EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 157

 

Native Title Act 1993

 

NATIVE TITLE (NATIONAL ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER LAND FUND) REPEAL REGULATIONS 2005

 

 

Subsection 215(1) of the Native Title Act 1993 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General  may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

The purpose of these regulations is to repeal the Native Title (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund) Regulations (the Principal  Regulations) which are now redundant.

 

The Principal Regulations, made in 1994, relate to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund (the Fund), which was established for the purpose of assisting Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders to acquire and manage land for their economic, environmental, social and cultural benefit.  Subsection 201(3) of the Act provided that regulations may be made in respect of payments into and from the fund and in respect of the operation of the Fund.

 

Section 201 of the Act, which provided for the establishment of the Fund, was repealed in 1995.  The reason for repeal was the establishment of Indigenous Land Corporation (ILC) under Part 4A of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989.  Division 10 of Part 4A of that Act transferred all money and investments of the Fund into a new Fund known as the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund out of which payments were made to the ILC.  However, the Principal Regulations were not repealed at that time.

 

There were no adverse consequences to Aboriginal peoples or Torres Strait Islanders as a result of the transfer of money and investments out of the Fund in 1995.

 

The Act specifies no conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Regulations may be exercised.

 

The Regulations commenced on the day after they were registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.