A new conservative coalition government is elected and a key plank of its electoral policy is to
Question:
A new conservative coalition government is elected and a key plank of its electoral policy is to 'give back to our primary producers'. The first piece of legislation passed through the new Parliament is the Land Rights for One Nation Act 2025. Key provisions of the Act provide as follows: s 9(1) A proclamation may be made under sub-section (2) in relation to identified property that is in a State and is property to which one or more of the following paragraphs apply: (a) the property is part of a pastoral or mining lease that is the subject of a native title claim; (b) the property is subject to a native title claim; (2)Where the Governor-General is satisfied that any property in respect of which a Proclamation may be made under this sub-section could be improved by primary production for the purposes of agriculture or mining, he or she may, by Proclamation, declare that property to be property to which section 9 applies. s 10 Property over which a proclamation is made ceases to be subject to native title claims. Note: ss9 and 10 are enacted pursuant to s51(xxvi) 'the race power'. ... s 29(1) The Commonwealth may acquire any private property in close proximity to any site proclaimed as having use for primary production for the benefit of the Australian nation under sections 9 and 10, where the Minister for Agriculture and Primary Production has formed the view that the use of that property could enhance primary production on the property proclaimed under the Act. (2) Where property is acquired under s 29(1), the Commonwealth shall pay the proprietor of that property an amount to be determined by the Minister for Agriculture and Primary Production having regard to: (a) the land area of the property; (b) the extent to which the property affects the heritage value of the proclaimed site; and (c) any public interest relevant to the property; but, in any case, the amount shall not exceed 50% of the market value of the property. ... s 42 There will be a Primary Production Tribunal (PPT) which will have as its objective the protection of land rights for primary production.
s 43 Any person who is charged with a breach of any provision of this Act shall have the matter heard by the PPT, and if found in breach of a provision of this Act will be subject to a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment or a fine of $50,000. A breach is an indictable offence. s 44 The PPT shall be made up of a judge of the Federal Court and three nominees of the Minister for Agriculture and Primary Production. Each shall hold office at the pleasure of his or her excellency, the Governor-General. s 50 No person shall interfere with, curtail or trespass upon lands or property subject to a proclamation under s 9 of this Act. ... The Pinikura people of the Pilbara Region in Western Australia have been demanding further native title-based protections over their sacred land, since 2020 when a number of their sacred sites - 45,000 year old rock shelters - were blown-up by a large mining company at Juukan Gorge. The demands would require the company to cease mining operations within a 5 square kilometre radius of sacred sites. The company approaches the Minister for Agriculture and Primary Production to intervene to permit mining to continue under the provisions of the new Act. The Government makes a proclamation under s9(2). Betty Babbage, a local farmer and conservationist, leases a property that adjoins the mine site at Juukan Gorge. Since the devastation, she has permitted the Pilbara Land Council to establish a makeshift office using demountable buildings which lawyers and rangers from the land council now use to monitor mining operations on Pinikura land. She receives a notice from the Commonwealth Government stating that her lease is to be compulsorily acquired, together with compensation in the amount of $1000.00 to assist with her relocation expenses. Betty estimates that the cost of relocation, as a result of leaving the remote leased property, will be at least $10,000.00. A few weeks later, the company has prepared blasting operations in the Gorge area that is subject to the s9 proclamation. Late at night, Betty, together with a young land council lawyer and two Indigenous rangers from the Pilbara Land Council cross into the proclaimed area with a pair of pliers. They defuse the explosives that have been set for the following day. As they are leaving, they are spotted by mine security, arrested, turned over to the Federal Police and charged with offences under s50 of the Act. The are convicted by the PPT tribunal and each sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.
QUESTION 1) Advise Betty and the Pilbara Land Council as to the constitutional validity of the commonwealth government's action.