Warnings planned new Territory Coordinator law could erode Indigenous land rights and open door to nuclear waste storage
ABCA veteran native title barrister and green groups are warning the Northern Territory government's plan to pass a new law giving a Territory Coordinator bureaucrat the power to "slash red tape" could erode Indigenous land rights and open the door to nuclear waste storage. The draft bill to introduce a new Territory Coordinator position, for which public consultation closes on Friday, would also give the NT chief minister new powers to "streamline approvals" and to issue "exemption notices" which could exclude the application of a law to government processes. Barrister Greg McIntyre SC, who won the 1992 Mabo case that paved the way for Australia's Indigenous native title laws, said the proposed bill would "very likely" be open to legal challenge because it appeared to conflict with federal Indigenous land rights laws. The draft bill states that the Territory Coordinator "may not use their powers in a way that interferes with the protection of Aboriginal native title rights … and the Aboriginal Land Rights Act", both of which are federal laws.
History of this topic
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