Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Roger Jaensch, today released the exposure draft of the Aboriginal Lands Amendment Bill 2023, following extensive public consultation.
Connection to country, and the responsibility to care for it, is central to Aboriginal culture and identity, which is why the Rockliff Liberal Government has prioritised introducing this legislation to improve the way land is returned to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
"The Rockliff Liberal Government is committed to returning more land to Tasmanian Aboriginal people. The Review into the model for returning the land highlighted that the current process does not work for all Tasmanian Aboriginal people," Minister Jaensch said.
"Some feel excluded from the process of electing the body that is meant to hold the title for Aboriginal land on behalf of all Aboriginal people. Others report having been excluded from Aboriginal land itself, which is why amendments to the Act are needed.
"Whilst the existing Act provides a power for the Minister to declare parcels of Crown Land to be Aboriginal Land, it provides no guidance or mechanism by which such parcels are to be identified, assessed, consulted and presented to Parliament for approval."
The amendments will deliver:
- Clarification of the scope and intent of the Act;
- Revision of the ALCT election process to remove the objection clause and introduce a requirement for all applicants to meet the three-part test, making it less adversarial, more consistent and fairer for Aboriginal people seeking to join the ALCT Elector Roll;
- Establishing a more transparent and consistent process for proposing, consulting, and assessing parcels of Crown Land for Parliament to approve for return, by way of a 'disallowable instrument', avoiding the need to amend the Act each time a parcel of land is returned;
- Strengthening of opportunities for local Aboriginal groups to be involved in the management of Aboriginal land, and clarification of the rights of Aboriginal people to access Aboriginal land; and
- Improving process and accountability around how Aboriginal land is managed for the benefit of all Aboriginal people.
The Department of Premier and Cabinet will contact all Aboriginal and relevant non-Aboriginal stakeholders to invite their participation in the consultation process to discuss the proposed amendments.
"Feedback from this consultation process will inform the final version of the Bill that will be introduced into Parliament," Minister Jaensch said.
"I urge stakeholders to contribute to the consultation which will run for six weeks, with final submissions due on Tuesday, 19 September, 2023.
