Appointment of grantee to hold land for benefit of Torres Strait Islanders
36 Appointment of grantee to hold land for benefit of Torres Strait Islanders
This section applies if the Minister does not appoint, under section 35, a registered native title body corporate as the grantee of land.
The Minister may appoint as grantee of the land—
a CATSI corporation that is qualified to hold the land; or
a land trust.
However, the Minister may appoint a CATSI corporation that is a registered native title body corporate as the grantee of the land under subsection (2) only if—
under the Commonwealth Native Title Act, a determination has been made that native title exists in relation to all or a part of the land and the CATSI corporation is the registered native title body corporate for the determination; or
a determination has not been made under the Commonwealth Native Title Act that native title exists in relation to all or a part of the land, but the Minister is satisfied it is appropriate in all the circumstances to appoint the CATSI corporation as the grantee of the land.
Examples of when it is appropriate to appoint the CATSI corporation as the grantee of the land—
1 The appointment of the CATSI corporation is supported by consultation with Torres Strait Islanders particularly concerned with the land.
2 The land is within the external boundaries of an area of land the subject of a native title determination and the CATSI corporation is the registered native title body corporate for the determination.
3 An ILUA has been entered into for the land and the CATSI corporation is nominated in the ILUA as the proposed grantee for the land under this Act.
4 Anthropological research supports the CATSI corporation as being the appropriate grantee.
Before making the appointment, the Minister must consult with, and consider the views of, Torres Strait Islanders particularly concerned with the land.
Subsection (4) does not apply if an ILUA has been entered into for the land and the entity is nominated in the ILUA as the proposed grantee for the land under this Act.
However, in considering whether to appoint an entity nominated in an ILUA as the proposed grantee for the land, the Minister may have regard to any matter the Minister considers relevant to the proposed appointment, including, for example—
whether any Torres Strait Islanders particularly concerned with the land may be adversely affected by the appointment; and
if the Minister is satisfied any Torres Strait Islanders particularly concerned with the land will be adversely affected by the appointment—any action the entity intends to take to address the concerns of the Torres Strait Islanders.
Also, in considering whether to appoint a registered native title body corporate as the proposed grantee for the land, the Minister may have regard to any matter the Minister considers relevant to the proposed appointment, including, for example, the matters mentioned in section 35(4)(b) and (c).
In appointing a grantee of land under this section, the Minister must have regard to any Island custom applicable to the land.
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