Mr LIEBERMAN (12:36 PM) —On behalf of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, I present the committee's report entitled, Unlocking the future: the report of the inquiry into the Reeves review of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 , together with the minutes of proceedings and evidence received by the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

Mr LIEBERMAN —It gives me great pleasure to table this report of the committee's review of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. I hope that our report will assist Australians living in the Northern Territory to work together, as it puts forward practical recommendations which will lead to practical results that address the profound economic and social disadvantages experienced by many indigenous Australians.

When it was enacted in 1976, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act represented a milestone in the recognition of Aboriginal rights to land. Twenty-five years later the act remains central and relevant to the lives of Aboriginal people. The act has been reviewed several times and minor amendments have been made over the years. Most recently, it was reviewed by John Reeves QC—the recommendations of his report, now known as the Reeves report, are the subject of this committee's report.

The Reeves report was referred to the committee in December last by the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Senator the Hon. John Herron, whom I commend for his wisdom and insight in referring to the committee this report before he makes decisions and recommendations to his government. The minister asked the committee to seek the views of people who have an interest in the possible implications of the Reeves report. The Reeves report makes far- reaching and, at times, controversial recommendations. For this reason, the committee undertook to visit as many regional and remote communities as it could. In this way, members listened and talked with people, especially those most affected by the act, the Aboriginal people in the Territory.

When reviewing the written and oral evidence before it, the committee focused its deliberations by firstly agreeing to core values and principles. The first of these is that Aboriginal rights to their land granted under the land rights act should be preserved. The second core principle is that Aboriginal people should have the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as other Australian landowners. They should be given as much autonomy as possible to run their own affairs and be free to associate and organise in ways they see fit. The third principle is that the committee should be attempting to foster constructive partnerships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, between the Northern Territory government, land councils, the mining industry and others.

The committee wished to ensure that the land rights act remain as flexible as possible. The act needs to meet changing circumstances as the focus changes from land claims to land management. In short, the act needs to facilitate rather than determine outcomes. Finally, and most importantly, this committee seeks to ensure that Aboriginal people are involved in decisions to amend the act. This principle is reflected in our first core recommendation. The committee also describes a process for its recommendations to be considered by Aboriginal people. It is after all their act, their land and their future.

The involvement of Aboriginal people in a number of project teams to consider the committee's recommendations represents a new dynamic. The committee trusts that it will give Aboriginal people greater ownership of the act and a greater sense that they control their own destinies. The committee's other recommendations cover the issues addressed by the Reeves report. The committee recommends that the structure of the land councils be improved so that appropriate land council powers can be delegated to local regional groups of Aboriginal people. The committee also seeks changes to make it easier for new land councils to be established or even for Aboriginal people to do without the services of a land council altogether, if that is their wish.

Members also considered the structure of the Aboriginals Benefit Reserve and the distribution of royalty money to Aboriginal groups. Members spent considerable time debating whether land council budgets should continue to be guaranteed a fixed percentage of royalty equivalent income. Members also considered the most appropriate ways for royalties to be distributed in areas affected by mining. Government and non-government members came to different conclusions on these important issues. However, all members of the committee agreed that there needs to be greater accountability for the expenditure of royalties and that both sets of proposals should be put to Aboriginal people through a project team. The Commonwealth Grants Commission could also be asked to assist to develop systems to ensure strong independent advice is available to achieve an equitable distribution of royalty equivalents.

The committee also reviewed the mining provisions of the land rights act. The committee heard overwhelming evidence that the act as it stands restricts exploration and mining on Aboriginal land. The committee recommends that the act be amended so that agreements for exploration and mining between Aboriginals and mining companies be free of restrictions. There are two provisos to this recommendation. The first is that the rights of traditional owners to withhold consent for exploration remain as they are in the act today. The second is that any agreements be subject to general commercial law.

The Reeves report recommended that the permit system in operation on Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory be replaced with a strengthened Northern Territory Trespass Act. The committee accepts that Aboriginal people want the permit system to remain. However, the committee makes a number of recommendations to free up the process for granting permits and to encourage the use of specific area access agreements.

The committee also reviewed a number of recommendations in the Reeves report that are strictly beyond the committee's terms of reference, but we commented on the role of the Aboriginal Land Commissioner and made recommendations to ensure that the interests of the broader community are always taken into account when land claims for the beds and banks of rivers are being examined.

I am confident that the committee's recommendations will lead to Aboriginal people managing their own land at a local level and making decisions from the bottom up, targeting the expenditure of mining royalty equivalent money in a transparent and fully accountable way that is subject to performance measures so that Aboriginal people derive the full benefit from their land, and a reduction in welfare dependency, promotion of mutual responsibility, trust and enduring partnerships between all people in the Northern Territory and governments.

It remains for me to thank the people who have helped the committee in the report and inquiry. Firstly, I thank my colleagues on the committee—Deputy Chair Harry Quick, Trish Draper, Barry Haase, Kelly Hoare, Bob Katter, Jim Lloyd, Daryl Melham, Warren Snowdon and Barry Wakelin. I would also like to thank our wonderful secretariat staff including James Catchpole, Sara Cousins, Jennifer Cochran and Claressa Surtees. The committee also relied on Hansard and Sound and Vision for their technical support in very difficult and challenging conditions in the outback—Karin Oldfield, Brian Lindell and Alan Savage, thank you. I would also like to thank my electorate secretary, Sandy Dalton, for her assistance.

Of course, my thanks are extended to the many individuals and organisations, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, who forwarded submissions and assisted the committee in the inquiry. I particularly thank the land councils, the Northern Territory government, ATSIC, the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research and the many hundreds of Northern Territory people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, who treated me with such courtesy and gave so much help to the committee.

The title of this committee's report is Unlocking the future. The title is apt as the committee hopes that its efforts will unlock a better future for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike in the Northern Territory.