Mr SETTER - 1997-02-18
The Northern Land Council-backed Larrakia native title claim over Darwin included all vacant crown land at the Marrara Sports Complex. I ask the minister to explain how this land grab will affect the future development of sporting infrastructure at this very popular northern suburbs sports venue.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Marrara complex has been one of the outstanding sporting developments in the Northern Territory. It provides - uniquely in Australia, as was recognised recently by the Commonwealth Games Association - a centre to bring together the top sporting facilities for the benefit of all sportspeople in the Northern Territory. It is land to be developed for public use. Over the past 10 or 15 years, we have seen the development of the indoor stadium, the gymnastics facility, Football Park, the second oval, the cricket ground, the South Darwin development, the Rugby Union development, the Jingili BMX and the Spectrum Stadium for basketball. Over the past couple of years, we have been working intensively to complete the master plan for the final development of what will be a uniquely beneficial facility for the whole of the Northern Territory sporting community, particularly for Darwin. That facility is intended to provide for an aquatic centre, indoor facilities for headquarters for netball, an additional multi-purpose indoor stadium, an additional basketball stadium, another major rectangular stadium, a velodrome for cyclists, headquarters for baseball and headquarters for softball. They will cater for a wide range of sports and multi-use activities such as the Arafura Games and will be developed, through funding from the Northern Territory government principally and through things such as Sportslotto, for the benefit of all Territorians.
Everyone has known about these developments for some time. What happens? The native title claim is made. Some 30% of all the land available for all future development at Marrara has been put under native title claim. Whether that claim succeeds or fails, the tortuous processes of the Native Title Act mean that that development will be held up for years.
Mr Ah Kit: Because you do not want to sit down and talk.
Mr HATTON: That is not the case. Around this country, the processes of sitting down and talking have proved to be unsuccessful. Since the act came into being in 1994, despite hundreds of claims being lodged, only one has ever been settled. What was the settlement price? 1.5 times the freehold value of the land. We are being asked to negotiate with people who have not even demonstrated, or provided any evidence, that they are in fact legitimate title holders.
Mr Ah Kit: They may not be able to prove it.
Mr HATTON: They may not be able to prove it. That is true. Should we negotiate when we do not know whether we are talking to the right people? Should we sit for years going through this?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The constant interjections are adding nothing in Question Time. I ask members to refrain.
Mr HATTON: That land development, which was intended for the benefit of all Territory people, including Larrakia people, is obstructed by the claim. Let me give a simple
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example. There is a drainage channel between PINTS and the shooting complex at Marrara. We were negotiating with the Darwin Football Club of which a number of the claimants are members. I think the member for Arnhem is a committee member or a patron of the Darwin Football Club.
Mr Ah Kit: I am not on the committee.
Mr HATTON: We were negotiating a location for the Darwin Football Club to be able to build its clubhouse and utilise the Marrara cricket ground. That would be a good multi-use of the facility. To achieve that, it is necessary to build a road to provide access to the site. That cannot be done at the moment because the land is under claim. Members of Darwin Football Club are claimants. They cannot even achieve their own aspirations because of this NLC-backed claim. How can we relocate the shooting complex to Micket Creek when that is under claim? We cannot look after the softballers, the baseballers and the cyclists. How many years will sports development in the Northern Territory be held back while we work through the tortuous processes of the Native Title Act? This is not something that is for the benefit only of non-Aboriginal and non-Larrakia people. It is for the benefit of all people, including the Larrakia. I oppose those sorts of claims vehemently.
I find the press release from chairman of the Northern Land Council offensive in the extreme. To suggest that the only sportspeople who are worth considering are Aboriginal or Larrakia sportspeople, as the chairman of the Northern Land Council did in his press release, I consider to be racist in the extreme. He stated that the only people they go to watch when the NTFL plays an AFL team are `the Qualls, Cubillos, Mays and others - Larrakia people'. We also go to watch them, but what about the Athanasious, the McGanns, the Chilcotts, the Buckleys and the Riolis - the non-Larrakia people? They are equally important to us and all of them should have access to the development of facilities. The claim over this area is working to the detriment of Larrakia people as much as it is working to the detriment of the non-Larrakia people, and I include Aboriginal as well as non-Aboriginal people. This claim is a disgrace. It is aimed purely to block development in Darwin for the purpose of extracting ...
Mr Bailey: Which claim would you like?
Mr HATTON: In his letter, Mr Yunupingu said that they do not want to stop sports development in Darwin. If that is the case, why did he make a claim over the land? Doesn't he understand what the Native Title Act says? The Native Title Act prevents us doing anything on that land until the matter is resolved.
Mr Stirling: It was different when your mate Tibby made one a fews years ago.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the minister to resume his seat. There is far too much interjection from the opposition benches, particularly from the opposition front bench. I ask them to refrain.
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Mr HATTON: Mr Quall said in 1994 that he would lodge a native title claim. Members opposite said it was all made up. Who is one of the claimants now? Mr Quall! I rest my case on that particular one.
If the NLC is serious about not stopping sports facilities development in Darwin, it will withdraw this claim on Marrara and make it clear that there will be no future native title claims so that we can proceed with the orderly development of facilities for all Territorians, including Larrakia Aboriginal Territorians, many of whom are very keen sportspeople.
Page 1906
Page 1902
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Marrara complex has been one of the outstanding sporting developments in the Northern Territory. It provides - uniquely in Australia, as was recognised recently by the Commonwealth Games Association - a centre to bring together the top sporting facilities for the benefit of all sportspeople in the Northern Territory. It is land to be developed for public use. Over the past 10 or 15 years, we have seen the development of the indoor stadium, the gymnastics facility, Football Park, the second oval, the cricket ground, the South Darwin development, the Rugby Union development, the Jingili BMX and the Spectrum Stadium for basketball. Over the past couple of years, we have been working intensively to complete the master plan for the final development of what will be a uniquely beneficial facility for the whole of the Northern Territory sporting community, particularly for Darwin. That facility is intended to provide for an aquatic centre, indoor facilities for headquarters for netball, an additional multi-purpose indoor stadium, an additional basketball stadium, another major rectangular stadium, a velodrome for cyclists, headquarters for baseball and headquarters for softball. They will cater for a wide range of sports and multi-use activities such as the Arafura Games and will be developed, through funding from the Northern Territory government principally and through things such as Sportslotto, for the benefit of all Territorians.
Everyone has known about these developments for some time. What happens? The native title claim is made. Some 30% of all the land available for all future development at Marrara has been put under native title claim. Whether that claim succeeds or fails, the tortuous processes of the Native Title Act mean that that development will be held up for years.
Mr Ah Kit: Because you do not want to sit down and talk.
Mr HATTON: That is not the case. Around this country, the processes of sitting down and talking have proved to be unsuccessful. Since the act came into being in 1994, despite hundreds of claims being lodged, only one has ever been settled. What was the settlement price? 1.5 times the freehold value of the land. We are being asked to negotiate with people who have not even demonstrated, or provided any evidence, that they are in fact legitimate title holders.
Mr Ah Kit: They may not be able to prove it.
Mr HATTON: They may not be able to prove it. That is true. Should we negotiate when we do not know whether we are talking to the right people? Should we sit for years going through this?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The constant interjections are adding nothing in Question Time. I ask members to refrain.
Mr HATTON: That land development, which was intended for the benefit of all Territory people, including Larrakia people, is obstructed by the claim. Let me give a simple
Page 1903
example. There is a drainage channel between PINTS and the shooting complex at Marrara. We were negotiating with the Darwin Football Club of which a number of the claimants are members. I think the member for Arnhem is a committee member or a patron of the Darwin Football Club.
Mr Ah Kit: I am not on the committee.
Mr HATTON: We were negotiating a location for the Darwin Football Club to be able to build its clubhouse and utilise the Marrara cricket ground. That would be a good multi-use of the facility. To achieve that, it is necessary to build a road to provide access to the site. That cannot be done at the moment because the land is under claim. Members of Darwin Football Club are claimants. They cannot even achieve their own aspirations because of this NLC-backed claim. How can we relocate the shooting complex to Micket Creek when that is under claim? We cannot look after the softballers, the baseballers and the cyclists. How many years will sports development in the Northern Territory be held back while we work through the tortuous processes of the Native Title Act? This is not something that is for the benefit only of non-Aboriginal and non-Larrakia people. It is for the benefit of all people, including the Larrakia. I oppose those sorts of claims vehemently.
I find the press release from chairman of the Northern Land Council offensive in the extreme. To suggest that the only sportspeople who are worth considering are Aboriginal or Larrakia sportspeople, as the chairman of the Northern Land Council did in his press release, I consider to be racist in the extreme. He stated that the only people they go to watch when the NTFL plays an AFL team are `the Qualls, Cubillos, Mays and others - Larrakia people'. We also go to watch them, but what about the Athanasious, the McGanns, the Chilcotts, the Buckleys and the Riolis - the non-Larrakia people? They are equally important to us and all of them should have access to the development of facilities. The claim over this area is working to the detriment of Larrakia people as much as it is working to the detriment of the non-Larrakia people, and I include Aboriginal as well as non-Aboriginal people. This claim is a disgrace. It is aimed purely to block development in Darwin for the purpose of extracting ...
Mr Bailey: Which claim would you like?
Mr HATTON: In his letter, Mr Yunupingu said that they do not want to stop sports development in Darwin. If that is the case, why did he make a claim over the land? Doesn't he understand what the Native Title Act says? The Native Title Act prevents us doing anything on that land until the matter is resolved.
Mr Stirling: It was different when your mate Tibby made one a fews years ago.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the minister to resume his seat. There is far too much interjection from the opposition benches, particularly from the opposition front bench. I ask them to refrain.
Page 1904
Mr HATTON: Mr Quall said in 1994 that he would lodge a native title claim. Members opposite said it was all made up. Who is one of the claimants now? Mr Quall! I rest my case on that particular one.
If the NLC is serious about not stopping sports facilities development in Darwin, it will withdraw this claim on Marrara and make it clear that there will be no future native title claims so that we can proceed with the orderly development of facilities for all Territorians, including Larrakia Aboriginal Territorians, many of whom are very keen sportspeople.
Page 1906
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016