Chaney drops native title tribunal

"He has concerns like many Aboriginal people, many mining companies, that they need certainty in this system," she said. "The native title resolution system needs to be properly resourced so that everybody involved can get resolution as quickly and as fairly as possible."

As far as Mr Chaney was concerned the NTT failed to adequately address and resolve ILUA related matters that came before them.

So what is an ILUA?

An Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) is a voluntary agreement between a native title group and others about the use and management of land and water.

ILUAs allow people to negotiate flexible, pragmatic agreements to suit their particular circumstances. ILUAs can be made separately from the formal native title process but they may also be part of a native title determination. ILUAs can be formed on the following topics:

• native title holders agreeing to a future development;
• how native title rights coexist with the rights of other people;
• access to an area;
• extinguishment of native title; and
• compensation.

Sadly, anyone who has been involved with the native title registration process and Indigenous Land Use Agreements will know that the cards on native title are stacked firmly in the soft hands of mining company executives.

And why shouldn’t the mining company executives feel smug about their position on all land matters when the state and federal governments, the recipients of billions of dollars in mining taxes during the present resources boom, show bias towards them in legal disputes with traditional owners.

Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, on giving his ANZ Asia Keynote Address in Singapore, September 17, 2006, confirmed that more than $32 billion of new investment has occurred in the mining sector alone since the start of 2004.

Costello went on to say:

“This investment is increasing the capacity of the Australian economy and providing a basis for future economic growth. In particular, the increased capacity in the mining sector is expected to support an improvement in Australia’s export volumes.

“Australia is thus well positioned to reap the benefits of the global commodity boom. This boom has seen the terms-of-trade increase to its equal highest level since 1974.”