Native Title Intensive 2022
This national seminar brings insights from the most senior and accomplished practitioners from all sides of the native title landscape. Gain critical insights and guidance into a wide variety of issues in the area including self-determination in managing large agreements, structuring overlapping claims, good faith negotiation duty, and heritage protection. WEB223V14
Description
Attend and earn 4 units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Chair: Dominic McGann, Partner, McCullough Robertson; Leading Native Title Lawyer, Project Proponent Representation, Doyle’s Guide 2021
9.00am to 10.00am Self-Determination in Managing Large Agreements for RNTBCs
Recent large agreement negotiations have seen a shift from RNTBCs relying on external trustees to look at restructuring for managing their own agreements, including trusts and operational entities. Navigating trust law, responsibilities under the CATSI Act as an RNTBC and appropriate structures for operating arms, including charitable status, are some of the key considerations for RNTBCs. Discuss the key considerations including:
- The role of the RNTBC as trustee and as a sole member of an operational arm: the corporate group
- Protecting directors and the corporation: the rule book and constitution
- Related party benefits and conflicts of interest
- Transparency with members and native title holders
- Functions of an RNTBC and services agreements with an operational arm
- Key governance and operational policies
Presented by Cassie Lang, Co-Founder and Principal, Parallax Legal, and Josephine Bourne, Academic (Teaching & Research), School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland
10.00am to 10.45am Complexity of Native Title Groups and Overlapping Claims
- Classes of overlapping claim: shared country vs competing claims, single society vs distinct societies
- Diversity within native title claim groups
- Choices in litigation to address plural claims
- Managing complexity within claim groups involved in competing claims, and between claim groups
Presented by David Yarrow, Barrister, List G Barristers; Preeminent Native Title Junior Counsel, Doyle’s Guide 2021
10.45am to 11.00am Morning Tea
11.00am to 11.45am Blackburn v Wagonga Local Aboriginal Land Council [2021] FCAFC 210: Legal and Broader Considerations Regarding Non-Claimant Applications
- Case overview
- Attorney General cross-appeal
- s 67 NTA
- Mediations in this context
- South Coast people appeal
- Issues around ‘significance of land’
- Issues around ‘unity of belief’/’knowledge’
- Issue of registration
- Broader considerations regarding non-claimant applications
- Reform proposals
Presented by Adam Butt, Barrister, 8 Wentworth Chambers; Australian Lawyers Weekly Barrister of the Year Finalist 2021 and James Walkley, Director, Chalk and Berendht
11.45am to 12.30pm Heritage Protection
- Lake Torrens: Experience of making an application under s.10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984
- Mining Agreements: Is there a need for secrecy?
- Prosecutions under the Northern Territory Sacred Sites Act 1989 (NT): Bootu Creek Manganese mine in 2013 ($150,000 fine) and Parks Australia (Gunlom Kakadu) (current): claimed Commonwealth immunity to NT law
Presented by Stephen Kenny, Consultant, Camatta Lempens; Recommended Native Title Lawyer, Traditional Owner Representation, Doyle’s Guide 2021 and Ron Levy, Barrister, Selby St Chambers
12.30pm to 1.15pm Native Title Compensation: Evidencing and Assessing Cultural Loss
- Why is cultural loss relevant?
- How could evidence for cultural loss be gathered and assessed?
- What could parties do to reach an agreement on cultural loss?
Presented by Greg Bell, Senior Lawyer and Reade Allison, Lawyer, MPS Law
Presenters
Dominic McGann
Dominic McGann has over 25 years experience as a general commercial lawyer. He specialises in government advisory work, resources and infrastructure. As an element of his practice, Dominic is an acknowledged authority on native title and cultural heritage matters. Prior to joining McCullough Robertson, he had held prominent positions with various Queensland Government agencies. In terms of his current practice in the resources and infrastructure areas, it draws on his mining, infrastructure, government and commercial legal skills (including land tenure issues, native title, cultural heritage, safety, environmental compliance, infrastructure delivery and contract performance).
David Yarrow
David Yarrow is a member of the Victoria Bar
Adam Butt
Adam Butt is an Australian Barrister based in Sydney who specializes in international arbitration, commercial litigation and human rights law. Prior to joining the NSW Bar he practiced as a solicitor at Allens Linklaters and as a senior associate in the international arbitration team at Clayton Utz. Adam has acted on numerous international investment and commercial arbitrations with seats in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and the Caribbean, including several matters as assistant to Hon James Spigelman AC. Adam has won major native title and Aboriginal land claim disputes across Australia.
James Walkley
James has practised as a solicitor since 2000 and has built a reputation as a trusted and strategic litigator and advisor. He joined the firm in 2008. In that time he has worked extensively on native title and land rights matters across South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. James has also conducted litigation in relation to compulsory acquisition and administrative law matters as well as general commercial and corporate governance matters. James has a particular expertise in relation to cultural heritage.
Greg Bell
Greg has over eleven years of experience as a specialist native title lawyer. For the past five years, Greg was the Deputy Principal Legal Officer at North Queensland Land Council, where he was previously a lawyer. Greg also has experience with the native title unit at the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department. Greg was most recently the instructing solicitor in an inquiry under s54A of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), which is the first time this alternative dispute resolution method has been used to resolve a native title dispute. Greg has a Bachelor of Arts (politics) and a Bachelor of Laws from James Cook University.
Reade Allison
Reade brings a broad range of skills, international experience and insight to MPS Law clients. Reade is a nationally accredited mediator. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of South Australia and has a triple degree in Bachelor of Law (LLB), Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Language, at the University of Adelaide. Reade completed an exchange at Peking University in Beijing and has completed internships through the Aurora Program with the Northern Land Council and with MPS Law. Reade has also volunteered at the Roma Mitchell Community Legal Centre. Reade is fluent in Mandarin and German and is the recipient of several university awards for his study.
Stephen Kenny
Stephen is a consultant at the law firm Camatta Lempens in Adelaide where he has worked since 1987. He heads up the firm’s litigation and native title section. Stephen represented the Ngarrindjeri People during the Hindmarsh Island Bridge affair, including through a Royal Commission and a High Court challenge concerning the Commonwealth’s power to make laws that are detrimental to Aboriginal People. For the last six months, Stephen has been working with Kokatha, Kuyani and Adnyamathanha People to protect Lake Torrens from drilling by a mining exploration company.
Josephine Bourne
Josephine has a history of working with other First Nations’ leaders in Australia on the possibilities of policy reform at the national level. Josephine was involved in establishing the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and served as a Co-Chair and later a member of its Ethics Council. Josephine was a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians. She was also a technical advisor, facilitator and co-convenor at the regional dialogues leading up to the Uluru Convention that produced the Uluru Statement from the Heart.