Page 355 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 1 March 1994
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ASSOCIATIONS (INCORPORATION) (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
Debate resumed from 16 December 1993, on motion by Mr Connolly:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Debate (on motion by Mr Humphries) adjourned.
WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES - INTERNATIONAL YEAR
Ministerial Statement
Debate resumed from 16 December 1993, on motion by Ms Follett:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
MS SZUTY (9.09): Madam Speaker, the International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples in 1993 has concluded. I decided to adjourn the debate on this important year, however, to enable members to reflect on its success early in 1994. It is probably most important to recognise that the significance of 1993 as the International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples very much continues into 1994. The Chief Minister announced in the ACT Legislative Assembly last week, as part of her speech on the Government's priorities for 1994 and the autumn legislation program, that an early item in the Government's legislation program this year will be the introduction of the Native Title Bill which will complement the Commonwealth Government's Native Title Act which came into being towards the end of 1993. The Chief Minister said in her speech:
... the Government believes that our response to the Mabo decision needs to deal with not only the complex legal and land planning implications but also the broader social justice issues. Accordingly, we are developing a specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice agenda. The agenda will be broad in scope, in recognition of the economic disadvantage Aboriginal peoples have suffered due to dispossession of their land. We aim to increase the participation of Aboriginal peoples in decisions that affect them, and to support the maintenance and the development of Aboriginal cultures. The agenda will also aim to address the aspirations of Aboriginal peoples beyond the entitlements created by the High Court's Mabo decision and the Native Title Act 1993.
I am delighted to hear the Chief Minister's comments in that regard, Madam Speaker. I believe that, while the International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples was successful to a degree in the ACT, more needs to be done to enable indigenous peoples to actively participate in the decision making processes which affect them, and I will speak more on that later in my speech.
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