Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is probably what I would describe as the feel-good amendment. This makes you feel good because you can stand up and say, ‘Look, we’ve picked up the recommendation of the legal and constitutional committee report. We’ve listened—we’ve truly listened—and we are going to mandate now for a two-year minimum period for the registration of native title rep bodies.’ But, wait, there is the fine print. It actually gives the minister the discretion to ignore the mandatory two-year minimum period, so in fact native title rep bodies can be registered for only one year. So I call this the feel-good amendment: it makes you look good; it makes you look as if you are listening, but really, at the end of the day, nothing can change because the minister can still register a native title rep body for only one year. So it will not come as any surprise to you that the Labor Party will be opposing this move.