Category Archives: Customary Land

Traditional Customary ways versus Western materialism

May 10, 2023Cultural Value, Customary Land, UncategorizedCustomary Land Solutions

This episode of of The Customary Land Podcast explores worldviews constitute the ‘Plurality of Registers‘ and the tension of navigating between customary and traditional relations to land as ‘ours’ versus the western materialism of possessive individualism that sees land as ‘mine’.

In part, this episode is triggered by the anachronism of a coronation in 2023, particularly when former empire and commonwealth is viewed from the plundered and brutalised indigenous perspective. The associated myth, embeddedness and tradition leads me to reflect on our recent proposal for a CLS team to review the role in Fiji of a contemporary Great Council of Chiefs to lead iTaukei society. These two events provide a segue to look at the customary counterpoint of the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence Alliance (MILDA) from the perspective of Joel Simo (Symoh Joel) in a talk he gave at a meeting of AID/Watch in Sydney (14 November 2014 – the transcript is on pp.11-14 of this paper). As outlined in their Declarations, MILDA are against and form of land registration or leasing of customary land. This is a view that is reinforced by Act Now in PNG (see their 90 second very powerful video on ‘The Real Value of Customary Land‘). I also refer to the Declaration and Resolutions of the 2002 South Pacific Land Tenure Conflict Symposium.

You can access all of The Customary Land Podcast episodes using this link or listen in your favourite podcast player. For those of you who prefer to watch a video version, it is provided here.

The Timber Creek Case – Property Rights Insights – Boydell & Sheehan 20 March 2019

In this launch episode of Property Rights ‘Insights’ I take the opportunity to discuss the High Court of Australia Decision of 13 March 2019 in what is known as the ‘Timber Creek Case’ with my colleague Professor John Sheehan AM. The High Court upheld Justice Mansfields approach to recognising ‘Customary Value’ as a major component of compensation under the Native Title Act. John has been involved in many Native Title Assessments for compensation on indigenous land over the last 20 years and in many ways the Timber Creek Case, which is the first compensation case of its kind to navigate the Federal Court system, serves to validate his approach to solatium, special indigenous value, or ‘cultural value’ as it is called in this case. We also discuss the applicability to this Australian High Court decision for customary land owners in other countries.

Our conversation should he viewed in conjunction with the full decision, which can be accessed at http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2019/HCA/7

Northern Territory v Mr A. Griffiths (deceased) and Lorraine Jones on behalf of the Ngaliwurru and Nungali Peoples
Commonwealth of Australia v Mr A. Griffiths (deceased) and Lorraine Jones on behalf of the Ngaliwurru and Nungali Peoples Mr A. Griffiths (deceased) and Lorraine Jones on behalf of the Ngaliwurru and Nungali Peoples v Northern Territory [2019]

HCA 7 13 March 2019

D1/2018, D2/2018 & D3/2018

Comments are turned off for this video. If you want to discuss the case further with John or I, please reach out to us via Contact us or via https://customarylandsolutions.com/contact-us/

15 years on, Siwatibau’s wisdom on land tenure in his SPLTC Symposium welcome address remains as valid as ever.

Transforming Land Conflict – FAO/USP/RICS Foundation South Pacific Land Conflict Symposium Welcome Address by the late Savenaca Siwatibau, Vice Chancellor, University of the South Pacific – 10 April 2002.

The video can also be viewed in YouTube at https://youtu.be/gvjpFG9mCK0

Caveat: this was recorded live in Fiji in 2002 on VHS – the video aspect is 4:3 and there has been some deterioration in the magnetic tape so please be patient with screen flickers.

The full transcript is available Savenaca Siwatibau – Welcome Address – SPLTC Symposium – Full Transcript (opens PDF).

The Symposium ‘Declaration and Resolutions’ is available her SPLTC Symposium – Official Declaration and Resolutions (opens PDF).

CASLE / UTS: APCCRPR / IAAPLPR Pacific Regional Symposium a huge success

Over 50 delegates participated in the CASLE / UTS: APCCRPR / IAAPLPR Pacific Regional Symposium on Land and Property Rights in the South Pacific in Honiara, Solomon Islands, last week (5-7 August 2014). Hosted by the Solomon Islands Government Ministry of Lands, Housing and Survey, and with a £6,500 grant from the Commonwealth Foundation, the symposium was facilitated by four members of the UTS: Asia-Pacific Centre for Complex Real Property Rights: Prof. Spike Boydell, Prof. John Sheehan, Ulai Baya and Mike McDermott.

Deputy PM, the Hon Manasseh Maelanga MP, opens the Symposium on 5 August.
L-R: Mike McDermott, Prof John Sheehan, Stanley Waleanisia, Hon Manasseh Maelanga, Prof Spike Boydell, Ulai Baya, Buddley Ronnie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqNOo0ARGEI

There was heated debate about Climate Change and land issues in the Pacific Region, Land Resource Compensation, Using Property Trusts and Leases to support Customary Landowners, and Carbon Property Rights. Each session had a workshop component (see photos below) and there were two comprehensive case studies on Land Compensation (Tina Hydro team) and Land Policy Intervention (Vanuatu Land Program team).

For more video, images and the delegate resource pack, please click on the CASLE / UTS: APCCRPR / IAAPLPR Symposium page (tab above).

Fiji parties urged to outline land policy ahead of poll – ABC News 24

June 25, 2014Customary Land, Fiji, Fiji Elections, iTLTB, Leases, Property RightsAiyaz Sayad-Khaiyum, customary land, Fiji, Fiji Election, iTaukei, Leases, Property rightsCustomary Land Solutions

Following on from his 7th June editorial in the Fiji Times, Professor Spike Boydell has been interviewed by ABC correspondent Sean Dorney for this item on ABC News 24 ‘The World’, which first aired on 24 June 2014. It also includes comments from the Attorney General Aiyaz Sayad-Khaiyum and Prof Satish Chand. The link to the piece on the ABC website is available here.

“What people want is stability and land is central to that stability.” (Spike Boydell)

Call for Land Policies ahead of Fiji Elections – ABC Pacific Beat

June 25, 2014Customary Land, Fiji, Fiji Elections, iTLTB, Leases, Property RightsFiji Election, iTaukei, Land, Leases, political parties, Property rightsCustomary Land Solutions

Professor Spike Boydell has been interviewed on ABC Radio Australia about the need for political parties in Fiji to explain their land policies ahead of the elections. A transcript of the interview is available here. The full piece on ABC Radio Australia – Pacific Beat – first aired on 24 June 2013 is available here.

Why land is central to Fiji’s future stability

June 7, 2014Customary Land, Fiji, Fiji Elections, iTLTB, NLTBFiji, Fiji Election, Fiji Land, iTaukei, iTaukei Land Trust Board, iTLTB, Leases, political parties, Property rights, VanuaCustomary Land Solutions

With 100 days to go to the Fiji elections in September, none of the political parties have yet explained in their manifesto’s how they will deal with land (indeed, where are the manifesto’s?). In his feature editorial in the Fiji Times on Saturday 7th June, Spike Boydell highlights that being clear on land issues, having equitable leases that are fit for purpose at market rents, and respecting the paramountcy of iTaukei land – the vanua – is central to long term economic and political stability in Fiji.

Read the full article here.

Pacific Regional Symposium – Land and Property Rights in the South Pacific – Honiara 5-7 August 2014

April 24, 2014Customary LandCarbon Property Rights, CASLE, Climate Change, Honiara, IAAPLPR, Land, Land Trusts, Leases, Property rights, Resource Compensation, Solomon Islands, South Pacific, Symposium, UTS: APCCRPRCustomary Land Solutions

CLS members Spike Boydell, Ulai Baya and John Sheehan are co-facilitating the Pacific Regional Symposium – Land and Property Rights in the South Pacific – Honiara 5-7 August 2014 (flyer & registration form) with Mike McDermott.

This Symposium is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE), the University of Technology, Sydney: Asia-Pacific Centre for Complex Real Property Rights (UTS: APCCRPR) and the International Academic Association for Planning Law and Property Rights (IAAPLPR). It is being hosted by the Solomon Islands Ministry of Lands, Housing and Surveys. It has been made possible through a small grant from the Commonwealth Foundation and the support of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Surveys.

This is the second regional Land and Property Rights symposium co-facilitated by the UTS: APCCRPR and the IAAPLPR.

Please click on the highlighted text above, or the image on the left for more information.

The CLS site will be the digital repository for the symposium resources and video record of the event. If you are unable to attend, but would like to be notified when the resources are online, please complete the following contact form:

Managing customary land in Fiji – Ulai Baya and Spike Boydell ask ‘is the current trust structure fit for purpose?’

December 1, 2013Customary Land, Fiji, iTLTB, NLTBCustomary Land Solutions

Speaking at the Fiji Institute of Valuation and Estate Management Conference on 30 November 2013, Ulai Baya presented a paper that questioned if the current trust structure is fit for purpose in managing customary land in Fiji. Drawing on research that Ulai conducted with Spike Boydell, he highlighted that the good governance of customary land remains central to all aspects of life in contemporary Fiji. Fiji has recorded genealogies since the 1880s and is arguably better placed than its Melanesian neighbours to deal with external influences seeking access to customary land for commercial gain (including mineral exploration, forestry, palm oil, agriculture and tourism). Commercially, Fiji has benefited from the establishment of the Native Land Trust Board (NLTB) in the 1940s as a quasi-governmental body that has administered all customary land in Fiji on behalf of indigenous groups and changed its name to the iTaukei Land Trust Board (iTLTB) in 2011.

The iTLTB has demonstrated in Fiji that leasing is an instrument that can render the freedom of doing business on customary owned land. Our research identifies that there is a need to review the lease management functions of the iTLTB to align it to contemporary land based development in Fiji. There is a need to balance the land based economic drivers of the national economy on one hand with the needs and aspirations of registered landowning units on the other.

This paper critically examines the progressive approach towards the administration and control of customary land in Fiji given the “all and inclusive” sui generis nature of customary property. After discussion how iTLTB is adapting to operational changes we proffer recommendations for the reform of lease terms, management and ownership of improvements on customary land, the rental basis and valuation models, to ensure that it remains a viable institution to protect customary interests into the future.

A PDF copy of the presentation is available here.