Minority Report
Chapter 3
Conclusion
The Committee's Rationale Exposed
The Twelfth Report
3.1 The Committee's twelfth report conclusion amounts to the following:
- the recommendations of the eleventh report include endorsement of
the last resort function of indigenous heritage protection legislation;
and
- because the Committee received no evidence that would entail the abandonment
of its eleventh report conclusions;
- the recommendations of the eleventh report are endorsed by the twelfth
report (para 4.3).
For the Committee's twelfth report, it should follow that the concept
of legislation of last resort continues to be accepted; and, in that the
Bill does not provide for such legislation, it should be rejected by the
Committee on that point.
The Committee's Self-Contradiction
3.2 Nevertheless, because it does not criticise the Bill's failure to
provide legislation of last resort, the Committee's twelfth report has
abandoned support for legislation of last resort. In so doing, and as
a consequence of claiming that its eleventh report recommendations were
endorsed, the Committee's twelfth report is self-contradictory.
3.3 Accordingly, and in regard to the significant issue of legislation
of last resort, the minority cannot endorse the Committee's self-contradictory
report.
3.4 The Minority recommends:
- That the Bill present legislation of last resort which enables indigenous
people to apply directly to the Commonwealth in circumstances where
the implementation even of approved State and Territory processes may
have been deficient.
- That, following redrafting to provide for legislation of last resort,
the Bill become an exposure draft for comment over a period of at least
four weeks.
Mr Daryl Melham MP
Mr Harry Quick MP
Senator Chris Evans
Senator the Hon Margaret Reynolds
Senator John Woodley
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