ABSTRACT
This chapter presents four case studies that profile different ways Aboriginal communities are building and contributing to a body of alternative planning work. The case of Redfern, in Sydney, provides an early example of the direct action and alliance-building necessary to assert and claim a presence in the middle of Australia’s foremost city. In Victoria’s south-west, the Gunditjmara have gained historic outcomes in environment and land management through their strategic use of court action and cultural heritage protection. In Broome, the Yawuru people have become a major planning stakeholder in this important regional city through their successful native title claim. In Perth, the settlement of the Noongar people’s claim will deliver a historic if controversial package of benefits. Each of these cases reveals the dilemmas associated with actions that seek to settle outstanding claims with the state, some of which present difficult compromises for Aboriginal communities.
