NATIVE TITLE AGREEMENTS
661. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
My question is to the parliamentary
secretary representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
I refer to the meeting of this
house assembled on Wednesday, 17 June 2020, and specifically my address to the
Legislative Council at 1.04 pm. I also refer to the article in the National
Indigenous Times of 21 June 2020 by Wayne Bergmann titled ''Rio
Tinto silencing Traditional Owners in agreement making process''.
(1) If the minister is not aware of
the items referenced, will he please avail himself of them?
(2) Does the
minister understand that such limitations placed on traditional owners are a standard
feature of the current commercial agreements?
(3) Is it
conscionable that such agreements circumvent protections under the Racial
Discrimination Act and other instruments that ensure equal dignity and liberty
under law for traditional owners?
(4) Does the minister understand that such agreements
deny access, guardianship and authority over a citizen's
ancestral country and waters?
(5) If yes to (4), what can be done
to resolve the issue?
(6) Will the
minister call for a royal commission into the manner in which industry has
manipulated the Native Title Act to circumvent the Racial Discrimination Act?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The member addressed his question to the parliamentary
secretary representing the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Of course,
honourable member, I, as Minister for Environment, represent the Minister for
Aboriginal Affairs, not the parliamentary secretary. I further advise that the
following information has been provided to me by the Minister for Aboriginal
Affairs.
(1)–(6) The
minister is aware that traditional owners and land use proponents, including
mining companies, enter into native title agreements in relation to matters
that impact on the heritage of those traditional owners. The minister has
previously stated that he wants to see impacts to Aboriginal sites limited to
the most practical extent possible and is
also a great believer in self-determination for Aboriginal people and supports
native title groups using their rights to
make agreements with land users. He is cautious about governments and well-meaning third parties interfering in
private negotiations, whether by registered native title holders or
other Aboriginal bodies that choose to enter into agreements in relation to
their country. Neither the minister nor the Department of Planning, Lands and
Heritage is privy to such agreements.