Indigenous Rights in Freshwater: Mapping the Contested Space in Australia, New Zealand and Canada

Indigenous water rights are emerging as a critical contemporary issue in many countries. In Australia, New Zealand and Canada legal progress in this field has been slow, expensive and selectively dispute driven - and policy progress has been piecemeal, fragile, and often focused on procedure over substance. Yet the socio-political context for consideration of these issues has changed – particularly through the ongoing development of international Indigenous rights standards, the strengthening of local Indigenous voices, and improving public understanding of the issues. A common thread is the resurgence of Indigenous laws and knowledges – which has produced some renaissance in Australian native title doctrine, a re-framing of questions in New Zealand in terms of Māori laws and governance rights, and some ‘occupation’ of recognition space in Canada through the assertion of jurisdiction and traditional legal authority. These are potentially significant developments as regards the contested space of freshwater. Each opens new opportunities for Indigenous voices to be better heard and understood.