26th Mar 2007, 5:38 PM – Senate Native Title Amendment Bill 2006 - Third Reading - Read a third time

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a third time.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through here. ) This means that the majority of senators agree with the bill, as amended.

Although the House of Representatives had already agreed to read the bill for a third time and this would ordinarily mean that the bill could now become law, in this case the bill must return to the House for them to consider the amendments agreed to in the Senate. If the House agrees with the Senate's amendments, the bill can then become law.

Background to the bill

When announcing his intention to amend the mechanics of the Native Title process, the Attorney-General said that the amendments would not affect the substance of the Native Title legislation.(Read more about native title in Australia here. Read more about the background to this bill, including the Attorney General's policy commitment, in its bills digest. )

The bill amends the _ Native Title Act 1993_ to:

• introduce a new regime for representative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander bodies;
• implement recommendations made by an independent review into the native title claims resolution process,(More information about the inquiry, including its final report, here.) particularly in relation to increased powers and functions of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT); and
• implement changes to the prescribed bodies corporate governance regime and the native title non-claimants financial assistance program.

References