Aboriginal Autonomy: Issues and Strategies

After more than two hundred years, one of the most important moral issues facing Australian society in the 1990s remains the need for reconciliation with its indigenous people. In this selection of essays, H. C. Coombs reflects on the nature of Aboriginal identity and the importance of autonomy for Australiaas Aboriginal people. He also suggests strategies by which self-determination might be achieved in practice. Many of the chapters have been written especially for this volume - including one in which Dr Coombs makes a thoughtful and provocative contribution to the Mabo debate, linking the High Courtas historic 1992 decision on native title to prospects for Aboriginal autonomy. Dr Coombs writes with the conviction that mainstreama Australia stands to gain as much, if not more, than Aboriginal people from the fulfilment of Aboriginal aspirations. It is a personal and passionate plea for a just society, from one of white Australia's most influential and eloquent advocates of self-determination for its indigenous people.

After a long and distinguished career of public service, Dr H.C. Coombs is a Visiting Fellow of the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies and the North Australian Research Unit at the Australian National University. A former Governor of the Reserve Bank and a Chancellor of the Australian National University, he has also been Chairman of the Australian Council for Aboriginal Affairs, the Australia Council and the Elizabethan Theatre Trust.