Ms CARTER - 2001-02-21
Since the last sitting of the Assembly, the Aboriginal Land Commissioner has released his findings on the Kenbi land claim. Can the Chief Minister inform the House what the government intends to do about the recommendations of the Commissioner?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, as members noted, I will be giving a detailed statement on the government’s actions on this matter, but for Territorians listening to this broadcast, I will give a synopsis of the government’s position. The decision of the Commissioner was that there were only six members of the Tommy Lyons groups that satisfied the definition of traditional Aboriginal owners under the Commonwealth Land Rights Act. However, the Land Commissioner recommended that most of the Cox Peninsula be granted to a land trust for the benefit of these six, and the indirect benefit of the rest of the 1600 claimants from three other groups.
I am sure members realise that what we are talking about is just about all the land that Territorians can see on the other side of our magnificent harbour. It is most of the fishing spots from West Arm to Pioneer Beach. The Commissioner has rejected the government’s arguments that the granting of most of the Cox Peninsula will impact severely on the future development of Darwin, but the final decision is up to the federal minister. He will consider the Land Commissioner’s recommendations and arguments about detriment.
It is the government’s view that the minister should have before him the plain facts, something we believe is lacking in the Commissioner’s attitude on detriment. Accordingly, we have sought a review of the Commissioner’s findings in the Federal Court. It is important to know that we have not challenged, but I do note that one of the other claimants has, but we have not challenged the recognition of the Tommy Lyons group as the traditional Aboriginal owners. However, we do challenge the suggestion that the Cox Peninsula is not needed for our future development. We do challenge the suggestion that all the planning and strategies developed over the past 40 years to further develop Darwin across the harbour has been simply to defeat the land claim. And that was this particular Commissioner’s opinion.
We do challenge the suggestion that we have not tried, and will continue to try to arrive at a practical solution to the Kenbi problem. The government, while fully respecting the rights of traditional Aboriginal owners, must also deal with the rights of the whole community. And sometimes those rights do conflict. It is our job as government to find a solution that is reasonable for all. Seeking to put the facts before the federal minister and challenging unreasonable comments of the Land Commissioner are part of the responsibility of government, as is continuing to have talks with all stakeholders and the various parties involved. I certainly am doing that, I will continue to do that and, as I said, I will discuss the matter in greater detail in the statement to parliament today.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, as members noted, I will be giving a detailed statement on the government’s actions on this matter, but for Territorians listening to this broadcast, I will give a synopsis of the government’s position. The decision of the Commissioner was that there were only six members of the Tommy Lyons groups that satisfied the definition of traditional Aboriginal owners under the Commonwealth Land Rights Act. However, the Land Commissioner recommended that most of the Cox Peninsula be granted to a land trust for the benefit of these six, and the indirect benefit of the rest of the 1600 claimants from three other groups.
I am sure members realise that what we are talking about is just about all the land that Territorians can see on the other side of our magnificent harbour. It is most of the fishing spots from West Arm to Pioneer Beach. The Commissioner has rejected the government’s arguments that the granting of most of the Cox Peninsula will impact severely on the future development of Darwin, but the final decision is up to the federal minister. He will consider the Land Commissioner’s recommendations and arguments about detriment.
It is the government’s view that the minister should have before him the plain facts, something we believe is lacking in the Commissioner’s attitude on detriment. Accordingly, we have sought a review of the Commissioner’s findings in the Federal Court. It is important to know that we have not challenged, but I do note that one of the other claimants has, but we have not challenged the recognition of the Tommy Lyons group as the traditional Aboriginal owners. However, we do challenge the suggestion that the Cox Peninsula is not needed for our future development. We do challenge the suggestion that all the planning and strategies developed over the past 40 years to further develop Darwin across the harbour has been simply to defeat the land claim. And that was this particular Commissioner’s opinion.
We do challenge the suggestion that we have not tried, and will continue to try to arrive at a practical solution to the Kenbi problem. The government, while fully respecting the rights of traditional Aboriginal owners, must also deal with the rights of the whole community. And sometimes those rights do conflict. It is our job as government to find a solution that is reasonable for all. Seeking to put the facts before the federal minister and challenging unreasonable comments of the Land Commissioner are part of the responsibility of government, as is continuing to have talks with all stakeholders and the various parties involved. I certainly am doing that, I will continue to do that and, as I said, I will discuss the matter in greater detail in the statement to parliament today.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016