Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Carers) Share this | Hansard source

The government does not support the amendments moved by Senator Siewert. The new process introduced by the bill balances genuine consultation with the need to ensure that urgently needed public housing and infrastructure projects can go ahead in a timely and certain way. The government does not consider the right to negotiate procedures to be the appropriate tool for the delivery of urgently needed public housing and infrastructure for the benefit of Indigenous communities on Indigenous held land. Where the parties cannot agree to an act going ahead within six months, the right to negotiate can lead to arbitration of the matter before the National Native Title Tribunal. The time involved in the right to negotiate process could substantially delay the delivery of urgently needed public housing and infrastructure to Indigenous people.