A Brief Commentary in Response to the Australian Government Discussion Paper 'Optimising Benefits from Native Title Agreements' and the Report of the Native Title Payments Working Group - Native Title Agreements and Payments

Abstract

"A Brief Commentary in Response to the Australian Government Discussion Paper ‘Optimising Benefits from Native Title Agreements’ and the Report of the Native Title Payments Working Group". This submission examines two recent Native Title reports, and identifies a number of concerns: The need to reflect on history and available evidence; the need to address threshold issues including the distinction between traditional owners and communities, whether payments are compensatory or a form of mineral rent sharing, and whether payments are public or private; the need to examine the proper role of multinational corporations (MNCs) and the state in deciding on the use of payments made to Aboriginal interests in commercial negotiations; and the need to focus on existing examples of best practice where local empowerment and performance are linked.