Senator HARRADINE (10:02 AM) —by leave—I move:

I have not received a number of responses that should have emerged from questions put during consideration of the estimates committee for the Attorney-General's portfolio. One of those responses relates to an undertaking given by the minister that the minister would take up with the Attorney-General a request that was made in the committee for the Australian Government Solicitor or Solicitor-General to provide legal advice as to the operation of the native title legislation.

I am not aware—unless someone else in the chamber is aware and can inform me—of what has happened to that request by the minister to the Attorney-General. But I take this opportunity of alerting the Senate to that fact and also to the fact that I will be pursuing the matter at some stage. It may have just been an oversight, but I certainly will be pursuing the matter. I think it is really in the interests of the government that it gets an opinion about the matter. It is to do with the 26A alternative scheme, which has been adopted by the New South Wales parliament in respect of fossicking and exploration on land having interests by native title claimants and native title holders as well as representative groups.

I just take this opportunity of marking this matter in the hope that the government will be able to get an opinion, as was requested. If it does not and the matter comes before the parliament, I may be forced to move a disallowance to any decision or determination made by the Attorney-General in respect of the New South Wales legislation, and that would not do anybody any good. So I believe that this ought to be done beforehand: get the opinion, let us have a look at it and then proceed from there.

Question resolved in the affirmative.