Even as Prime Minister John Howard breathed a sigh of relief yesterday, cracks began to appear in the compromise deal on native title legislation which he hammered out with independent senator Brian Harradine.
Both Aboriginal and farming lobby groups went on the offensive, leaving observers wondering whether the final plan was a victory for common sense or a piece of paper that would create more difficulties than it solved.
The first attack came from Aboriginal leaders who had earlier cautiously welcomed the agreement on a law defining their people's rights over ancestral lands now held by the Government and leased out for farming and mining.
Gavin Andrews, of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, claimed indigenous people felt betrayed by the deal on the Wik legislation.
Richie Ahmat, chairman of the Cape York Land Council, predicted the compromise agreement would create havoc and lead to further litigation.
He said the key sticking point, over the Aborigines' right to negotiate, had been resolved with an unworkable 'mish-mash' deal.
Another Aboriginal leader claimed Australia's indigenous people had been made political footballs because Mr Harradine and Mr Howard made the deal 'with the One Nation problem hanging over their heads'.
