Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Native title holders are entitled to share in the prosperity that a major development on their land brings—jobs, economic development opportunities and income streams. Properly invested, it can all flow from mining and other developments. That is why we welcomed the recent native title agreement between the traditional owners, the Western Australian government and the developers of the proposed Browse Basin natural gas development. The government absolutely condemns racism in all its forms. It is important that everyone respects the right of traditional owners to reach agreements to share in the benefits of major developments on their land. For this reason, the government did not support this motion or the proposed amendment by Senator Siewert.