Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the opposition, I move:

(10)  Schedule 4, item 14, page 53 (after line 29), at the end of section 74AA, add:

        (2)    A Land Council may, by writing, request that the Minister revoke a permit issued to a person under subsection 70(2BB) where there are, in the opinion of the Council, reasonable grounds to believe that the person is of bad character.

I know we have gone over some of this ground earlier, but the bill proposes giving the minister the power to issue permits. The other section has limited to the person who issued the permits the power to revoke them and we have been through that discussion. This amendment will give a land council a right to ask the minister to revoke a permit, if there are reasonable grounds to believe the person to whom he has issued the permit is of bad character. It is just providing a facility for the land council to request the minister to make a decision within his powers. Labor think it would be helpful in the sense of dealing with people who perhaps should not have a permit and it would give the land council the capacity to bring that to the minister’s attention. Obviously, the decision still rests with the minister.