New South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust Bill 2013 introduced

Earlier this week (Wednesday 11 September 2013) the South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation introduced the Aboriginal Land Trust Bill 2013 into the South Australian Legislative Council.

Purposes of the Bill

The Bill's purposes are stated as:

• continuing the Aboriginal Lands Trust;
• enabling the trust to acquire, hold and deal with land for the continuing benefit of Aboriginal South Australians;
• repealing its predecessor the Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966; and
• the making of various related amendments to other Acts.

In introducing the the Bill the minister claimed that it represented an important reform for Aboriginal South Australians resulting from the extensive review by the Government of the historic South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966 (the 1966 Act).

The 1966 Act

The 1966 Act was introduced by Don Dunstan the then Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and was the very first law in Australia to recognise the "profound connection" of Aboriginal people to the land and waters of this country, and the first law "to seek to redress in some way the huge losses suffered by them as a result of European settlement". The 1966 Act attempted to do so by giving Aboriginal people a collective, legal, right to land by providing for the transfer of freehold title in Crown lands reserved for Aboriginal people to a statutory Aboriginal land holding body, the Aboriginal Lands Trust, such land to be held for the ongoing use and benefit of Aboriginal South Australians.

The 1966 Act broke new ground in Australia by establishing the Aboriginal Lands Trust, with wholly Aboriginal membership, and providing for the transfer to it of all Aboriginal reserve land. The statutory trust was intended to provide flexibility and avoided the difficulties experienced in other countries that had attempted providing for indigenous land rights, namely; constitutional difficulties, fragmentation of title, and difficulty of calculating inheritance.

The 1966 Act anticipated the formal constitution of councils on the reserve lands, and that the membership of the new Trust board would not only be drawn from those councils but that the Trust would also negotiate with them about the development of their respective lands. The Trust was to be funded by the Government, and as such its performance would be subject to public scrutiny. Currently the Aboriginal Lands Trust owns over half a million hectares of land, valued at approximately $60 million, dispersed across various metropolitan, urban, regional and remote areas of South Australia.

Reasons for the repeal of historic 1966 Act

The reasons given for repeal of the 1966 Act by the Minister are that "after 46 years of operation the Act is now in need of fundamental change to reflect the contemporary circumstances and aspirations of Aboriginal South Australians" and that the Trust needs to be better enabled "to deal with the significant challenges of owning and managing [its] land".

In his second reading speech the Minister said that there have been significant changes to both the scope and diversity of Aboriginal land ownership, and the rights and responsibilities of land owners generally, since the 1996 Act was introduced and that t he competing needs of community residents, Aboriginal people with a historical or traditional connection with land, and native title claimants and holders are not being met by the current legislative scheme.

The minister also noted that at  the same time, Aboriginal community organisations are now facing much higher expectations from their own members and from Government for accountability, stability and good administrative practice. The new legislation is required to guarantee all stakeholders the right to be consulted and involved in decisions regarding development, leasing, licensing or other land dealings.

In his speech the Minister states that the current 1966 Act lacks clear objects, structures and administrative mechanisms to enable the Trust to develop its capacity to meet the changing demands of successful land management.

How does new legislation change things?

According to the Minister the Bill represents a major reform of the structure and focus of the Aboriginal Land Trust and its relationship with Government.

The Bill is designed to continue the Aboriginal Lands Trust as a statutory trust holding land for the benefit of Aboriginal South Australians with clear objects; namely, enabling the Trust to acquire, hold and deal with Trust Land for the continuing benefit of Aboriginal South Australians; and ensuring the efficient and effective administration, management and development of  Trust Land in a way that involves proper consultation with Aboriginal people with an interest in the land and increases opportunities for economic development on Trust Land.

The Bill proposes a new, more independent, skills - based Trust body, and supports sound land management, long term planning and decision making, community responsibility and economic development.

The role of the Trust will be the efficient management of its freehold estate, including the setting of relevant policy; the provision of expert advice to communities; leadership in land management projects; and consultation on land management decisions and dealings with all Aboriginal groups with a connection to the relevant land.

In commending the Bill to the house the Minister said:

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The South Australian Aboriginal Land Trust Bill 2013 (No 174) and Second Reading Speech as reported in the TimeBase LawOne service.