Tiwi Land Council
The Tiwi Land Council ( TLC ) is one of four Land Councils in the Northern Territory , Australia . These councils form the political interest groups of the local Aborigines , especially for 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.
Location and population
The Tiwi Aborigines , after whom this Land Council is named, live about 60 kilometers off the mainland coast of Darwin in the Tiwi Islands . These are Bathurst Island , Melville Island and five other smaller islands. They form the area of responsibility of this council with a total area of 8,000 km², plus the area covered by the tidal range around the islands. About 2500 Tiwis live in the area of the Tiwi Land Council . It is owned by 97 families in 8 clans in the Tiwis tribe . The Northern Land Council was founded in 1973; the Tiwi Land Council only in 1978.
history
According to her, the Tiwis islands have been inhabited for 6000 years. In 1912, the two large islands of Bathurst Island and Melville Island were declared a reserve for Aboriginal people.
European settlement in the Northern Territory was only achieved in the early years of British colonization. As a result, the Aborigines were driven from their hunting grounds and fertile land. Many Aborigines were forced to work in cattle stations if they were to survive and maintain their ties to their lands. This development did not take place to this extent on the Tiwi Islands. The first Aboriginal mission station in the area of today's Tiwi Land Council was founded in 1911 near Nguiu on Bathorst Island.
In the 1960s, the Aboriginal land rights movement in Australia gained strength. The historical starting point of this development lies 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 fought for equal wages for "black and white". The establishment of the Land Councils in 1973 in the Northern Territory goes back to these political movements.
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. Following the first report by the Royal Commission , 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. The law came into force later, on Australia Day , on January 26, 1977. The Northern Territory only came into political independence a year and a half later.
The other three Land Councils in the Northern Territory are the Central Land Council , Northern Land Council, and Anindilyakawa Land Council , which were formed before the Tiwi Land Council. The Tiwi Land Council was founded in 1978.
Tasks and representation of interests
The Tiwi 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 applies above all to land use, mining rights, storage facilities , infrastructure measures, national parks, army sites 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 .
The Tiwi Land Council is also responsible for issuing permits for tourists to travel to their area of responsibility.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ tiwilandcouncil.com ( Memento of the original from February 8, 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. : Welcome to the Tiwi Land Council website , in English, accessed February 24, 2013
- ↑ a b c nlc.org.au : Land Rights , in English, accessed February 24, 2013
- ↑ nlc.org.au : What we do , in English, accessed on February 24, 2013
- ↑ tiwilandcouncil.com ( Memento of the original from February 8, 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. : Welcome to the Tiwi Land Council website , in English, accessed February 24, 2013
- ↑ tiwilandcouncil.com : Visitor Permit Information , in English, accessed on February 24, 2013
