Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation) Share this | Hansard source

I would now like to thank honourable members for their contributions to this debate on the Prime Minister and Cabinet Legislation Amendment (2017 Measures No. 1) Bill 2017. The bill amends legislation and repeals redundant legislation.

I present for the information of members an addendum to the explanatory memorandum which responds to a request made by the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills. The committee requested that key additional information provided to that committee be included in the explanatory memorandum.

I will keep this reasonably short because, unlike the member for Isaacs, I feel no need to go into long digressions and diversions relating to things such as who should take credit for the very positive amendments in this bill. The amendments to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Amendment Act 2005 enable the Commonwealth and its portfolio bodies to waive the exercise of its statutory consent power over certain Commonwealth funded assets by providing written notice to the Indigenous organisation concerned that consent to dispose of an interest in land is no longer required.

Historical Indigenous grant funding of land or property has been secured through the Commonwealth's application of ongoing rights and interests, usually notified by a caveat. In 2015, the Council of Australian Governments recommended that the Commonwealth review all the remaining caveats on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission properties and remove unnecessary restrictions to support economic development for Indigenous land owners.

At the moment, the law does not allow the Commonwealth to waive rights and interests for an organisation unless the contractual link is broken by the sale or disposal of the property. This ongoing aspect of rights and interests is not in line with other Commonwealth grant funding processes. In addition, the current policy is to maintain the Commonwealth's interests through the use of contract law after a property sale has occurred. The changes will reduce the administrative burden and regulatory requirements for organisations and for government. The bill will also support this government's approach to work in partnership with Indigenous Australians, empowering local communities and promoting economic opportunities.

The Commonwealth and its portfolio bodies can elect to notify the Indigenous organisations that consent is no longer required to dispose of an interest in land. The consenting authorities in question include the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Indigenous Business Australia, the Indigenous Land Corporation and other bodies with responsibilities for Indigenous affairs, such as the Department of Health and the Attorney-General's Department. These amendments will reduce red tape for the Commonwealth by permitting it to remove its regulatory role in the disposal of land and will provide opportunities to further social, economic and cultural development of Aboriginal persons and Torres Strait Islanders in their management of land. The government has consulted with Indigenous stakeholders on this amendment and will work with Indigenous Australians on the implementation of the measure.

The amendments to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 streamline the annual reporting requirements of Indigenous Business Australia by repealing the requirement for the responsible minister to table a corporate plan from Indigenous Business Australia, which duplicates reporting requirements that are already in the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The bill repeals the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 1978 and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991. These two acts are both redundant as the Commonwealth can no longer declare Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reserves in Queensland, and the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is no longer in use.

The bill amends the Auditor-General Act 1997 to align annual reporting requirements of the Auditor-General with his or her responsibility to the parliament. The Auditor-General is an independent officer of parliament. The reintroduction of tabling of annual reports directly to the parliament would demonstrate the independence of the office and be consistent with its responsibilities to the parliament. It would also bring Australia in line with international best practice for comparable auditing institutions. The amendment would allow for the Auditor-General to table the 2016-17 annual report direct to parliament. The ANAO, the Australian National Audit Office, was consulted in the drafting of the amendments.

Finally, the bill amends the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to give commissioners a new power and to increase some offence penalties. These changes will assist the operation of future royal commissions. Another change will give administrative flexibility by enabling records of a completed royal commission to be held by the Attorney-General's Department when that is considered the appropriate agency. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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