Annual Report 2007–2008
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07 08 NATIONAL NATIVE TITLE TRIBUNAL CONTACT DETAILS Annual Report 2007–2008 Tribunal National Native Title PRINCIPAL REGISTRY (PERTH) NEW SOUTH WALES AND AUSTRALIAN Level 4, Commonwealth Law Courts Building CAPITAL TERRITORY 1 Victoria Avenue Level 25 Perth WA 6000 25 Bligh Street Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 9973, Perth WA 6848 GPO Box 9973, Sydney NSW 2001 Telephone: (08) 9268 7272 Facsimile: (08) 9268 7299 Telephone: (02) 9235 6300 Facsimile: (02) 9233 5613 VICTORIA AND TASMANIA Level 8 SOUTH AUSTRALIA 310 King Street Level 10, Chesser House Annual Report Melbourne Vic. 3000 91 Grenfell Street Adelaide SA 5000 GPO Box 9973, Melbourne Vic. 3001 GPO Box 9973, Adelaide SA 5001 Telephone: (03) 9920 3000 2007–2008 Facsimile: (03) 9606 0680 Telephone: (08) 8306 1230 Facsimile: (08) 8224 0939 NORTHERN TERRITORY Level 5, NT House WESTERN AUSTRALIA 22 Mitchell Street Level 11, East Point Plaza Darwin NT 0800 233 Adelaide Terrace Perth WA 6000 GPO Box 9973, Darwin NT 0801 GPO Box 9973, Perth WA 6848 Telephone: (08) 8936 1600 Facsimile: (08) 8981 7982 Telephone: (08) 9268 9700 Facsimile: (08) 9221 7158 QUEENSLAND Level 30, 239 George Street NATIONAL FREECALL NUMBER: 1800 640 501 Brisbane Qld 4000 WEBSITE: www.nntt.gov.au GPO Box 9973, Brisbane Qld 4001 National Native Title Tribunal office hours: Telephone: (07) 3226 8200 8.30am – 5.00pm Facsimile: (07) 3226 8235 8.00am – 4.30pm (Northern Territory) CAIRNS (REGIONAL OFFICE) Level 14, Cairns Corporate Tower 15 Lake Street Cairns Qld 4870 PO Box 9973, Cairns Qld 4870 Telephone: (07) 4048 1500 Facsimile: (07) 4051 3660 Resolution of native title issues over land and waters. Annual Report 2007–2008 Resolution of native title issues over land and waters. About this report While required to report to the responsible Minister under s. 133 of the Native Title Act 1993, the primary purpose of the annual report of the National Native Title Tribunal is to inform and be accountable to, fi rstly, the Parliament and, secondly, its stakeholders about the services provided. The Tribunal is a statutory authority and is therefore not compelled to observe the annual reporting requirements for government departments; however, it chooses to do so. Copies of this annual report in book form may be obtained from any registry of the National Native Title Tribunal (see back cover for contact details) or online at www.nntt.gov.au in PDF format. We draw attention to the online versions for those readers who prefer to enlarge the type and who may prefer to choose particular parts of the report for downloading. Upon request, the text of this report in whole or in part can be supplied free of charge in braille. The National Native Title Tribunal encourages readers to make comment on the usefulness and contents of the report. Please forward any comments to Public Affairs Manager Tim Evans on freecall 1800 640 501 or email [email protected]. © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 ISSN 1324-9991 ISSN 1445-7776 (online) ISBN 978-0-9804201-4-2 © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney General’s Department, Robert Garran Offi ces, National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600, or posted at www.ag.gov.au/cca. PAGE ii Principal Registry Commonwealth Law Courts Building 06 October 2008 Level 4, 1 Victoria Avenue Perth WA 6000 GPO Box 9973 Perth WA 6848 The Hon Robert McClelland MP Telephone (08) 9268 7272 Attorney-General Facsimile (08) 9268 7299 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Attorney I am pleased to submit to you, for presentation to the Parliament, the annual report of the National Native Title Tribunal for the year ended 30 June 2008. The report has been prepared in accordance with s.133 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth). Yours sincerely Graeme Neate President Freecall 1800 640 501 Resolution of native title issues over land and waters. www.nntt.gov.au PAGE iii Contents About this report..........................................................................................................................ii Letter of transmission ............................................................................................................... iii List of fi gures ............................................................................................................................. vii List of tables ............................................................................................................................... vii President’s overview ..................................................................................................................1 Year in review ...............................................................................................................................1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................1 External factors affecting the Tribunal ...............................................................................2 Trends within the Tribunal ................................................................................................ 14 Future trends ........................................................................................................................27 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 37 Tribunal overview .................................................................................................................... 39 Role and functions ..................................................................................................................... 39 Tribunal Members .....................................................................................................................40 Organisational structure ..........................................................................................................42 Outcome and output structure ................................................................................................44 Report on performance ...........................................................................................................47 Performance overview ..............................................................................................................47 Price ........................................................................................................................................47 Client satisfaction .................................................................................................................47 Performance against effectiveness indicators..................................................................47 Outcome and output performance .........................................................................................48 Output group 1—Stakeholder and community relations ...................................................49 Output 1.1—Capacity-building and strategic/sectoral initiatives ...............................49 Output 1.2—Assistance and information .........................................................................51 Output group 2—Agreement-making ....................................................................................54 Output 2.1—Indigenous land use agreements ................................................................54 Output 2.2—Native title agreements and related agreements......................................56 Output 2.3—Future act agreements ..................................................................................64 Output group 3—Decisions .....................................................................................................67 Output 3.1—Registration of native title claimant applications .....................................67 Output 3.2—Registration of indigenous land use agreements .....................................70 Output 3.3—Future act determinations and decisions whether negotiations were undertaken in good faith ..........................................................................................75 Output 3.4—Finalised objections to expedited procedure............................................77 PAGE iv Management .............................................................................................................................. 81 Tribunal Executive ..................................................................................................................... 81 Role and responsibilities .....................................................................................................81 Corporate governance ............................................................................................................... 81 Members’ meetings .............................................................................................................82 Strategic Planning Advisory Group..................................................................................83 External Relations Working Group ...................................................................................83 Agreement-making Liaison Group ...................................................................................84 National Future Act Liaison Group ..................................................................................84