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

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The bill will support the traditional owners of Jabiru, the Mirarr people, to lead the transition of Jabiru from a mining town to a tourism town and regional service centre via a new township lease.

Land security is economic security and it helps drive opportunities for Indigenous Australians to support community development and prosperity. It means generations of traditional owners can benefit from the land and help maintain the ongoing cultural connection with the land.

With the closure of the nearby Ranger uranium mine by January 2021 and the expiry of existing Jabiru leasing arrangements in June 2021, the Mirarr traditional owners have developed a masterplan setting out their vision for Jabiru as a world-leading ecologically sustainable, economically and socially vibrant community where traditional Aboriginal culture, the local economy, the tourist industry and the natural environment flourish.

We are introducing this bill to support the Mirarr's vision. It forms part of the Australian government's $216 million commitment to revitalising Jabiru and Kakadu National Park, which will bring business opportunities and jobs to our iconic Top End.

The bill supports the Future of Jabiru memorandum of understanding, which was signed on 14 August 2019 between the Australian government, the Northern Territory government, Energy Resources of Australia Limited and the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation to guide implementation of the Jabiru Masterplan.

A key element of the Jabiru Masterplan is making the town Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and providing for a long-term township lease.

Township leasing provides individual property rights that drive economic development by establishing a clear, transparent and efficient land administration system. This ensures certainty for individuals, businesses and lending institutions seeking investment opportunities.

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 better security for Indigenous Australians.

The Land Rights Act was amended in 2013 to provide a specific handback-leaseback arrangement for Jabiru, including for a township lease to be held by the Commonwealth through the Executive Director of Township Leasing. The Land Rights Act provides for an approved entity to hold township leases. The Commonwealth entity was approved in 2007 and in 2016 the first community entity was approved to hold the Gunyangara township lease.

New township leases can be held by either the Executive Director of Township Leasing or an approved local community entity. Many township leases held by the Executive Director of Township Leasing include transfer provisions to transition to a community entity at traditional owners' request.

This bill makes changes to the Land Rights 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 by either a community entity or the Commonwealth for a term of between 40 and 99 years.

It will also make other technical amendments. These other amendments clarify that the new township lease will not automatically extend the term of existing Jabiru subleases beyond the term of the current town head lease, and remove redundant Jabiru leasing provisions.

The bill makes a minor consequential amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, to ensure people will be able to use or develop land in Jabiru that is subleased to them by the head lessee.

I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Mirarr traditional owners. Theirs has been a decades' long struggle to secure the recognition and 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 the 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 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.'

We are embracing this change and I am confident that the Mirarr people will now finally be able to achieve their social, cultural and economic independence. They will be a beacon for others. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.