Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I am advised, and I had intended to provide documents after question time on this very matter, that on Friday, 12 March, subsequent to the tabling of Minister Ferguson’s response to Senator Ludlam’s return to order, Mr Ferguson was advised that his department in fact had held a copy of the anthropological report prepared by consultants to the Northern Land Council. As indicated in the return to order itself, the report was provided to the previous government. The minister has been advised and the Northern Territory council has confirmed to the minister’s office that the report was provided to and received by the previous government on the basis that, because it contained information regarding sacred sites and matters of cultural sensitivity to Aboriginal people, the full report would remain confidential, with the Northern Land Council supplying the then government with a precis of the report, which could be made public. And consistent with the basis with which the report was provided to and received by the former government, it is my intention to table the precis of the report provided by the Northern Land Council to the previous government.