Thirty years ago today the Native Title Act became law, the stated goal being to uplift and enrich indigenous communities. This was a case of good intentions at odds with history. Earlier, after the Gurindjis gained title, they swapped life and work on a productive cattle station for welfare, and they were not alone. By 1990, 30 other stations had also been abandoned, as Quadrant reported in 2012
In his latest book, Fact and Fiction, Nicholas Hasluck draws upon the diaries he kept while serving as a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. These provide not only a picture of judicial life but also an account of writing Dismissal, his novel about the final days of the Whitlam government. What follows are thoughts and recollectionss on the events of and before November 11, 1975