Dr LIM - 1998-02-18
Yesterday, the Northern Land Council claimed that the Northern Territory government is scaremongering about native title claims. This claim was made on the same day that the Federal Court heard submissions from the Northern Land Council, claiming native title exists on vacant Crown land that was covered previously by freehold title. What is the Chief Minister’s response to the Northern Land Council’s allegation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I know that people listening to this broadcast will have a strong interest in this issue, it having been raised by Mr Norman Fry ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... of the Northern Land Council.
If members did not interrupt and interject, those listening to the broadcast would have an opportunity to hear the answer.
Mr Bailey: Only if you tell the truth.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The NLC went to some lengths to reassure Territorians that their backyards are indeed safe. Let us be very clear about this. When we talk about the backyard, we are talking about the freehold title held by ordinary mums and dads in the suburbs or, in the case of business people, the land where they have their business premises. They have freehold title.
Mr Ah Kit: You are shocking, Shane. Don’t ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Chief Minister, do not continue while members of the opposition continually interject. Member for Arnhem, at least have manners and listen.
Mr STONE: I understand why the member for Arnhem would interject. As a former director of the Northern Land Council, he knows what the truth is.
As I was saying, it does not get any better than freehold title. That is what most Australians aspire to and that is what most Australians work very hard to achieve during their working lives. Therefore, when the NLC says, ‘Don’t you worry about that’, I regret that I am not reassured. Territorians should not be reassured, and Australians generally should not be reassured.
Mr Coulter: Hear, hear!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: What is clear from the submissions that are currently being made in the Supreme Court across the road is that your backyard is not safe if the NLC position is upheld.
Mr Ah Kit: You are scaremongering.
Mr STONE: Let me run through 4 pertinent points in a way that ordinary people will understand ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... if the members opposite will give Territorians an opportunity to hear the answer.
Mr Bailey: You are not telling the truth, Shane.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, there is a hint of panic among members opposite because they know what I am about to say.
Mr Bailey: Because you are using your ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Regardless of the rude, continuing interjections from the member for Wanguri, I intend to ensure that Territorians know the truth. This is the basis of the submission. The first premise is that, if historic freehold has been changed back to Crown land, that enables native title to revive. I am sure that even members opposite would agree that that is the position being put in the court at present.
Mr Coulter: We will take your silence as a yes.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: Perhaps they have not had an opportunity to see the submissions made by the lawyer representing the NLC. I shall read them shortly so that Territorians can make their own judgment. ‘It is asserted that freehold title does not extinguish native title’. That is in the submission. Those are not my words - those are the words of the lawyer acting on the instructions of the Northern Land Council in the court across the road. Take a walk over there and hear what is being said. It gets worse because it is also being argued that registration as a native title claimant gives a right of veto on that land. In other words, you do not look at the tenure. The claimant or claimants have a say over what happens to your land.
The cruncher in all this is the view that is being put that they do not really care about the Native Title Act, and this is all about common law rights. In other words, they do not care what happens to the 10-point plan. They want to go back to common law rights. That is the position of the indigenous working group. The member for Arnhem knows that, and he also knows that the person promoting that view is none other than Warren Snowdon, the Labor politician who now purports to seek election ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, I have been heckled and I have been interjected against. I have had allegations that I am lying. I urge members opposite to listen quietly while I read the submissions of the lawyer representing the Northern Land Council. This is what he had to say ...
Mr Ah Kit: You are not QC material.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Arnhem, you have been spoken to earlier.
Mr STONE: This is the quote:
Authority is entirely consistent with the proposition that, at common law, a grant of a freehold estate does not necessarily permanently
extinguish native title rights and interests.
Mr Ah Kit: In that particular case.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: We are getting there. Let me read on:
Canadian cases have affirmed that a grant of freehold title will not necessarily extinguish native title. It is equally clear ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri can make his comments later. Let me read on:
It is equally clear that Australian authority has not expressly held that the grant of a freehold estate, carrying with it a right to exclusive
possession, automatically and permanently extinguishes native title.
Those are not my words. They are the words of those who are representing the Larrakia people and the Northern Land Council in the court across the road. For members opposite to come in here and tell people that their backyards and businesses are safe is a lie. Territorians and Australians should be mindful of the fact that the ALP in the Territory and Warren Snowdon are certainly not standing up for their rights. The position is clearly spelt out ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: Would the member for Wanguri be quiet? I hope the people listening to this broadcast have the gist of it because the argument that is being put and supported by the Labor Party in the Territory ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: No!
Mr STONE: You support the argument that people’s homes and businesses are open to claim, and you know it.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I know that people listening to this broadcast will have a strong interest in this issue, it having been raised by Mr Norman Fry ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... of the Northern Land Council.
If members did not interrupt and interject, those listening to the broadcast would have an opportunity to hear the answer.
Mr Bailey: Only if you tell the truth.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The NLC went to some lengths to reassure Territorians that their backyards are indeed safe. Let us be very clear about this. When we talk about the backyard, we are talking about the freehold title held by ordinary mums and dads in the suburbs or, in the case of business people, the land where they have their business premises. They have freehold title.
Mr Ah Kit: You are shocking, Shane. Don’t ...
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Chief Minister, do not continue while members of the opposition continually interject. Member for Arnhem, at least have manners and listen.
Mr STONE: I understand why the member for Arnhem would interject. As a former director of the Northern Land Council, he knows what the truth is.
As I was saying, it does not get any better than freehold title. That is what most Australians aspire to and that is what most Australians work very hard to achieve during their working lives. Therefore, when the NLC says, ‘Don’t you worry about that’, I regret that I am not reassured. Territorians should not be reassured, and Australians generally should not be reassured.
Mr Coulter: Hear, hear!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: What is clear from the submissions that are currently being made in the Supreme Court across the road is that your backyard is not safe if the NLC position is upheld.
Mr Ah Kit: You are scaremongering.
Mr STONE: Let me run through 4 pertinent points in a way that ordinary people will understand ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... if the members opposite will give Territorians an opportunity to hear the answer.
Mr Bailey: You are not telling the truth, Shane.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, there is a hint of panic among members opposite because they know what I am about to say.
Mr Bailey: Because you are using your ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: Regardless of the rude, continuing interjections from the member for Wanguri, I intend to ensure that Territorians know the truth. This is the basis of the submission. The first premise is that, if historic freehold has been changed back to Crown land, that enables native title to revive. I am sure that even members opposite would agree that that is the position being put in the court at present.
Mr Coulter: We will take your silence as a yes.
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Mr STONE: Perhaps they have not had an opportunity to see the submissions made by the lawyer representing the NLC. I shall read them shortly so that Territorians can make their own judgment. ‘It is asserted that freehold title does not extinguish native title’. That is in the submission. Those are not my words - those are the words of the lawyer acting on the instructions of the Northern Land Council in the court across the road. Take a walk over there and hear what is being said. It gets worse because it is also being argued that registration as a native title claimant gives a right of veto on that land. In other words, you do not look at the tenure. The claimant or claimants have a say over what happens to your land.
The cruncher in all this is the view that is being put that they do not really care about the Native Title Act, and this is all about common law rights. In other words, they do not care what happens to the 10-point plan. They want to go back to common law rights. That is the position of the indigenous working group. The member for Arnhem knows that, and he also knows that the person promoting that view is none other than Warren Snowdon, the Labor politician who now purports to seek election ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: Madam Speaker, I have been heckled and I have been interjected against. I have had allegations that I am lying. I urge members opposite to listen quietly while I read the submissions of the lawyer representing the Northern Land Council. This is what he had to say ...
Mr Ah Kit: You are not QC material.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Arnhem, you have been spoken to earlier.
Mr STONE: This is the quote:
Authority is entirely consistent with the proposition that, at common law, a grant of a freehold estate does not necessarily permanently
extinguish native title rights and interests.
Mr Ah Kit: In that particular case.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: We are getting there. Let me read on:
Canadian cases have affirmed that a grant of freehold title will not necessarily extinguish native title. It is equally clear ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri can make his comments later. Let me read on:
It is equally clear that Australian authority has not expressly held that the grant of a freehold estate, carrying with it a right to exclusive
possession, automatically and permanently extinguishes native title.
Those are not my words. They are the words of those who are representing the Larrakia people and the Northern Land Council in the court across the road. For members opposite to come in here and tell people that their backyards and businesses are safe is a lie. Territorians and Australians should be mindful of the fact that the ALP in the Territory and Warren Snowdon are certainly not standing up for their rights. The position is clearly spelt out ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr STONE: Would the member for Wanguri be quiet? I hope the people listening to this broadcast have the gist of it because the argument that is being put and supported by the Labor Party in the Territory ...
Mr Ah Kit interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: No!
Mr STONE: You support the argument that people’s homes and businesses are open to claim, and you know it.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016