30th Nov 2021, 6:32 PM – Senate Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Economic Empowerment) Bill 2021 - Second Reading - Consultation issues

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read for a second time" - parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. This means the amendment failed.

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate notes that:

(a) this bill proposes the most substantial changes to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act since it commenced in 1976;

(b) an overwhelming majority of submitters to the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee's inquiry into this bill recommended that it not be passed, mainly due to insufficient and inadequate consultation about the changes contained in it;

(c) submitters to the inquiry noted that consultation during the bill's development was only conducted with Land Councils and no free, prior and informed consent was obtained from Traditional Owner communities and non-land holding First Nations people in the Northern Territory; and

(d) the Government has failed to conduct extensive, open, transparent, direct and independently facilitated consultation with all affected First Nations communities across the Northern Territory on this bill".

What is this bill about?

According to the bills digest, the bill's purpose "is to amend the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (the Act) in four areas, covered by four Schedules:

• Schedule 1 will establish the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation (NTAIC) as a new Aboriginal-controlled corporate Commonwealth entity to strategically invest in Aboriginal businesses and commercial projects and make other payments to or for the benefit of Aboriginal peoples in the NT
• Schedule 2 will amend the exploration and mining provisions of the Act in order to clarify and streamline a number of approval processes
• Schedule 3 will amend and clarify land administration provisions, including on township leases, access to Aboriginal land, land under escrow and other matters
• Schedule 4 will align payments from the Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA) with the Commonwealth’s financial framework and the timing of mineral royalties payments from the Northern Territory (NT)."