Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Section 206 of the Native Title Act 1993 (the Act) states
that one of the duties of the Parliamentary Joint Committee is:
(d) from time to time, to inquire into and, as soon as practicable
after the inquiry has been completed, to report to both Houses on:
(i) the effectiveness of the National Native Title Tribunal; and
(ii) the extent to which there are recognised State/Territory bodies;
and
(iii) the appropriateness of powers of delegation exercisable by
the Registrar under this Act; and
(iv) the extent of extinguishment or impairment of native title rights
and interests as a result of the operation of this Act; and
(v) the operation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Land Fund established by Part 10; and
(vi) the effect of the operation of this Act on land management;
and
(vii) the operation of the Indigenous Land Corporation and the Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund established by Part 4A of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989.
1.2 As originally passed, Section 206(d) began: 'at the end of two years
…' although this was amended by the Native Title Amendment Act
1998 to 'from time to time …'. In that these matters could have
been considered two years after the commencement of the relevant Part
of the Act, the Committee could have commenced its inquiry pursuant to
this duty in 1996. The reasons for delays to the inquiry relate to court
judgments in certain significant cases (such as Wik [1])
and the protracted period during which amendments to the Act were proposed
and considered in the Parliament. The Native Title Amendment Bill 1995
was introduced in November 1995, followed by the Native Title Amendment
Bill 1996 in June 1996; and the Native Title Amendment Bill 1997 was not
passed by the Senate until 8 July 1998.
1.3 In July 1998, having considered that it was then appropriate to proceed
with the inquiry, the Committee decided to commence with a Conference
at Parliament House. Given the Federal election in 1998, the Conference
could not be held until 12 March 1999. A range of speakers from a wide
spectrum of concern about native title was invited to present papers on
that day.
1.4 It should be emphasised that the most significant issues relating
to the inquiry include the effectiveness of the National Native Title
Tribunal (NNTT), the extent of extinguishment of native title rights,
the effect of the Act on land management and the operation of the Indigenous
Land Corporation and the Land Fund. The Committee is most grateful for
the participation of so many speakers at the Conference; the transcript
of the proceedings is included at Appendix 1 to this report and the submissions
received are reproduced at Appendix 2.
1.5 It is also important to note that this report of the Conference presents
the background against which the Committee began to receive public evidence
for the s.206(d) inquiry. That is, the report is limited to providing
information that was useful to the Committee in preparing for the Conference;
it is, of course, now dated. Much of this report is not original; it was
prepared largely from public documents and has been based only in part
on evidence provided to the Committee. Some information presented in this
report presents material from previously published documentation including:
- Commentary on the Native Title Act 1993 published as a preface
to the Native Title Act 1993
- Legal Practice Briefing Attorney-General's Legal Practice Number
11, 29 April 1994
- Aboriginal Law Bulletin Vol.3 No.73 April 1995
- Legal Implications of the High Court Decision in THE WIK PEOPLES
v QUEENSLAND Current Advice The Attorney-General's Legal Practice
23 January 1997
- The Wik Judgment (a paper presented by Father Frank
Brennan at the Australian National University on 26 March 1997)
- Legal Practice Briefing Attorney-General's Legal Practice Number
32 20 May 1997
- Native Title Amendment Bill 1997 Explanatory Memorandum
- Mabo Papers Parliamentary Research Service Subject Collection
No 1 1994
1.6 The proceedings of the Conference and this (interim) background report
are published in the expectation that they will be of assistance to those
who will participate in the Committee's inquiry pursuant to s.206(d) of
the Native Title Act 1993. The next report may not be tabled until
next year.
Footnotes
[1] The Wik Peoples v State of Queensland
and Ors (1996) 187 CLR 1.
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