Perin Davey (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia, I present the report of the committee on its inquiry into the opportunities and challenges of the engagement of traditional owners in the economic development of northern Australia.

Patrick Dodson (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Reconciliation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I rise to take note of the final report of the inquiry of the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia into the engagement of traditional owners in the economic development of northern Australia. The committee began this inquiry over three years ago in the last parliament and revived it after the 2019 election. When Rio Tinto destroyed the 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in May 2020, the committee suspended this inquiry to investigate that devastating event.

There is a strong connection between these two inquiries. The committee has returned again and again to the question of how First Nations peoples can share in the economic development of the north, because it poses a central challenge not just for the First Nations peoples but for northern Australia and the nation as a whole. The destruction of Juukan Gorge reveals how easily First Nations interests in land have been disregarded in the pursuit of wealth. It demonstrated how little the First Nations peoples have benefited from the development of the north, despite significant recognition of their interest in these lands over the last 50 years.

Most land in northern Australia is subject to some form of First Nations tenure, either under land rights regimes or native title, yet poverty is increasing in many remote communities. This has been rightly called a cruel paradox. As the chair of our committee has said in his foreword to this report, 'Title to land is, by itself, not enough.' Some mistakenly attribute this poverty to the collective forms of First Nations tenure held by First Nations people. They argue that First Nations tenure should be reformed to bring it in line with Western concepts of land ownership, specifically fungible freehold title. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the importance of First Nations' unique connectivity to country, and it's not surprising that those who advocate this approach often have the most to gain by assimilating First Nations tenure into mortgageable form.

In his 1974 report on the recognition of Aboriginal land rights in the Northern Territory, Justice Edward Woodward described the aims of land rights as including:

The recognition of pre-existing collective and deeply spiritual interest in land was also the basis of the High Court's Mabo decision nearly two decades later.

There needs to be an innovative solution. Seeking to protect these unique features of First Nations land title does not mean staying stuck in the past. We must find new, innovative solutions that will enable First Nations people to derive benefit from their land. A good deal of effort should focus on seeking reform of financial and commercial systems to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to leverage their title while retaining, intact, its unique characteristics. We are an innovative country and this should not be beyond us.

Several of the committee's recommendations relate to strengthening First Nations tenure and making it more meaningful. Central to this is the principle of free, prior and informed consent, endorsed by Australia in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Free, prior and informed consent empowers First Nations people to give or withhold consent to projects that affect them and their lands. But, as the committee recognised, in order to exercise this right First Nations communities must be well resourced and equipped so they can be free from any form of coercion in decision-making. This is why the committee has reiterated its recommendation from the Juukan report that there should be a review of the Native Title Act to address the inequities between traditional owners and proponents. It's also why the committee has recommended increasing funding for the PBCs and representative bodies. It is critical that these institutional structures have sufficient financial resources, human resources and expertise to enable them to operate effectively within the native title and land rights regimes.

Township leasing is a perfect example of the importance of these principles. Township leasing in the Northern Territory was a product of the Howard era and was originally introduced without Aboriginal support. While I share a hope, expressed in the committee's report, that new forms of community led township leasing could unlock potential, its success depends on an adherence to the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

In conclusion, I thank my fellow committee members and our chair and deputy chair for their continued interest in and commitment to pursuing these important issues. I urge the government to make all efforts to implement the committee's recommendations.

Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak to the tabling of the report of the inquiry into the opportunities and challenges of the engagement of traditional owners in economic development in northern Australia. This inquiry canvassed a number of important issues regarding economic development opportunities and challenges for traditional owners, including the role of land rights, native title, representative bodies and government entities.

I was pleased to see that the inquiry highlighted an important point that I have continued to raise since becoming a senator. First Nations people are not opposed to economic development. The breadth of evidence presented to the committee clearly demonstrated that First Nations people want to take up economic opportunities across northern Australia. We want to do this while strengthening our communities and maintaining our ongoing connection to country and to culture. This was eloquently explained by Mr Yingiya Mark Guyula MLA, from the perspective of the Yolngu people:

Yolngu are not opposed to economic initiatives on our lands; quite the opposite. But we need to create pathways for sustainable business development that upholds our traditional decision-making processes and our law, and respects our authority for determining 'economic development' on our country … There is a great desire to create and build business, rather then receiving royalties that becomes 'sit-down' money.

However, in order to make the most of economic development opportunities, First Nations people need to be placed at the centre of decision-making, as noted by the Kimberley Land Council:

Past experience proves that, when engaged by government and industry in good faith, Traditional Owners are empowered to identify commercial opportunities which use resources sustainably, thus protecting Indigenous-held core values of country and culture whilst building strong communities and capability.

As noted in the inquiry report, there are limits to the extent to which conventional approaches to economic development in First Nations communities can be effective. This is a timely reminder to governments and policymakers that we should not be imposing a uniform approach to economic development. Instead, I believe there is a strong case for looking towards new and emerging approaches to development that will improve our capacity as First Nations people to self-determine our future. The committee looked into a broad range of economic and social development enterprises being pursued by First Nations communities, including cultural enterprises, tourism, environmental enterprises, ranger programs, pastoralism and mining.

Carbon farming is a wonderful example of an environmental enterprise that is already resulting in strong economic returns for traditional owners. As at December 2021, there were 33 Indigenous owned and operated savanna fire management projects. The Indigenous carbon industry is now estimated to be valued at around $53 million per annum. Indigenous carbon credits are also attracting a substantial premium on the voluntary market due to the multiple benefits they deliver both to communities and to the environment. Savanna burning and fire management generate huge social, cultural and environmental benefits that provide hundreds of jobs on country for our mob. I'm looking forward to hearing more about traditional owners becoming key players in the aquaculture and blue carbon-farming industry.

Indigenous rangers are another example of programs that deliver real benefits for First Nations communities. The Indigenous ranger program not only creates jobs on country but also provides long-term career paths in conservation and land management. The Greens strongly support the recommendation that the Australian government provide enhanced support for the Indigenous ranger program, including the provision of secure long-term funding to facilitate strategic planning for sustainable environmental outcomes.

Renewable energy also offers ample economic opportunities for traditional owners in northern Australia. One example highlighted in the committee's report was the renewable energy sector strategy implemented by Indigenous Business Australia, commonly known as IBA. This strategy has assisted in replacing diesel fired electricity generation with renewable energy and storage solutions in remote communities. The shift to solar power has allowed mob to live more independently on their own country.

If we're going to really support traditional owners to make the most of economic opportunities, we need to advance innovative approaches that are led by First Nations people. One of these opportunities comes in the form of a First Nations trade-led strategy. At the moment there is no foreign investment going into First Nations business in Australia, but, by securing Indigenous inclusions in our free trade agreements, we could tap into $100 billion Indigenous economy. I hope the northern Australian community can continue to look into the economic benefits of a First Nations trade-led strategy, especially following the tabling of the UK-Australia free trade agreement today.

It would be remiss of me not to mention some of the government's policies and programs that actually hold traditional owners back from taking advantage of economic opportunities. One of the key barriers that comes to mind is the use of the Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility, also known as NAIF, to fund programs that First Nations people do not consent to and projects that harm country instead of protecting it, like the Perdaman fertiliser plant near Murujuga or the fossil fuel projects across the Top End. If we are serious about self-determination, we cannot have projects like NAIF going against the interests and wishes of traditional owners.

I would like to end this with some observations about the role that the mining and resources sector plays in the economic development space for northern Australia. As noted in the inquiry's report, the power imbalance between traditional owners and development proponents needs to be redressed through better resourcing and institutional capacity. In line with this, I welcome the committee's recommendation for increased funding for PBCs and funding for capacity building. However, as outlined in my additional comments, the capacity to negotiate good, quality agreements with proponents is not just about resourcing; it's also due to the absence of free, prior and informed consent.

When negotiating agreements, proponents often undertake inadequate consultation processes. As evidenced in the Juukan Gorge inquiry, there are many examples of proponents not properly engaging with traditional owners on affected country. Until the principle of free, prior and informed consent is embedded in our legislative frameworks, First Nations people will continue to face barriers to pursuing economic opportunities that protect country and culture. It is time for Australian governments on all levels to fully implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. First Nations knowledge and culture is not a challenge to economic development in northern Australia; it is a strength. Some of the best solutions to the current challenges faced by traditional owners will be those that uphold communities' decision-making processes, support the protection of country and improve our capacity to self-determine our future.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.