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Hulls takes ten years to agree to a way to agree on native title

HULLS TAKES TEN YEARS TO AGREE TO A WAY TO AGREE ON NATIVE TITLE

With native title claims still unresolved after ten years sitting on his desk, Attorney-General Rob Hulls has announced he has reached an agreement on how he will go about reaching agreements on native title claims – but only if the Commonwealth pays for it.

“The government has today announced a ‘Victorian Native Title Settlement Framework’, but that framework simply states a set of policies about which indigenous communities the government is willing to enter into negotiations with, and what the government may be prepared to agree to in those negotiations,” Shadow Attorney-General Robert Clark said today.

“There is nothing new in such a framework that the government couldn’t have arrived at years ago.

“To make matters worse, the fine print of today’s announcement states that ‘the final implementation of the framework was subject to securing Commonwealth funding’.

“In other words, today’s announcement is going nowhere unless the Commonwealth is prepared to pay for it.

“The announcement also says next to nothing about what the Settlement Framework may mean in terms of the management of Crown land and waterways and public rights of access.

“All the government’s media release says is that ‘Public access will continue to be determined by principles of sustainability and environmental protection consistent with current policy’.

“Victorians, especially country Victorians, are entitled to know the full details and to have their say about any proposals that would alter rights of access to Crown land or waterways or have implications for Crown land management policy and practice on matters such as bushfire control, noxious weeds and feral animal control.

“The Victorian Liberal Nationals Coalition welcomes measures that will achieve fair, speedy and constructive resolution of native title and other claims.

“However, we doubt that Labor’s new scheme will lead to speedy resolutions and are concerned whether it will ensure fair and constructive outcomes for all Victorians,” Mr Clark said.