CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The Committee's Duty
1.1 This report is prepared pursuant to s.206(c) of the Native Title
Act 1993 (hereafter the Act) as amended by the Land Fund and Indigenous
Land Corporation (ATSIC Amendment) Act 1995 (hereafter the ATSIC Amendment
Act). That section requires the Committee to report at its discretion
to both Houses of Parliament on matters to which Parliament's attention
should be directed about annual reports prepared by the President of the
National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) or by any person under Part 4A of
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989 (hereafter
the ATSIC Act).
Reports Under Consideration
1.2 Three annual reports prepared pursuant to s. 206(c) of the Native
Title Act 1993 are examined in this report. They are the NNTT Annual Report
1996/97, the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) Annual Report 1996-97 and
the report regarding the administration of the Land Fund for the period
1996-97. The Land Fund report is not separately documented, but is attached
to ATSIC's Annual Report 1996-97 as Appendix 11. It is also appended to
the ILC report as Appendix 1.
NNTT
1.3 In its second, fourth and ninth reports, this Committee reported
on the Tribunal's first three annual reports. The fourth annual report
of the NNTT, that for 1996-97, was tabled in the Senate and the House
of Representatives on 30 October 1997.
ILC and Land Fund
1.4 The statutory requirements for the ILC annual report are found in
s.193K of the ATSIC Act, which applies the requirements found in s.63H
of the Audit Act 1901 to the ILC.
1.5 The 1996-97 ILC report and the 1996-97 Land Fund report are the third
such publications produced. The previous reports prepared pursuant to
Part 4A of the ATSIC Act were examined by this Committee in its fifth
and eighth reports. The third annual report of the ILC (with the Land
Fund report appended) was tabled in the House of Representatives on 23
October and in the Senate on 28 October 1997.The Land Fund report responds
to ATSIC's responsibility to keep accounts and prepare financial statements
for the Land Fund under s.193H of the ATSIC Act. ATSIC also has investment
powers in relation to the Land Fund. The ATSIC annual report for 1996-97
(containing the Land Fund Report) was tabled in the Senate and the House
of Representatives on 29 October 1997.
Public Hearings
1.6 1.7 The Committee did not consider it necessary to hold public hearings
prior to the preparation of this report. Nevertheless, the Committee is
grateful to the NNTT, the ILC and ATSIC for the continuation of the cooperation
that has previously been enjoyed in regard to the scrutiny of their annual
reports.
Committee Report
1.8 This report was adopted by the Committee at a private meeting on
3 June 1998. The report considers the NNTT annual report at Chapter 2,
the Land Fund report at Chapter 3 and the ILC annual report at Chapter
4.
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