Chapter 6
Operation of the (original) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Land Fund - s.206(d)(v)
The Original Fund
Legislation
6.1 Part 10 of the Native Title Act 1993 (s.201 - now repealed)
established the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund.
The purpose of the Fund was to assist Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait
Islanders to acquire land and to manage it beneficially. The operation
of the Fund was to be governed by regulations under the Native Title Act.
Allocation
6.2 The 1994-95 Budget allocated $200 million to the Land Fund which
the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet administered from 1 July
1994. In July 1994 the Native Title (National Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Land Fund) Regulations [1]
were promulgated to govern the Land Fund. The Regulations provided that
the Fund was a trust account for the purposes of s.62A of the Audit
Act (1901) and that:
5. Money that is:
(a) Appropriated by an Act for the purpose and management of land for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders for social, cultural or economic
purposes; and
(b) expressed by the Act to be for payment to the relevant trust account,
is to be paid into the fund.
The New Fund
6.3 In August 1994, during his Second Reading Speech for the ATSIC Amendment
Bill, Prime Minister Keating explained that:
In terms of implementation, the Native Title Act provides for the establishment
of the land fund under s.201. However, it does not provide enough scope
for the establishment and operations of the Indigenous Land Corporation
in the way we consider essential for an effective response to the need
for land. That is why this bill was necessary. [2]
6.4 Under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act
1989 (the ATSIC Act), the 1994-95 appropriation ($200 million plus
appreciation) was transferred on 1 June 1995 to the (new) Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Land Fund established pursuant to s.192W(1) of
the Land Fund and Indigenous Land Corporation (ATSIC Amendment) Act
1995. Section 201 of the Native Title Act 1993 was repealed
by the ATSIC Amendment Act.
6.5 Further, under Part 4A (s.191A), the ATSIC Amendment Act established
the Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) with extensive powers and functions
in relation to the acquisition and management of land. In regard to the
new Land Fund and the ILC see Chapter 8 of this report.
Summary
- The Native Title Act 1993 (s.201) established the (original)
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund.
- $200 million was paid into the Land Fund under the 1994-95 Budget;
the funds were administered by the Department of Prime Minister and
Cabinet.
- The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund operated
for a period of only 11 months (1 July 1994 - 1 June 1995). In that
time it received only one appropriation ($200 million). No property
was purchased.
- Section 201 of the Native Title Act 1993 was repealed pursuant
to the ATSIC Amendment Act which established the (new) Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Land Fund and the Indigenous Land Corporation.
- On 1 June 1995 the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund,
administered by ATSIC, received the appropriation of $200 million (plus
interest) previously administered by the Department of Prime Minister
and Cabinet.
The Committee's Duty
6.6 The Committee has the duty to report on the operation of the (original)
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund established pursuant
to Part 10 of the Native Title Act 1993.
Footnotes
[1] SR 1994 No.239.
[2] House of Representatives Hansard, 30 August
1994, p.587.
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