Central Land Council
Encyclopedia
The Central Land Council is an Indigenous Land Council
that represents the indigenous people of the southern half of the Northern Territory
of Australia
, predominantly in land issues. The head office is located in Alice Springs.
Its aims include:
The Central Land Council region covers 771,747 square kilometres of remote, rugged and often inaccessible areas. There are 18,000 Aboriginal people from 15 different Aboriginal language groups in Central Australia. The region is divided into nine regions based around these language groups.
The Council is a representative body with statutory authority under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. It also has responsibilities under the Native Title Act 1993
and the Pastoral Land Act 1992.
Today Aboriginal people make up 27 per cent of the Northern Territory's population and own some 49% of the land in the Northern Territory.
by the Gurindji people
at Wave Hill, cattle station in 1966.
The Commonwealth Government of Gough Whitlam set up the Woodward Aboriginal Land Rights Commission, a Royal Commission
, in February 1973 set to inquire into how land rights might be achieved in the Northern Territory
. Justice Woodward's first report in July 1973 recommended that a Central Land Council and a Northern Land Council
be established in order to present to him the views of Aboriginal people.
In response to the report of the Royal Commission a Land Rights Bill was drafted, but the Whitlam Government was dismissed before it was passed.
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was eventually passed by the Fraser Government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on Australia Day
, that is 26 January 1977.
This Act established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could, for the first time, claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. In effect it allowed title to be transferred of most of the Aboriginal reserve lands and the opportunity to claim other land not owned, leased or being used by someone else.
Australian National Audit Office
Land council
Land councils, also known as land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations organised by region that represent the Indigenous Australians who occupied that region before the arrival of European settlers...
that represents the indigenous people of the southern half of the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, predominantly in land issues. The head office is located in Alice Springs.
Its aims include:
- Helping Aboriginal people recover land.
- Consulting with landowners on mining activity, employment, development and other land use proposals.
- Protecting Aboriginal culture and sacred sites.
- Assisting with economic projects on Aboriginal land.
- Promoting community development and improving service delivery.
- Helping resolve land disputes, native title claims and compensation cases.
- Running the permit system for visitors to Aboriginal land.
The Central Land Council region covers 771,747 square kilometres of remote, rugged and often inaccessible areas. There are 18,000 Aboriginal people from 15 different Aboriginal language groups in Central Australia. The region is divided into nine regions based around these language groups.
The Council is a representative body with statutory authority under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. It also has responsibilities under the Native Title Act 1993
Native Title Act 1993
The Native Title Act of 1993 provides for determinations of native title in Australia. The Act was passed by the Keating Labor Government in response to the High Court's decision in Mabo v Queensland...
and the Pastoral Land Act 1992.
Today Aboriginal people make up 27 per cent of the Northern Territory's population and own some 49% of the land in the Northern Territory.
History
The council has its origins in the struggle of Australian Aboriginal people for rights to fair wages and land. This included the strike and walk offThe Gurindji Strike
The Gurindji Strike refers to the walk-off and strike by 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and their families in August 1966 at Wave Hill cattle station in Australia's Northern Territory....
by the Gurindji people
Gurindji people
Gurindji are a group of Indigenous Australians living in northern Australia, 460 km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory's Victoria River region....
at Wave Hill, cattle station in 1966.
The Commonwealth Government of Gough Whitlam set up the Woodward Aboriginal Land Rights Commission, a Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
, in February 1973 set to inquire into how land rights might be achieved in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. Justice Woodward's first report in July 1973 recommended that a Central Land Council and a Northern Land Council
Northern Land Council
The Northern Land Council is in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It has its origins in the struggle of Australian Aboriginal people for rights to fair wages and land. This included the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill, cattle station in 1966. The head...
be established in order to present to him the views of Aboriginal people.
In response to the report of the Royal Commission a Land Rights Bill was drafted, but the Whitlam Government was dismissed before it was passed.
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was eventually passed by the Fraser Government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
, that is 26 January 1977.
This Act established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could, for the first time, claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. In effect it allowed title to be transferred of most of the Aboriginal reserve lands and the opportunity to claim other land not owned, leased or being used by someone else.
Office locations
- Alice SpringsAlice Springs, Northern TerritoryAlice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
(Head Office) - Tennant CreekTennant Creek, Northern TerritoryTennant Creek is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the fifth largest town in the Northern Territory and it is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western terminus of the Barkly Highway....
- Kalkaringi
- PapunyaPapunya, Northern TerritoryPapunya is a small Indigenous Australian community of about 299 people roughly 240 km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia...
- MutitjuluMutitjulu, Northern TerritoryMutitjulu in Australia's Northern Territory, pop. approx. 150, is an Indigenous Australian community at the eastern end of Uluru . It is named after a knee-shaped water-filled rock hole at the base of Uluru, and is located in the world-famous Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park...
- Alparra
- Yuendumu
- Atitjere
Other NT Land Councils
The Central Land Council is one of four Land Councils in the Northern Territory, the others being:- the Northern Land CouncilNorthern Land CouncilThe Northern Land Council is in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It has its origins in the struggle of Australian Aboriginal people for rights to fair wages and land. This included the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill, cattle station in 1966. The head...
covering the Top EndTop EndThe Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the... - the Tiwi Land CouncilTiwi Land CouncilThe Tiwi Land Council was established following requests by the Tiwi people for recognition of their distinct geographic and cultural identity. These representations were a consequence of the which came into operation on 26 January 1977....
covering Bathurst and Melville IslandMelville Island, Northern TerritoryMelville Island or Yermalner Island lies in the eastern Timor Sea, off the coast of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is west of the Cobourg Peninsula in Arnhem Land and north of Darwin....
s north of DarwinDarwin, Northern TerritoryDarwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities... - the Anindilyakawa Land Council covering Groote EylandtGroote EylandtGroote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Anindilyakwa people who speak the isolated Anindilyakwa language)....
in the Gulf of CarpentariaGulf of CarpentariaThe Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
.
External links
- Home page
- The Land Is Always Alive Central Land Council history
- For more information on Native Title, see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Native Title Reports 1994-2009 http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/nt_report/index.html
Australian National Audit Office
- Performance Audit of Northern Territory Land Councils and the Aboriginals Benefit Account No. 28, Tabled: 7 February 2003
- Audit Report 28 (Adobe PDF 1,162Kb)