Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

The Senate has made a number of amendments to the Native Title Amendment (Technical Amendments) Bill 2007. I thank the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs for its detailed consideration of the bill. The government carefully considered the committee’s report and accepted a number of its recommendations. In particular, the committee recommended that an applicant not be able to apply to the Federal Court for review of the Native Title Registrar’s decision not to accept a claim while the Native Title Tribunal is considering the claim under proposed section 190E. Further, the committee also recommended that reconsideration of the Native Title Registrar’s decision not to accept a claim should be carried out by a member of the tribunal rather than the registrar. The amendments reflect the government’s acceptance of these recommendations. The remaining amendments made by the Senate clarify the drafting of the bill and address concerns raised by stakeholders, including an amendment to allow the contact details of parties on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements to be kept up to date. I do not propose to address the amendments in detail but note that they have been subject to very careful consideration.

The passage of this bill will mark completion of the significant legislative components of the government’s native title reform package. These changes to the Native Title Act, along with amendments made by the Native Title Amendment Act 2007 and the reform measures being progressed administratively, are aimed at delivering better outcomes for all parties in the native title system. It will be up to the parties to ensure that they seize the opportunities to expedite effective outcomes. I have said on many occasions—and I reiterate it—that I do not think it is good enough that some Indigenous people may not see outcomes during their lifetime. We have been working very hard on these issues and we look forward to working with all the parties involved to continue and improve the performance of the native title system. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

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