Senator MINCHIN (Special Minister of State;Minister Assisting the Prime Minister) (11:34 AM) —What the procedural rights amount to would depend on what the procedural rights would be for a freeholder in a similar situation. Generally speaking, around Australia, they do not amount to a veto. There are quite significant procedural rights of the kind that we have talked about in here before—about having to be notified, having to be consulted, having the right to object and all that sort of thing—but, generally speaking, there is not a right of veto.

We have a major difference between us—and I think the opposition would be more on our side on this—in that Senator Brown, through you, Madam Chair, seems to believe that native title holders in virtually all circumstances should have a power of veto and that nothing can be done on native title land unless they say so. That is the position of the National Indigenous Working Group. They say no development on any land on which native title may be held unless they agree to it, which is a veto. Senator Brown is perfectly free to advocate such a position, but that is not a position acceptable to the government, and I would not have thought it acceptable to the opposition.