The Native Title Act requires negotiations are held in good...

The Native Title Act requires negotiations are held in good faith. The way I see it, if native title lawyers are pushing a project damaging position through over-regulation and barriers to investment then they are not acting in good faith. Is there some other definition of "good faith" that I don't understand? Serious question.

http://www.nntt.gov.au/futureacts/Pages/Negotiation.aspx

What is negotiation in good faith?

The right to negotiate not only requires the parties to discuss the effect of the future act on the native title parties’ registered rights and interests – it also requires them to negotiate in good faith. This means that parties must negotiate with an open mind and a genuine desire to reach agreement.

If a party asks the Tribunal to determine whether the future act may proceed and the Tribunal is satisfied that the grantee party or the Government party did not negotiate in good faith, the Tribunal is not entitled to make a determination.

To decide whether a party has negotiated in good faith, the Tribunal will consider the parties' conduct during the course of negotiations. It will ask, among other things:

• Did they actively communicate?
• Were meetings attended by people with authority to make decisions?
• Did they make genuine offers?
• Was information exchanged between the parties?  
• How did the parties conduct themselves within the negotiations and outside negotiations?
• Was there a willingness to shift positions?

From the latest VRM announcement.

"With respect to the Native Title Mining Agreement, the Company is committed to ensuring an appropriate balance is maintained between fair and reasonable compensation for the impact on native title rights, and the protection of the project’s value and competitiveness to ensure the agreement is not a barrier to investment. A key focus of management is also ensuring that conditions in the agreement do not lead to cumbersome and expensive over regulation or constraints in operating or expanding the project in the future"