The Native Title Amendment Act 1998 (Cth), also commonly referred to as the "10 Point Plan" is an Australian law created by the John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

 led Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 government in response to the 1996 Wik Decision

Wik Peoples v Queensland

Wik Peoples v The State of Queensland is a decision of the High Court of Australia delivered on 23 December 1996 on whether statutory leases extinguish native title rights. The court found that the statutory pastoral leases under consideration by the court did not bestow rights of exclusive...

 by the High Court of Australia

High Court of Australia

The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...

. The Native Title Amendment Act 1998 created the Native Title Tribunal and placed restrictions on land rights claims.

History

In 1996, the High Court’s decision in Wik Peoples v Queensland was handed down. The case dealt with the question of whether pastoral leases granted between 1910 and 1974 in Far North Queensland had the effect of extinguishing native title. A 4:3 majority of the judges decided that the grant of a pastoral lease did not confer exclusive possession, and that native title could therefore continue to exist – this has been called “coexistence”. Where an inconsistency between the native title and non-native title rights occurs, the non-native title rights prevail.

The NTA had not adequately dealt with the possibilities of native title existing over pastoral leases or of native title rights co-existing with other rights. Since the NTA had come into effect, governments had been taking action on pastoral leases that did not comply with the NTA. Wik raised the possibility that those acts could be invalid and showed that the ‘freehold test’ (the principle used to determine where proposed activities could be done without regard to native title) in relation to future acts was inappropriate. The Federal Government developed the Ten Point Plan, which became the basis for the amendments, to deal with these inadequacies of the NTA.

The amendments

• included changes to the status of the National Native Title Tribunal (ss 61, 86B), handing some powers to the Federal Court;
• introduced the registration test for native title applications (ss 1190A-190D);
• broadened the confirmation provisions (div 2B) and validation provisions (div 2A, div 2AA);
• changed provisions for primary production activities (s 24), statutory access rights (div 3Q), compulsory acquisitions and the right to negotiate provisions (div 3 sub-div P);
• extended the agreement making abilities under the Act, replacing Section 21 Agreements with Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) (div 3 sub-divs B-E); and
• gave the States and Territories powers to validate ‘intermediate period acts’ and authorise ‘previous exclusive possession acts’.

The "10 Point Plan"

The ten points were as follows:

1. The National Native Title Tribunal holds absolute authority over claims for Native Title
   Native title
   Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
   
   
2. State governments are empowered to extinguish Native Title over crown lands for matters of 'national interest'
3. Lands providing public amenities are exempt from Native Title claims
4. Mining and pastoral leases are allowed to co-exist with Native Title
5. The National Native Title Tribunal can create access to traditional lands rather than granting full Native Title
6. A registration test is imposed on all claimants
7. The right to claim Native Title in or around urban areas is removed
8. Government is permitted to manage land, water, and air issues in any site
9. Very strict time limits will be placed on all claims
10. Indigenous Land Use Agreements with be created to promote co-existence

The legislation was opposed by the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 and the Australian Democrats

Australian Democrats

The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...

. The final legislation was amended to gain the support of Independent Senator Brian Harradine

Brian Harradine

Richard William Brian Harradine , Australian politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of Tasmania. He was the longest-serving independent federal politician in Australian history, and a Father of the Senate.He was born in Quorn, South...

, whose vote was required for the bill to pass.http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s12184.htm

External links

• Title Amendment Act 1998