Senator MARGETTS (5:02 PM) —I will speak briefly in relation to the Native Title and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund Committee's report on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 . I was able to sit in on one hearing. Not being a member of the committee, I could not be a participating member of this committee. However, I was greatly concerned about the way the committee was going about its business in as much as, as Senator Woodley has indicated, the kinds of recommendations that have been put forward by Justice Evatt were not really on the agenda.

Ironically, I recall that, during discussions on the Hindmarsh Island bill, I put to the Senate that those recommendations should be looked into and at the time Senator Collins also agreed that that should be done. At the time the government said it was all too difficult because they would have to go to the states, it would take a long time, they would have to talk about it, they would have to think about it and they really could not decide on it in advance of doing that, but funnily enough they had enough time to put through their own recommendations to their own amendments, which are going in the other direction.

I have not had a chance to have a look at this full report, but I would like to express, along with Senator Woodley, my concern about the way this took place and about the way that the government's agenda of reducing rights can be done really quickly, but in terms of any decent objectives for the protection of rights it is all too difficult. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.