Frequently Asked Questions Do the agreements bind future WA Governments? Yes. The Settlement has the support of both major political parties. All native title agreements in Western Australia involving one State Government have been honoured by successive governments. What is the impact upon Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in the South West Settlement area? LGAs have a major role in terms of their engagement with the Noongar community. Many LGAs already have a good working relationship with Aboriginal people and the Settlement can only assist in building better partnerships in the South West. This can be achieved through LGAs engaging with the Noongar Regional Corporations in their work to provide better service delivery to the Noongar Community. No local government function will be affected by the Settlement. While LGAs are not bound to use the Noongar Standard Heritage Agreement (NSHA), they are encouraged to enter into NSHAs with Regional Corporations as it will provide a uniform and efficient approach to heritage surveys to streamline compliance with the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. What are ILUAs? Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) are agreements made between a native title group and others about the use of land or waters. These agreements allow people to negotiate flexible, pragmatic agreements to suit their particular circumstances. The agreements must be authorised by the native title group. When registered under the Native Title Act 1993, the ILUAs bind all people who hold or may hold native title in a particular ILUA area. ILUAs can provide many benefits to all parties concerned. As they are flexible they are able to reflect the specific needs of the parties involved. They are able to deal with a wide range of native title matters such as the consent to future acts, compensation, and protection of significant sites and culture. ILUAs also provide certainty for other parties to carry out activities and developments on the land and waters in the agreement area. The ILUAs that have been negotiated over the South West are unprecedented in Australia as they involve the surrender of any native title that may exist over the
Frequently Asked Questions Do the agreements bind future WA Governments? Yes. The Settlement has the support of both major political parties. All native title agreements in Western Australia involving one State Government have been honoured by successive governments. What is the impact upon Local Government Authorities (LGAs) in the South West Settlement area? LGAs have a major role in terms of their engagement with the Noongar community. Many LGAs already have a good working relationship with Aboriginal people and the Settlement can only assist in building better partnerships in the South West. This can be achieved through LGAs engaging with the Noongar Regional Corporations in their work to provide better service delivery to the Noongar Community. No local government function will be affected by the Settlement. While LGAs are not bound to use the Noongar Standard Heritage Agreement (NSHA), they are encouraged to enter into NSHAs with Regional Corporations as it will provide a uniform and efficient approach to heritage surveys to streamline compliance with the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. What are ILUAs? Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) are agreements made between a native title group and others about the use of land or waters. These agreements allow people to negotiate flexible, pragmatic agreements to suit their particular circumstances. The agreements must be authorised by the native title group. When registered under the Native Title Act 1993, the ILUAs bind all people who hold or may hold native title in a particular ILUA area. ILUAs can provide many benefits to all parties concerned. As they are flexible they are able to reflect the specific needs of the parties involved. They are able to deal with a wide range of native title matters such as the consent to future acts, compensation, and protection of significant sites and culture. ILUAs also provide certainty for other parties to carry out activities and developments on the land and waters in the agreement area. The ILUAs that have been negotiated over the South West are unprecedented in Australia as they involve the surrender of any native title that may exist over the
FAQs-South-West-Settlement-July-2015-Factsheet.docx