The Native Title Act is only the first of 15 rounds in the Mabo saga, according to the retiring chief executive of the Australian Mining Industry Council, Lauchlan McIntosh.
The land-title position was possibly more uncertain now than it was before the Bill was passed. He warned that unless changes were made and complementary legislation passed by the states, investment would go to other countries.
“”Given there is no state with complementary legislation, and all titles are issued by the states, then there is a long way to go because some states are not issuing titles and others are being delayed,” he said. “It will be only six months before it really starts to burn.
“”And even Aboriginal people claiming native title will find the process very difficult, trying to deal with a state that has no complementary legislation. It’s just going to become messier and messier.”
Continue reading “1994_03_march_mine”