Housing on Native Title lands: responses to the housing amendments of the Native Title Act

In 2009, the Federal Government proposed to amend the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) to expedite the provision of public housing and infrastructure for remote Indigenous communities. Originally introduced as the Native Title Amendment Bill (No.2) 2009 in October 2009, the amendments were passed into legislation as the Native Title Amendment Act (No.1) 2010 in November 2010. This paper provides a summary of the issues raised in response to the amendments that emerged through the initial parliamentary consultation process and Senate inquiry. The amendments are an attempt to mediate the complexity of public housing provision on Native Title lands, yet the submissions represented a lack of wider support for the changes. The submissions base their opposition on: a lack of evidence to support the underlying claims; legal uncertainties of the proposed amendments within the broader legal landscape of Native Title; inadequate provisions for consultation contained in the amendments; the issue of non-extinguishment; issues of racial discrimination; and the exclusion of any criticism of the bureaucratic processes that contribute to delays in public housing provision. The negative responses to the amendments broadly criticise the Federal, State and Territory Governments’ continued misinterpretation of the role of Native Title in supporting Indigenous development and well-being.