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senate vote 2021-11-30#6
Edited by
mackay staff
on
2021-12-02 13:16:12
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Title
Bills — Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Economic Empowerment) Bill 2021; in Committee- Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment (Economic Empowerment) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Schedule 2
Description
<p class="speaker">Lidia Thorpe</p><p>I seek leave to move amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 1510 together.</p>-
- The majority voted in favour of a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2021-11-30.152.1) "*that schedule 2 stand as printed*," which means that the schedule will remain unchanged. This vote occurred after Victorian Senator [Lidia Thorpe](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/victoria/lidia_thorpe) (Greens) proposed an amendment to oppose that schedule.
- ### What is Schedule 2?
- According to the [bill digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2122a/22bd028):
- > *Schedule 2 implements several amendments recommended by the Aboriginal Land Commissioner’s 2013 Review of Part IV of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 concerning mining activity under the Act [i.e. the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976]. These amendments update the Act to reflect Northern Territory legislation and developments in mining (for example, concerning geothermal energy), clarify and change aspects of the approval process (including meeting requirements with Traditional Owners), clarify the process for dealing with relatively low impact mining for ‘extractive minerals’ (clay, gravel, sand, et cetera), and change parts of the ministerial approval process by removing delegation of some Commonwealth ministerial approvals from the Northern Territory mining minister and removing the requirement for Commonwealth ministerial approval for some mining projects.*
- ### What is this bill about?
- According to the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2122a/22bd028), the bill's purpose "*is to amend the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (the Act) in four areas, covered by four Schedules:*
- * *Schedule 1 will establish the Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation (NTAIC) as a new Aboriginal-controlled corporate Commonwealth entity to strategically invest in Aboriginal businesses and commercial projects and make other payments to or for the benefit of Aboriginal peoples in the NT*
- * *Schedule 2 will amend the exploration and mining provisions of the Act in order to clarify and streamline a number of approval processes*
- * *Schedule 3 will amend and clarify land administration provisions, including on township leases, access to Aboriginal land, land under escrow and other matters*
- * *Schedule 4 will align payments from the Aboriginals Benefit Account (ABA) with the Commonwealth’s financial framework and the timing of mineral royalties payments from the Northern Territory (NT).*"
<p>Leave granted.</p><p>I move:</p><p class="italic">(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 4), omit the table item.</p><p>We also oppose schedule 2 in the following terms:</p><p class="italic">(2) Schedule 2, page 47 (line 1) to page 60 (line 6), to be opposed.</p><p>I seek the Senate's support for my amendment which would remove the streamlining for mining destruction on country in schedule 2. The Australian Greens can't support the bill unless schedule 2 is taken out. The Australian Greens will not act against the interests of traditional owners, of land and water defenders, of our environment, of country, land, water and sky. Schedule 2 gives land councils too much decision-making power and flexibility. We will not do it. We have not seen any evidence of free, prior and informed consent. The land councils are not representative of all traditional owners. In fact, in some instances, the land councils are only representatives of themselves. Listen to the people.</p><p>I stood outside this place this morning with Ms Burney, the Labor member for Barton. We stood side by side, supporting traditional owners and their fight to protect our heritage. I thank Ms Burney for being there this morning and for her staunch words about protecting culture and First Nations heritage. She said: 'What's absolutely fundamental is free, prior and informed consent.' And I have to say that this is a priority for Labor. Cultural heritage is a living thing; it's not static. And Labor will enter into a proper consultation process. I agree with the member for Barton: free, prior and informed consent is what we need. I could not have said it better. Labor saying one thing on the lawns to the media and voting a completely different way in this chamber is why people don't trust them. We can do the right thing. We can do it today, right here right now. Vote in here like you said out there you were going to vote. Do the right thing by the people.</p><p>Yingiya 'Mark' Guyula, the member for Mulka in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, wrote a submission to the inquiry into this bill. He wrote:</p><p class="italic">I have now spoken widely to elders and leaders in my electorate and they do not know about any changes to the ALRA. I have also spoken to members of the Land Councils from my own electorate and more broadly across the regions, and they have advised that they do not know the detail of the Bill.</p><p>The Australian Human Rights Commission asked the committee looking into this bill for more time and said:</p><p class="italic">Our key recommendation is that the Committee should request a significantly longer time frame for the Inquiry in order to properly consider the Bill and ensure that the amendments have the genuine free prior and informed consent (FPIC) of the Aboriginal Territorians who will be impacted, including but not limited to Traditional Owners.</p><p>Staunch defender of country Rikki Dank wrote in her submission:</p><p class="italic">Thanks, but NO THANKS!</p><p class="italic">The proposed amendments to the Aboriginal Land Right Act do nothing more than to further erode the already meagre rights of First Nations in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia. They masquerade as 'progressive' legislation when, in fact, they represent a reincarnation of successive waves of colonial policy initiatives designed to usurp Our rights and transfer them to the Settlers.</p><p>Do you know who wants this bill? The Minerals Council of Australia. Do you know why? So they can extract and steal even more profit while destroying country, culture and songlines. That should tell you everything you need to know about who this bill is really meant to serve.</p><p>The Australian Greens cannot support the bill unless schedule 2 is removed. It's as simple as that. Please think about free, prior and informed consent every time you look at your dot paintings and every time you come to a rally and scream out 'black lives matter'. Thank you.</p> <p class="speaker">Kimberley Kitching</p><p>Labor opposes these amendments. The amendments in schedule 2 of the bill are largely administrative and technical in nature. They are designed to increase efficiencies for all parties, including traditional owners. The land councils have given evidence that, rather than these changes being proposed by mining companies, these changes have been put forward by traditional owners themselves to avoid the frustration of having to attend multiple meetings when they have already made their views clear to a land council. In other words, they were requested by traditional owners, not by miners. Labor respects the wishes of traditional owners. Importantly, none of these changes dilute the protections in the act for traditional owners. They maintain the right to a veto. That is one of the strongest protections of its kind in the country.</p> <p class="speaker">Zed Seselja</p><p>The government does not support the amendments on sheet 1510. The proposed amendments would omit the commencement date for entire schedule 2—mining. And the changes to part 4 proposed in the bill would not take effect. These amendments follow from an independent review in 2013 and have the agreement of the Northern Territory government and the four Northern Territory land councils, in consultation with key resource sector peak bodies. Importantly, the reforms preserve existing strong protections for traditional owners, including their right to free, prior and informed consent and their right to veto exploration and mining proposals on their land. The proposed amendment would not achieve increased confidence and clarity for all stakeholders and would not empower traditional owners to take advantage of opportunities on their land.</p><p>The CHAIR ( 19:50 ): I just advise the Senate that we are dealing with schedule 2 on sheet 1510. The question is that schedule 2 stand as printed.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The CHAIR ( 18:51 ): I will just advise the Senate that Senator Thorpe also moved sheet No. 1 on sheet 1510, but as a consequence of the outcome of the first one that falls away because it's consequential. So I'm in the hands of the Senate. Senator Thorpe.</p> -
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