'Normalising' what?: A qualitative analysis of aboriginal land tenure reform in the Northern Territory

Few Indigenous policy initiatives have garnered more attention in the last decade than the reform of tenure arrangements on land owned under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) ('Land Rights Act') in the Northern Territory ('Aboriginal land'). Three principal reforms were introduced between 2006 and 2008 and have been implemented to varying degrees in the years since: long term (generally 99-year) leases to a federal government entity over whole communities located on Aboriginal land ('Township Leases'); the compulsory acquisition by the federal government of 5-year leases of Aboriginal land as part of the controversial intervention into Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory ('5-year Intervention Leases'); and 40-year leases of Aboriginal land to a Northern Territory government entity for housing and associated purposes ('40-year Housing Leases').