Northern Land Council
The Northern Land Council ( NLC ) is one of four Land Councils in the Northern Territory , Australia . These councils form political interest groups for the local Aborigines with regard to their land rights. Its founding was the result of the Aboriginal struggle for their human and land rights and for their right to equal pay.
About 30,000 Aborigines live under the jurisdiction of the Northern Land Council , 3,000 of them in remote settlements.
history
After colonial officials, farmers, prospectors and missionaries failed to establish permanent establishments in northern Australia in the early years of British colonization , this changed in the late 19th century. However, this had the consequence that the Aborigines were driven from their hunting grounds and their fertile land. Many Aborigines were forced to work in cattle stations if they wanted to maintain their ties to their land. The first Aboriginal mission station in the area of the Northern Land Council was founded in 1935 near Yirrkala , where numerous Aborigines had to live.
In the 1960s, the Aboriginal land rights movement developed strength. The establishment of the Land Councils in the Northern Territory goes back to political movements of the Aborigines. The historical starting points lie in the Yolngu Bark petition of 1963, which was important for the enforcement of their land rights and in the Gurindji Strike of 1966 when the Aborigines campaigned and fought for equal wages for “black and white”.
The Australian government under Gough Whitlam of the Australian Labor Party set up the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission in February 1973 , which had the task of dealing with the land rights of the Aborigines in the Northern Territory and developing concepts. Presiding Judge Edward Woodward of the Royal Commission proposed in his first report in July 1973 that a Northern Land Council and a Central Land Council be established. These administrative organizations should look after the land interests for the Aborigines. After this first report, a bill, the Land Rights Bill , was introduced to the Australian Parliament. However, the Whitlam government was ousted before this law could be passed.
The successor government of the Iberal Conservative Malcolm Fraser passed the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 . With effect from this law, the Aborigines were granted land rights in the Northern Territory. It later came into force on Australia Day , January 26, 1977. Meanwhile, about half of the land area of the Northern Territory belongs to the Aborigines.
The other three councils in the Northern Territory are the Central Land Council , which is located in the south of the Northern Territory, the Tiwi Land Council on the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin and the Anindilyakawa Land Council , which extends over the Groote Eylandt archipelago in the Gulf of Carpentaria extends. The central office of the Land councils, established in 1973, is in Darwin.
Tasks and representation of interests
The Northern Land Council is a public corporation established under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 . The Native Title Act 1993 and the Pastoral Land Act 1992 are also legally binding for these bodies .
The task of the councils is to administer and protect the interests of the land rights of the indigenous population. This concerns the mining rights, the depository study , the railway and gas pipeline construction, the training grounds of the army, the national parks and agricultural enterprises. Another task also includes the reconciliation of interests about land rights among the Aborigines.
After a supreme court ruling by the High Court of Australia , the Aborigines were awarded property of the coastal land, including the land that includes the tidal range . This affects about 85% of the Northern Territory's coastline.
The Northern Land Council employs numerous ranger groups for marine and landscape protection.
The council is also responsible for issuing permits for tourists to travel to the Northern Land Council area.
The Northern Land Council has had a quarterly publication since 1976, Land Rights News . It is the longest-running publication by the indigenous peoples of Australia.
Regional Offices and Regional Councils
About 30,000 Aboriginal people live in the Northern Land Council area, most of them in the larger cities. About 3,000 people live in 200 small settlements in remote areas.
Other regional offices, in addition to the central office in Darwin, are in Palmerston (a suburb of Darwin), Katherine , Jabiru , Nhulunbuy , Tennant Creek , Ngukurr , Borroloola and Timber Creek .
Seven Regional Councils are located in the districts of Borroloola / Barkley, Darwin / Daly, East Arnhem , Katherine , Ngukurr , Victoria River and West Arnhem .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d nlc.org.au : Land Rights , in English, accessed February 22, 2013
- ↑ a b nlc.org.au : What we do , in English, accessed on February 22, 2013
- ↑ nlc.org.au ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Sea Rights , in English, accessed February 22, 2013
- ↑ nlc.org.au ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Ranger Programs , accessed February 22, 2013
- ↑ nlc.org.au : Land Rights News - Northern Edition Edition , in English, accessed on February 22, 2013
