Native Title Report 2001: Recommendations

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Native Title Report 2001

Appendix 1:

Compiled Recommendations

Chapter
One - The right to negotiate and human rights

• That state and
  territory government departments administering the issue of future act
  notifications develop strategic plans, in consultation with NTRBs, with
  the aim of improving the efficiency of their administrative practices.
  
  
  
• The manner and
  rate of administering future acts should be determined with the informed
  consent of NTRBs.

Chapter
Two - Resourcing Equality

• The Commonwealth
  should fund the native title representative bodies sufficiently to carry
  out their statutory functions in accordance with their responsibility
  to promote the protection of native title. In particular, NTRBs should
  be funded so that they have the capacity to fulfil their core functions,
  prioritise between competing service demands of their constituents,
  and maintain appropriate standards of corporate governance.
  
  
  
• The Commonwealth
  should redress the inequity in funding between the native title representative
  bodies and other organizations in the native title system, such that
  the native title system does not disadvantage native title parties.
  
  
  
  
• To ensure a strategic
  approach, the Government should conduct an audit of all native title
  applications and hold a summit to determine the capacities and intentions
  of all elements of the native title system. The provision of adequate
  funding by the Commonwealth and the role of the Federal Court will be
  crucial to the success of this initiative. [1]
  
  
  
• More financial
  resources should be made available to native title representative bodies
  for the negotiation of ILUAs. [2]
  
  
  
• The government
  should ensure adequate funding of prescribed bodies corporate to enable
  them to perform their statutory functions and receive appropriate training
  to meet their statutory duties. This training should include instruction
  in directors' duties, accounting procedures and land management. [3]
  
  
  
• The Federal Court
  should continue to facilitate meetings between representatives from
  the Aboriginal representative bodies, Federal government, State and
  Territory governments, Federal Court and National Native Title Tribunal
  to discuss the expected time frame for resolution of native title claims
  and ways to manage the cases so as to meet the agreed timetable. [4]
  Such meetings should be used to formulate regional plans for the management
  of native title determination applications which take into account the
  strategic plans of the NTRBs in that region.

1. Recommendation
of the Wand Review, op cit.

2. Recommendation
of the PJC Report, op cit.

3. ibid.

4. Recommendation
74 of the Australian Law Reform Commission Report, op cit.