Division 9 Miscellaneous

71BF   Application of Division

This Division applies to and with respect to Schedule 14 lands and ALR Act lands.

71BG   Aboriginal Land Councils to act with agreement of Aboriginal owner board members

An Aboriginal Land Council or Councils in which reserved or dedicated lands are vested must, when exercising any power, authority, duty or function conferred or imposed on it or them under this Act or under the lease of the lands made under this Part (but subject to the requirements of this Act and any instrument, including the lease, made under this Act), act only with the agreement of the Aboriginal owner board members for the lands.

71BH   Regard to be had to interests of Aboriginal owners

The Director-General and the National Parks and Wildlife Service must, when exercising any power, authority, duty or function conferred or imposed on them under this Act in relation to management of the lands to which this Part applies (but subject to the requirements of this Act and any instrument, including the lease, made under this Act), have regard to the interests of the Aboriginal owners of the lands concerned.

71BI   Land management activities subject to native title

(1)  Despite any other provision of this Act:

(a)  the exercise of functions by a board of management, and

(b)  the exercise of powers, authorities, duties and functions by the Director-General and the National Parks and Wildlife Service,

      in relation to the management of the lands to which this Part applies is subject to the preservation of native title rights and interests (if any) that exist in relation to the lands.

(2)  If at any time an approved determination of native title is made that native title exists in relation to lands to which this Part applies, the Minister, the Aboriginal Land Council or Councils in which the lands concerned are vested and the board of management for the lands are authorised to enter into arrangements with the common law native title holders or their representatives (or both) to ensure that the native title rights and interests in relation to the lands are preserved.

(3)  An arrangement of the kind referred to in subsection (2) may be entered into despite any provision of this or any other Act or law and despite the fact that the entry into of the arrangement may involve the breach of another previously concluded arrangement.

(4)  No compensation is payable in respect of the breach of an arrangement because of the operation of this section.

Note. Approved determination of native title is defined in section 253 of the Native Title Act 1993 of the Commonwealth.

71BJ   Arbitration of disputes

(1)  Any dispute between:

(a)  the Director-General and a board of management, or

(b)  the Minister or Director-General and an Aboriginal Land Council or Councils,

      concerning matters arising under this Part (other than matters in respect of which a direction has been given to the Director-General by a board of management in accordance with this Part) is to be arbitrated by a panel of 3 arbitrators.

(2)  One of the 3 arbitrators is to be appointed by the Director-General, one by the board of management for the lands concerned and the third by agreement between the first 2 arbitrators or, failing such agreement, by the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court.

(3)  The procedures to apply to an arbitration are to be determined by the panel of arbitrators.

(4)  In conducting an arbitration, the arbitrators are to have regard to:

(a)  the preservation of the rights and interests of native title holders, and

(b)  the views on the subject of the dispute expressed by the Aboriginal owner board members,

      in relation to the lands concerned.

(5)  The regulations may make provision with respect to the arbitration of disputes under this section including as to the fixing and payment of the remuneration and expenses of the arbitrators.

71BK   Dissolution of Local Aboriginal Land Council

(1)  If lands to which this Part applies are vested:

(a)  in one Local Aboriginal Land Council and that Council is dissolved, or

(b)  in more than one Local Aboriginal Land Council and each of the Councils in which the lands are vested is dissolved,

      the lands are on and from the date of dissolution vested in the Aboriginal owners of the lands recorded in the register of Aboriginal owners until a new Aboriginal Land Council or Councils are constituted for the area or areas that constituted or included the area or areas of the dissolved Aboriginal Land Council or Councils.

(2)  On the constitution of the new Aboriginal Land Council or Councils, the lands vest in that Council or those Councils.

(3)  If lands to which this Part applies are vested in more than one Aboriginal Land Council and one or more but not all of the Councils in which the lands are vested are dissolved, on constitution of a new Aboriginal Land Council or Councils to replace the dissolved Council or Councils, the lands vest in that new Council or those new Councils for the interest held immediately before the dissolution by the dissolved Council or Councils.

71BL   Status of leased lands and board of management

(1)  A lease of lands to the Minister under this Part is taken, for the purposes of any Act or law, not to be a lease of lands for private purposes.

(2)  Each board of management is taken, for the purposes of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and any regulation or planning instrument made under that Act, to be a public authority and, for all purposes under that Act and any such regulation or planning instrument, to occupy in respect of the lands of which it has care, control and management under this Part, the same position that the Director-General occupies in respect of lands of which the Director-General has care, control and management under this Act.

71BM   Omission of land from Schedule 14

Schedule 14 may be amended by the omission of lands only by Act of Parliament.

71BN   Review of Part

(1)  The Minister is to review the operation of this Part to determine whether the policy objectives of the Part remain valid and whether the terms of the Part remain appropriate for securing those objectives.

(2)  The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 5 years from the date of assent to the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Aboriginal Ownership) Act 1996.

(3)  A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years.