The pursuit
by a representative body of a native title group's legal rights and interests will inevitably place the representative body, and the group that it is assisting, in opposition to the Commonwealth and State or Territory governments.
Both the OFT and the CJC recommend the power to award aggregate damages, obviating the need for proof of individual loss; there would be court approval of any proposed settlement in an action
brought by a representative body on behalf of unnamed consumers or businesses.
This has fallen short of the expectation
held by all Representative Bodies that the government would provide a detailed analysis of the reports, particularly where they have failed to fulfil the requirements of the criteria.
The Representative Body Report did not consider the possibility, although it did report positive comments made on behalf of the OIPC in relation to the role played by strategic plans.5 I note that the Department has more recently stated that repeal of section 203D will «reduce paperwork, making planning simpler and more relevant» at the same time maintaining that «good
planning by representative bodies continues to be very important» 6.
While the Northern Territory Government's actions may not be explicitly directed at nullifying the rights of native title holders, the effect of the practices is to substantially reduce the level of assistance that can be
provided by the representative bodies to native title claim groups.