…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
Eddie Mabo (1936 – 1993) pictured above, left. On 3 June, 1992, the High Court of Australia ruled that the doctrine of terra nullius was a legal fiction and that the native people had good title which pre-dated European conquest.
Continue readingReforesting Scotland is planning to launch an exciting campaign to celebrate, protect, expand and enjoy the world of hutting in Scotland. For decades, ordinary people have enjoyed the freedom to enjoy the countryside in simple huts. However, too many have
Continue readingOK, In 2007, I prepared a paper on proposals for land reform in the 3rd session of the Scottish Parliament. The SNP Government did nothing. Last month I wrote another paper for Scottish Community Alliance on the way ahead for
Continue readingUPDATE 9 April 2011 Actually, the error I identify below (over-estimate of LVT revenue by £123 million) doesn’t look like an error on further examination. The land values in my original report were from January 2009 (the Valuation Office) and
Continue readingI watched Roseanna Cunningham giving evidence to Rural Affairs Committee on 2 March in response to research that the Committee had commissioned into the operation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. She was clearly up for radical change to
Continue readingReform Scotland today published an interesting report on reform of the planning system to help solve the housing crisis. Well worth a read.
Continue readingBelow is the video of my evidence session at the Scottish Affairs Committee of the House of Commons yesterday, 9 February 2011. My evidence starts at 16:13:30 [link broken July 2024]
Continue readingThis meeting of the Scottish Affairs Committee on 2 February 2011 contains interesting evidence from Professor Sir Kenneth Calman and Professor Jim Gallagher relating to the Crown Estate from 15:33 to 15:44. A written transcript is not yet available (9
Continue reading(This Comment piece was published in The Herald on 4 February 2010.) The debate in England about the future of the public forest estate is now causing some serious discomfort for the coalition government as MPs are flooded with letters
Continue readingToday I submitted my written evidence to the Scotland Bill Committee of the Scottish Parliament. I am calling for the Crown Estate Commissioners to be removed from any role in the administration of Scotland’s Crown rights. This is a historic
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