Diversification leases: why you should be concerned

Diversification leases – a new form of land tenure – are the current buzzwords in the renewable energy and carbon farming sector.

They form part of the State Government’s Land and Public Works Legislation Amendment Bill 2022, introduced to Parliament on 23 November last year (tinyurl.com/progressofbill) and passed by the Legislative Council on 14 March. The bill has amended the Land Administration Act 1997 (LAA) to allow more flexible use of Crown land.

The diversification leases outlined in the bill will be a new form of land tenure that, among other activities, will be applicable to the renewable energy and carbon farming sector. While YMAC acknowledges the need for alternative tenure under the LAA and generally accepts the purpose of diversification leases, the amendments will have a large impact on First Nations entities (including native title parties) and Traditional Owners.

While some consultation did occur, YMAC does not believe it:

• allowed any opportunities for partnership or shared decision-making with First Nations peoples or entities.

• featured genuine engagement with First Nations entities where feedback was reflected on and adopted.

• included discussions on amendments to the Public Works Act or amendments to the pastoral lease provisions in the LAA.

YMAC had previously advocated that any amendments to the LAA needed to establish a policy position where, when an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) was sought by a diversification lease proponent, it should be matched with the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to ensure the rights and interests of native title holders were adequately protected.

It is foreseeable that, in the rush to meet net zero emissions targets, the State Government will be under pressure from proponents and its own goals, in relation to renewable energy.

While well-intentioned, it is critical the rights of native title holders are not compromised.

With renewable energy projects having potential impacts to Country of up to 70 years, it is vital this is done right from the outset so Traditional Owners can also benefit from this process.

Read more at tinyurl.com/submissionoct2022 and tinyurl.com/submissionsep2022 .

AIATSIS Summit comes to Boorloo / Perth

This year’s AIATSIS Summit is being held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from 5 to 9 June, co-convened with the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council in Boorloo / Perth on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja (Country).

Navigating the spaces in-between is the overall theme, continuing the conversation from last year’s summit to expand on the wisdom and value of First Nations’ ways of knowing, seeing and being in the world.

AIATSIS CEO Craig Ritchie said the theme Navigating the spaces in-between had been a proven stimulus for ideas and engagement.

“We have not exhausted its potential,” he said.

“The program for 2023 provides the opportunity to bring things from the periphery into focus, identifying among those spaces in-between the potential for innovation, risk and complexity. It opens the way to explore radical creativity and how First Nations peoples can re-imagine our future.”

For more details, visit tinyurl.com/AIATSIS2023 .