Mr LANHUPUY - 1994-08-24
First, I would like to congratulate the minister on his more open attitude to access provisions on Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, an attitude that is significantly more open than that of his predecessors and of the Chief Minister. The minister said last Tuesday: 'If licences continue to flow to the benefit of the mining industry and to the Northern Territory community in the future, then we may have hopefully the opportunity to review our position'. Will the minister tell the House when he will review the CLP's opposition to the access provisions in the Aboriginal Land Rights Act?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is obvious that the honourable member is referring to the veto. In all the interviews that I have given in relation to this matter, I laid particular emphasis on the fact that I was not referring to the veto. I believe the only suggestion that I made that might have been extrapolated in that regard was that, at some time in the future, the matter might be revisited. However, I suspect that I will not be around at that time. It will be a long way away and it does not affect the government's current attitude towards the veto, to which we are implacably opposed and will remain so. I have approached my appointment to the mines and energy portfolio with an open mind.
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Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr Lanhupuy: Yes, you have your marching orders.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: I propose to meet with the Northern Land Council, particularly given the shift that has occurred over recent times and the approval given last week by the land council to 9 exploration licences on Aboriginal land. However, 9 exploration licences are very few in number when taken in the overall context of exploration licences in the Northern Territory. I believe over 4500 have been granted since 1971. On the other hand, 9 is an enormous number when taken in the context of the number of exploration licences that have been issued by the Northern Land Council since 1991 which is nil.
That was the point that I was making and, in view of the shift that is apparent in the land council, I am pleased to see that it appears to be following more closely the wishes and desires of traditional owners and providing access to Aboriginal land for mining companies. In that light, I am prepared to indicate that I do have an open mind in relation to the land council and I am prepared to sit down and talk to its officers about the relationship that might exist between myself and it to see if we can further progress the additional access that has been announced recently to Aboriginal land. 'A very short step down a very long road', I believe were the words that I used last week. My views remain unchanged in that regard, but I want to try to maximise the opportunities that now lie before us, hopefully with a more positive frame of mind on the part of the Northern Land Council.
What has not been recorded is that some of the companies that have received access to this Aboriginal land have been waiting over a decade for it. It has been an extremely long, frustrating and costly process for those mining companies. Whilst we can bathe a little in the glory of the approvals now coming forward, we should not disregard the difficulty that the mining companies have experienced in achieving that access. We hope that this process will continue. We hope that the wishes of the traditional owners will win through, that the Northern Land Council will better represent their wishes and that we will be able to see Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory use their land to their own best advantage. There is little point in giving them additional land if they have no control over it. The people at Koongarra might be the best example in that their desires are being hindered by Labor Party policy. The mining company with which they have reached agreement to mine on their land is unable to proceed because of ALP policy. If the member for Arnhem wants to spout about how supportive of Aboriginal rights the Labor Party is, perhaps he should convince his federal colleagues to adhere to the wishes of the traditional owners of the Koongarra area and let them negotiate what they want - a uranium mine on their land.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, it is obvious that the honourable member is referring to the veto. In all the interviews that I have given in relation to this matter, I laid particular emphasis on the fact that I was not referring to the veto. I believe the only suggestion that I made that might have been extrapolated in that regard was that, at some time in the future, the matter might be revisited. However, I suspect that I will not be around at that time. It will be a long way away and it does not affect the government's current attitude towards the veto, to which we are implacably opposed and will remain so. I have approached my appointment to the mines and energy portfolio with an open mind.
Page 66
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr Lanhupuy: Yes, you have your marching orders.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: I propose to meet with the Northern Land Council, particularly given the shift that has occurred over recent times and the approval given last week by the land council to 9 exploration licences on Aboriginal land. However, 9 exploration licences are very few in number when taken in the overall context of exploration licences in the Northern Territory. I believe over 4500 have been granted since 1971. On the other hand, 9 is an enormous number when taken in the context of the number of exploration licences that have been issued by the Northern Land Council since 1991 which is nil.
That was the point that I was making and, in view of the shift that is apparent in the land council, I am pleased to see that it appears to be following more closely the wishes and desires of traditional owners and providing access to Aboriginal land for mining companies. In that light, I am prepared to indicate that I do have an open mind in relation to the land council and I am prepared to sit down and talk to its officers about the relationship that might exist between myself and it to see if we can further progress the additional access that has been announced recently to Aboriginal land. 'A very short step down a very long road', I believe were the words that I used last week. My views remain unchanged in that regard, but I want to try to maximise the opportunities that now lie before us, hopefully with a more positive frame of mind on the part of the Northern Land Council.
What has not been recorded is that some of the companies that have received access to this Aboriginal land have been waiting over a decade for it. It has been an extremely long, frustrating and costly process for those mining companies. Whilst we can bathe a little in the glory of the approvals now coming forward, we should not disregard the difficulty that the mining companies have experienced in achieving that access. We hope that this process will continue. We hope that the wishes of the traditional owners will win through, that the Northern Land Council will better represent their wishes and that we will be able to see Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory use their land to their own best advantage. There is little point in giving them additional land if they have no control over it. The people at Koongarra might be the best example in that their desires are being hindered by Labor Party policy. The mining company with which they have reached agreement to mine on their land is unable to proceed because of ALP policy. If the member for Arnhem wants to spout about how supportive of Aboriginal rights the Labor Party is, perhaps he should convince his federal colleagues to adhere to the wishes of the traditional owners of the Koongarra area and let them negotiate what they want - a uranium mine on their land.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016