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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.