."

"This is a clever strategy for misinformation."

There is no mention of native titles in the constitutional amendment that will be voted on in the referendum expected by year's end (archived link).

Below is a screenshot of the referendum question and the proposed amendment posted on the website of the National Indigenous Australians Agency:

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Native title rights

Moreover, the posts misrepresent how native title rights are recognised in Australia.

These refer to a bundle of rights that may include "the right to camp, hunt, use water, hold meetings, perform ceremony and protect cultural sites," says a website managed by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (archived link).

Native title claims are considered by courts on a case-by-case basis using "demanding standards of proof", Kildea said.

Even when native title has been recognised, it does not mean exclusive land rights are granted, according to the AAIATSIS (archived link).

"If the rights of pastoralists, mining companies, federal government, or private owners come into conflict with native title rights, they supersede the native title rights," the national research body says.

A "Yes" vote in the referendum "would have no impact whatsoever on native title or the ability of people to access public spaces", Kildea added.

AFP has previously debunked similar posts falsely linking the Voice in parliament to private property rights.