$40m fast-track fund for NT

The State Government has allocated $40 million to help fast-track North West Native Title land claims in a bid to ensure the state’s resources boom doesn’t stall.

Treasurer Eric Ripper disclosed the existence of the pre-emptive Native Title ‘piggie bank’ in parliament during last week’s budget estimates hearings.

The revelation came after Opposition leader Matt Birney queried an allocation of $10 million annually over the next four years that can be drawn on ahead of Native Title claims being adjudicated by the Federal Court.

“It is necessary, I think, for the Government to have some flexibility in those negotiations,” Mr Ripper said.

“For example, it may well be the case that we negotiate with a particular group of Native Title claimants for them, on the one hand, to agree that no Native Title exists in the land that they have laid claim to.”

The explanation puzzled Mr Birney, prompting him to ask why the court wasn’t seen as the appropriate venue to decide whether particular groups were entitled or not to lodge land claims.

According to Mr Ripper, federal Native Title laws result in protracted negotiations, with Federal Court determinations able to be followed by appeals to the Full Federal Court, after which the High Court can be accessed.

“We might well go to a group of Native Title claimants and negotiate on the basis that they will agree to a determination that there is no Native Title, which clears Native Title from that particular piece of land, and in return the state will offer certain benefits to that group of people,” Mr Ripper said.

“For example, there might be a statement of recognition of their connection to the land, albeit a connection that is not sufficient to satisfy Native Title law.

“There might be the option of grants of crown land.  There might be the option of some support for them to be involved in the economic activities that are occurring on that land. There could be a variety of arrangements.”

The Government’s new pre-emptive approach to resolving land claims was devised on what Mr Ripper called “an emerging basis” following negotiations on access to land on Burrup Peninsular.

That series of settlements involved payments of $11 million which included an $8 million allocation over five years for buildings and infrastructure.

But the agreements cleared the way for $6 billion worth of projects, including for Liquigas, Methanex, Japan DME and Dampier Nitrogen.

This contrasted to a drawn-out Kununurra region claim.

“The first Miriwung-Gajerrong claim spent nine years in litigation, so these rights to negotiate could continue for a very long period,” Mr Ripper said. “We may well reach a settlement with people in which they give up their claim in return for a package of benefits.

“If we could get a settlement in a year and save nine years of litigation, we are eight years ahead of where we would otherwise be.”

Mr Ripper said the Office of Native Title would be providing future act officers to land councils to help negotiations with developers to have approvals processed more quickly.

Meanwhile, last week Argyle Diamonds, owned by Rio Tinto, entered a legally binding commitment to the Miriwung, Gidja, Wularr and Malgnin people in the form of an Indigenous land-use agreement which has been registered with the National Native Title Tribunal.

“The negotiation of the agreement clears the way for an extended life of the mining operation, subject only to the economics of the project,” Tribunal deputy president Fred Chaney said.