David Russell discusses Native Title Act and the challenges this posed to National Party members. He discusses gun control debates with the Howard Government.
Warren Pitt states his greatest achievement from his time in Communities was the development of an inclusive and open culture. He discusses his views on alcohol management.
Tom Barton outlines his work on the Cape York Conservation Zone, the backlash from the local non-Indigenous community and the collapse of the scheme when Labor lost government.
Tom Barton outlines becoming Minister for Environment and Heritage in the context of the 1995 election commitments made by the Goss Government, the Coastal Protection Management Act and the Daintree Rescue Project.
Ross Rolfe recalls how in the 1980s the federal department had been involved in obtaining secure land title for Aboriginal people who had lived on reserves and Town and Country Reserves. Johnny Koowarta had successfuly taken the Queensland government to the High Court over the pastoral lease at Archer Bend, which in response was turned into the Archer Bend National Park (now Mungkan Kanju National Park). The Commonwealth then purchased an adjacent pastoral property in Cape York called Meripah Station which became the first pastoral lease transferred to Aboriginal people.
