00:00The NT Government and industry say the Territory Coordinator is needed to slash red tape and
00:09smooth the path for projects like the fledgling Beetaloo Basin gas field.
00:15It's very much about streamlining processes and success and empowering energy projects
00:21to go ahead.
00:22The law would give the Coordinator and Chief Minister powers to take control of major project
00:28approval processes and exempt projects from the checks and balances in a long list of
00:34environmental and land laws.
00:37It will provide greater transparency and better integrity for the regulation processes that
00:42are currently in place.
00:43The bill states the new powers won't conflict with federal Indigenous land rights and native
00:49title laws which enable traditional owners to veto and change projects.
00:55And it very clearly states that the Sacred Sites Act and Aboriginal Land Rights Act will
01:00be excluded from the powers of the Territory Coordinator.
01:04But a veteran native title barrister thinks the bill could erode federally enshrined Indigenous
01:09rights, particularly where it allows the Coordinator to authorise works on anybody's land to see
01:17if it should host a major project.
01:19The mere fact of a right to go onto country would be inconsistent with a native title
01:26which is held on an exclusive basis.
01:28Green groups are also worried the override power could apply to the law prohibiting a
01:33nuclear waste dump in the NT.
01:35It paves the way for the dumping of nuclear waste in the Territory by getting around the
01:40processes that we currently have.
01:42The Chief Minister says the nuclear law has only been included because NT hospitals store
01:48low-level radioactive waste.
01:51The reason that that act has to be in there is because of medical isotopes that we're
01:55dealing with through our hospital networks.
01:58The Territory Government is defending its plan by saying other states also have Coordinator
02:03roles.
02:04Many jurisdictions do have Coordinator Generals, but they don't have the power to override
02:09numerous laws which has been proposed for the Territory Coordinator.
