Question regarding the referral of concerns about the Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation and Matthew Slack to relevant authorities. The Minister highlights the jurisdictional issues between state and federal governments in regulating native title corporations.

AnsweredQoN 57Legislative Assembly
Asked
18 February 2020
Portfolio
Aboriginal Affairs

QuestionView source ↗

BUURABALAYJI THALANYJI
ABORIGINAL CORPORATION — MATTHEW SLACK
57. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I have a supplementary question.
Thank you, minister. I just have a question of clarification. Did the minister
refer the concerns that were raised with him on to the appropriate body within
the state and federal governments?

AnswerView source ↗

There
is no appropriate body in the state government. That is the point I am trying
to make, Mr Speaker. This is, I guess, one of the frustrations I have—in
fact, all native title ministers around the country have with native title—that
whilst native title settlements are the role of state governments, the bodies
that are set up under the Native Title Act are regulated by the commonwealth
government. That is the reality and that causes, I think, some problems when it
comes to poorly managed—I will take a step back; it is not necessarily
poorly managed or governed organisations, but certainly when you have a CEO or
an executive who appears to be misusing their position that is always a frustration.
My view is—I remember with Gumala, the former member for Pilbara Tom Stephens
a decade ago stood on the other side of the chamber and made a speech getting
stuck into ORIC. This is a perpetual problem with that commonwealth regulator
when it comes to Indigenous corporations; it is slow and frustratingly stale
when it comes to a reaction, and this is where we end up.

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