|
|
| Home | Search | Site Map | Help | |
The 2001-02 Budget will provide additional funding of $86 million over the next four years for the native title system. The additional funding will ensure speedier resolution of native title claims.
The Government is committed to providing Indigenous people with opportunities to gain economic and social benefits from land ownership and to assisting Indigenous people to maintain their cultural heritage. Total Commonwealth spending on Indigenous land and native title matters in 2001-02 is now expected to be $203 million after potential native title financial assistance payments to the States and Territories ($11 million) are excluded.
In 1998 the Government substantially amended the Native Title Act 1993 to make it more workable in the interests of all stakeholders. Those amendments have proved very effective. The registration test amendments have resulted in the amalgamation of overlapping claims. The number of active native title claims has been reduced from 763 before the amendments took effect to 583 as at 16 May 2001. This has streamlined the processes for managing native title claims.
The 1998 amendments provided for new arrangements for Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs). The process of re-recognition of NTRBs has been completed for all of Australia apart from two areas. Sixteen NTRBs have now been recognised and funded by the Government to provide assistance to native title claimants to progress their claims and assist claimants in land use negotiations.
The 1998 amendments also provided an agreement-making framework for Indigenous people and other parties through Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs). Sixteen ILUAs have been registered by the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT), a further twenty-one are being processed by the NNTT and the NNTT is aware of over 100 further in development as at 16 May 2001. In addition there are now over 2000 general native title process agreements involving native title parties, ranging from future act agreements to pastoral access agreements.
Native title is but one of the range of options through which Indigenous people can secure land rights. At least 15 per cent of the continent is already Aboriginal owned or controlled as a result of various Commonwealth or State statutory schemes predating the common law recognition of native title in the Mabo judgment. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund (valued at around $1.1 billion in 2001-02) provides an average of $52 million per annum to the Indigenous Land Corporation to assist Indigenous people to purchase land of social, cultural or economic significance to them and to manage land which they hold.
In addition, under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 nearly half of the Northern Territory has been returned to Indigenous ownership. Since 1996, the Government has returned thirteen parcels of land to Aboriginal traditional owners in the Northern Territory. This includes two so far in 2000-01.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources will receive additional funding in the Budget for a new programme to foster partnerships between Indigenous Australians and the mining industry. The programme will include the documentation and promotion of examples of effective and positive relationships between Indigenous communities and mining companies. The programme will involve funding of $1.2 million over four years.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 is currently before Parliament. It is intended that the Bill replace the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984. This will provide an improved Commonwealth regime for dealing with applications for heritage protection and a system of accreditation of State and Territory Indigenous cultural heritage protection regimes that meet certain standards.
The Government recognises that the return of ancestral remains is significant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In July 2000, the Prime Minister issued a joint statement with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, outlining the intentions of their governments to increase efforts to repatriate Indigenous human remains from Britain to Australia. As an important first step ATSIC has been developing protocols that will facilitate the sensitive process of repatriating ancestral remains. On behalf of the Cultural Ministers Council, the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts also funds two support programmes to assist with the identification and return of Indigenous human remains and secret/sacred objects from national, State and Territory museums within Australia to Indigenous communities.
The Australia Council, through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board, supports Indigenous artists and communities and distributes funding of between $4 million and $5 million per annum to foster Indigenous arts and culture. In recognition of the significance of the Indigenous arts and crafts industry to the national economy and to Indigenous artists the Government has assisted the National Indigenous Arts Advocacy Association in developing a Label of Authenticity. This is a national trademark to authenticate cultural products as the work of Indigenous artists. A national registry will be set up to issue the label to individual artists and organisations for both the visual and performing arts.
Early in 2001 the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies took up residence in its new building co-located with the new National Museum of Australia in Canberra. The Government funded this building at a cost of $15 million.
