Land council
Encyclopedia
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. They have historically advocated for recognition of traditional land rights, and also for the rights of Indigenous people in other areas such as equal wages and adequate housing.
Most Land Councils provide representation and organization of native title
for Indigenous Australians
, and receive funding from the Australian Commonwealth Government to do this work. Most land councils were formed since the late 1970s to gain native title, and most propositions for land councils have been put forth to the state governments since the 1990s, particularly after the downfall of the terra nullius
legal precedent in Mabo v. Queensland (1993).
Some land councils can be governed by other, larger councils, which federate multiple local land councils for representation at the state and federal level.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
who occupied that region before the arrival of European settlers. They have historically advocated for recognition of traditional land rights, and also for the rights of Indigenous people in other areas such as equal wages and adequate housing.
Most Land Councils provide representation and organization of native title
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
for Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, and receive funding from the Australian Commonwealth Government to do this work. Most land councils were formed since the late 1970s to gain native title, and most propositions for land councils have been put forth to the state governments since the 1990s, particularly after the downfall of the terra nullius
Terra nullius
Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "land belonging to no one" , which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished...
legal precedent in Mabo v. Queensland (1993).
Some land councils can be governed by other, larger councils, which federate multiple local land councils for representation at the state and federal level.
Northern Territory
- Central Land CouncilCentral Land CouncilThe 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...
covering the southern part of mainland Northern Territory - 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 northern part of mainland Northern Territory - 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...
.
Queensland
- North Queensland Land Council
- Central Queensland Land Council
- Torres Strait Regional AuthorityTorres Strait Regional AuthorityThe Torres Strait Regional Authority is an Australian Government body established to administer the Torres Strait Islands.The TSRA consists of 20 elected representatives....
- Cape York Land Council
South Australia
- Anangu Pitjantjatjara Land Council
- South Australian Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc.
- Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Council
Western Australia
- South-West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council
- Yamatji Bana Baaba Marlpa Land and Sea Council
- Goldfields Land and Sea Aboriginal Council Corporation
- Kimberley Land CouncilKimberley Land CouncilKimberley Land Council Aboriginal Corporation ICN 21 is an association of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region. It was formed at a meeting at Noonkanbah Station in May 1978....
- Ngaanyatjarra Council (Aboriginal Corporation)
External links
- Proposed, successfully granted and declined land councils from the Department for Victorian Communities' Aboriginal Heritage Council website
- Land councils
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Reports 1994-2008 and Native Title Reports 1994-2008 for more information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs.