Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I want to start by acknowledging the traditional owners and elders and the people of Mirarr. Your hopes and aspirations have culminated in today's legislation. I know the journey that you've been on. I listened to the speeches from the other side, and I thought we should have focused purely on your aspirations and your issues.

I know if the member for Lingiari and the member for Isaacs worked for the national land council and were at a meeting with the traditional owners, the traditional owners would have told us off for talking about other matters that were not related to the importance of the principal discussion that would be occurring with them and that the issues that they wanted were about a settlement that would give them an opportunity for a better future—for their children, for their grandchildren and for their own economic place in the scheme of things. When I go up there, I will apologise that we were distracted by other issues and not theirs. I'm pleased to stand in this place in support of the Mirarr people of the Northern Territory and thank members for their contribution to the debate.

This bill is an important step, as I said, to the return of their land in Jabiru and towards the town's bright future as the gateway to Kakadu National Park. The Australian government has made a $216 million commitment to revitalise Jabiru and Kakadu to ensure their future as world-class tourist destinations, as the member for Lingiari mentioned this morning. Our investment will herald a new era of economic opportunity for the region, benefiting not only the Mirarr people but also the community and the Northern Territory economy.

This bill supports the Mirarr in leading the transition of Jabiru from a mining town, which they opposed, to a tourism town via a new township lease. This is imperative given the closure of the nearby Ranger Uranium Mine by 21 January and the expiry of existing leasing arrangements in Jabiru in June 2021. It provides for changes to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act to make the Jabiru township lease consistent with other township leases in the Northern Territory. It will allow the Jabiru head lease to be held either by the Commonwealth through the Executive Director of Township Leasing or by a community entity. It provides for a term of between 40 and 99 years. These provisions are essential to empower local decision-making and ensure secure tenure for businesses, residents and other stakeholders in the region. This bill will help return the traditional lands to the Mirarr people. It allows the Mirarr people to realise long-held aspirations and bring their own vision to life in Jabiru.

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential that we foster an environment where we can enable more jobs and economic growth to ensure prosperity for all Indigenous Australians. This bill is economic empowerment. It is entrusting Indigenous Australians to make decisions that will benefit their communities and their people. Land security is economic security, and from economic security comes the ability to put in place the foundations that will lead to economic growth, job opportunity and a secure future for Indigenous Australians. The land rights act was amended in 2013 to provide a specific hand-back lease-back arrangement for Jabiru, including for a township lease to be held by the Commonwealth. This will now see the progression of those aspirations. The bill makes a minor consequential amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to ensure that people are able to use or develop land in Jabiru that is subleased to them by the head lease. I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Mirarr people, the traditional owners. Theirs has been a decade of long struggle to secure the opportunity to forge a future guided by their own aspirations.

In February last year, the parliament passed amendments scheduling four parcels of land as Aboriginal land in Kakadu National Park, surrounding Jabiru. Negotiations are now underway with the traditional owners of Kakadu to secure a lease-back arrangement with the Director of National Parks. These amendments complement those actions by giving effect to a leasing arrangement for the traditional owners of Jabiru. Traditional owners right across Kakadu National Park will be in control of the decisions that impact on them and their families for generations to come.

The Prime Minister reflected in his 2020 Closing the Gap address that to rob a person of their right to take responsibility is to deny them their liberty. He made it clear that we must restore the right to take responsibility, the right to make decisions and the right to step up. It must be accompanied by a willingness to push decisions down to the people who are closest to them. In passing the bill, we are embracing this change and backing the Mirarr people to achieve their social, cultural and economic independence and their aspirations.

I'm pleased to report to the House that the negotiation of the Jabiru township lease with the Northern Land Council and the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation is on track, with negotiations continuing as recently as last week. A key next step in progressing the township lease is the passage of this bill during these sittings. This bill is significant not just for the Jabiru community but for the Australian nation as a whole. It supports the transformation of Jabiru into a global tourist destination at the gateway to the jewel in the crown of Australia's national estate, where the traditional owners of the world's oldest living culture share with visitors their creation stories and the breathtaking vistas of Kakadu National Park. This bill will also bring about healing in this nation, restoring dignity and reviving pride. As a parliament, we should be honoured to be involved in this important and historic moment.

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