Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for the question. This process will in fact support much better land administration because it will allow the granting of an individual house site, for example, if somebody wants to own their own house. It also will involve the capacity for people to lease a block of land within the township to start a business.

But the most important part of the process is that we have provided a line of credit of $2 million to the Gumatj on the basis that the Northern Territory government and the Commonwealth government have guaranteed the payments for that. We already know that the payments are guaranteed, so their line of credit is guaranteed. So they can now invest in their own land and their own country in the same way that anybody else would. We have also provided some assistance around ensuring that people who go there to work have some accommodation. This has been a package that has certainly been supported by the Gumatj people. (Time expired)