Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) This section makes special provision for the appointment of a person nominated by the Northern Territory as a member of the Board for a Commonwealth reserve consisting wholly or mostly of indigenous people's land held by the Director under lease in the Territory.
(2) Despite subsection 379(1), the Minister must not appoint the person unless:
(a) the members of the Board nominated by the traditional owners of the land consent to the appointment; or
(b) the appointment has been recommended under subsection (5).
(3) The Northern Territory may inform the Minister if it believes that the members of the Board nominated by the traditional owners of the land are unreasonably withholding consent to the appointment.
(4) If the Northern Territory informs the Minister, he or she must refer the matter to the person (the Ombudsman ) holding the office of Commonwealth Ombudsman under the Ombudsman Act 1976 .
(5) If the Ombudsman is satisfied that the members of the Board
nominated by the traditional owners of the land are unreasonably withholding
consent to the appointment, the Ombudsman must recommend to the Minister that
the Minister make the appointment.