Yesterday the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Mr Anthony Beven, announced that two Queensland based Registered Native Title Bodies Corporate (RNTBC) have been placed under special administration—Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation and Dhubbi Warra Aboriginal Corporation.
In May 2008 the corporations were examined under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006. The examiner recommended placing them under special administration.
‘We requested these examinations because we had concerns about how registers of members were being managed and non-members attending meetings. There was also uncertainty about who the directors of each corporation were.’ Mr Beven said.
Walmbaar Aboriginal Corporation, located at Mareeba, was set up in 1997 to hold and manage native title for Dingaal country. Dhubbi Warra Aboriginal Corporation is based at Hopevale in far north Queensland. It was set up in 1996 to hold and manage native title for Dhubbi Warra country. Both corporations are registered on the National Native Title Register.
Mr Gerry Mier and Mr Tony Jonsson from the Cairns based firm of KPMG have been appointed as the joint special administrators of both corporations. They can be contacted on (07) 4046 8888.
‘We hope that by putting the corporations under special administration, these concerns can be sorted out quickly and control of the corporation can be returned to members.’
‘The Registrar’s power to appoint a special administrator under the CATSI Act can be used to provide a safety net against the possibility of corporate failure, especially for corporations holding land.’
The CATSI Act prevents the Registrar from deregistering an RNTBC in recognition of the special position of RNTBCs under native title legislation.
Contact:
Lisa Donnelly
02 6219 7611
24 September 2008
ORIC MR0809–09