Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I understand the concern. Maybe it arises partially, at least, from a misunderstanding. The Aboriginal Benefit Account is intended to benefit, as you do appreciate, all Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory. It is money out of consolidated revenue. It is not just the revenue that the federal government receives in the form of royalties from uranium. It is also the equivalent to the royalties that the Northern Territory government receives from mining in the Northern Territory. It is that equivalent amount as well that goes into the Aboriginal Benefit Account, so the money is there for the benefit of all Northern Territory people. The equivalent amount plus the royalties that the federal government receives for uranium are placed into the ABA. That money is then to be used for the benefit of Indigenous people in the Northern Territory.

Apart from those ABA moneys going to the areas affected by mining, and to the land councils for their administrative costs, most of the remainder of the ABA is available for the benefit of Northern Territorian Aboriginals under subsection 64(4) of the ALRA. New subsection 64(4A) will allow the minister to make payments to the Northern Territory for acquiring or administering headleases.

To put that all into context, it means that not even a small proportion of the royalties or the equivalent royalties that the Northern Territory government receives for the benefit of all Territorians is biting into the money that the federal government receives. It is of course going to the administration and the facilitation of these headleases. The money goes back to the traditional owners. We believe overwhelmingly that the lease-back situation will advantage Indigenous people in those localities in a very major way. I hope that that, along with the other points, helps to clarify where the ABA money comes from and the percentage that will be distributed or that is likely to be distributed through here.

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