David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Justice and Customs) Share this | Hansard source

It frustrates me that the glass is always half-empty for Senator Crossin. The new provisions governing extension or variation of boundaries will allow the minister to respond in a timely and flexible way to changes within the rep body system. Before extending or varying rep body areas on his own initiative, the minister must notify relevant native title representative bodies and give the public 60 days to make submissions and consider any submissions made. The requirement to consider submissions from the public ensures that the minister will be informed of the wishes of the rep body and the rep body’s clients, as well as the bodies themselves. It will be open to those rep bodies and the public to raise concern about whether a proposed extension or variation is culturally appropriate, whether it is accurate and whether it meets the needs of one or more claimant groups.

On the ground, these things cannot be done in a vacuum. These amendments recognise that the minister has to roll up his sleeves, identify what is happening, engage and then make a decision. The minister must be satisfied that, after a proposed extension or variation, relevant rep bodies will satisfactorily perform their functions. The minister would thus need to consider whether any rep body had any opposition to a proposed extension or variation, based on cultural or other grounds—namely, the area is too big or the rep body has a group of claimants who are culturally diverse or separate from another part within the rep body area—that would compromise service delivery. These are very good considerations. Indeed, Senator Crossin, I am sure that, if you thought it through in the Northern Territory, you would see some benefit in going this way.

It should be noted that the amendments also make it easy for rep bodies themselves to initiate extension and variation of their areas. The government think this is a very sound change that provides a capacity to resolve issues, to firm up these boundaries and to have some certainty so that the claims can move forward, instead of fighting and bickering over which river, which riverbank, which road, which fence or whatever.