Process Unite - A Comprehensive Settlement. What does it mean?
- puea75
- Aug 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 20
Process Unite will be seeking a comprehensive settlement on behalf of participating Traditional Owner groups within the Girringun region.
What is a comprehensive settlement?
A comprehensive settlement is much more than land rights. It also recognises cultural and economic loss.
It can give compensation packages, rights to cultural activities and land management agreements. Compensation could establish a future foundation or trust to look after future generations of our peoples.
Our Senior Elders believe this is the only way to make a difference to the health and economic well-being of our people and Close the Gap outcomes.
Better Health
We could fund our own:
dialysis machines
on Country birthing centres
on Country healing programs.
Better Housing
We could build our own:
on Country housing
culturally appropriate aged care homes
Better outcomes
We could manage our own:
education programs
traditional resources (managing commercial fishing operations)
culture and language programs.
According to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTAR), comprehensive settlements can include not only a transfer of land, as in a Native Title decision, but also compensation packages, rights to cultural activities, land management agreements and more.
Compensation can be negotiated with state, federal or local governments.
Comprehensive settlements can provide much more real benefit to Traditional Owners than Native Title agreements. They are a way that we can achieve economic, cultural and political independence. There are already some different examples of comprehensive settlements around Australia.
The Timber Creek compensation case was the first case to award compensation for spiritual or cultural loss and economic loss. You can read more here:
ANTAR also has some examples of other comprehensive settlements negotiated by other Traditional Owner groups. You can read more about them here:
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