Page 1796 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 June 1993
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and of law of the role that Aboriginals played in this country before it was colonised by white people, and in turn the question of what just and appropriate reconciliation there should be between the interests of whites and of Aboriginal people.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I note with interest that the Chief Minister goes through a number of the issues that were part and parcel of that reconciliation in the course of the meeting. I note, for example, that, despite her comments earlier today, that the conservatives, as she put it, were responsible for sabotaging the process of reaching a national approach, she says:
... I supported Premier Fahey's call of the previous day that senior officers of all jurisdictions meet before the forthcoming financial Premiers Conference to see whether obstacles to a national approach can be removed.
Obviously there are conservatives and there are conservatives. It seems to me, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the problems that were inherent in the meeting in Melbourne, the resistance of some States to a particular course or particular courses of action, rested not so much on the political persuasion of the Premiers of those States, but on, if you like, the historical background of those particular States, and on a whole range of factors, some of which were to do with the political affiliations of the Premiers concerned.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we all need to be looking at the issue from all sides. This is an issue with many facets. It is an issue that is not going to be resolved by our calling each other names - and "conservatives" is just one of the many names that people have used in this debate. It is rather a question of using opportunities which are presented and avoiding areas where opportunities will be lost. I believe, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the statement the Chief Minister has made indicates very clearly that there are certainly opportunities to be won and to be lost on both sides of this equation.
I am not at all reassured on the question of the leasehold system in the ACT under Mabo and where that is left as a result of the Mabo decision. The Chief Minister referred to the implications of the Mabo decision for the ACT not being straightforward. Hear, hear! That is certainly the case. As such, it is understandable that the Chief Minister should go on to say that it is very unlikely, rather than that it is impossible, that existing residential, commercial or rural leases will be affected by a Mabo-style claim. It is simply not possible to discern from the seven judgments handed down in the High Court decision just what the position would be with respect to the ACT. I think, with the greatest respect, that the Attorney-General's reference to mining leases, and drawing some conclusion about residential leases or commercial leases in the ACT, is an extremely long bow. Having read parts of the judgments in the Mabo case, I cannot support that very long bow in this matter. The Chief Minister said:
... the ACT Government will need to work closely with the Commonwealth Government to explore the implications of the Mabo decision for existing leases and to address any consequences which may emerge.
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