The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It has the mandate, under the ''

Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW) is an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales which was enacted to return land to Aboriginal peoples through a process of lodging claims for certain Crown lands and the establishment of Aboriginal La ...

'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in New South Wales through its network of 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs). Its functions include the creation of an economic base for Aboriginal communities, as well as the continued passing and enhancement of

Aboriginal culture Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are empha ...

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

and heritage through the management of traditional sites and other cultural materials within NSW. It acts as an advisor to governments and others to ensure the preservation of

Aboriginal land rights Indigenous land rights are the rights of Indigenous peoples to land and natural resources therein, either individually or collectively, mostly in colonised countries. Land and resource-related rights are of fundamental importance to Indigenou ...

History

A non-statutory NSW Aboriginal Land Council was created in 1977, to assist in the protests by Aboriginal people for their

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

. It was the result of a conference held in October 1977 at the

Black Theatre Black theatre or black theater may refer to: * Black light theatre, a staging concept using black backgrounds and black light * Black Theatre (Sydney), an Australian Aboriginal theatre company 1972–1977 * African-American musical theater ...

in Redfern to discuss land rights. It called for abolition of the

Aboriginal Lands Trust In Australia, an Aboriginal land trust (ALT) is a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal Australians. The land has been legally granted to a community by the governme ...

(a body of which

Lyall Munro Snr Lyall Munro Snr (30 September 1931– 21 May 2020), also known as Uncle Lyall Munro Senior, was an Aboriginal Australian activist, leader, and elder, especially known for his advocacy of Indigenous land rights. He was the husband of Carmine ...

was a member, among others), and for recognition of Aboriginal rights to land. The conference resolved to form the new body, and 31 community representatives were elected, who then selected a working committee. This committee comprised: Kevin Cook (chair),

Joyce Clague Joyce Caroline Clague MBE (née Mercy; born 22 July 1938) is an Australian political activist and Yaegl elder. Her activism centers on social change for Indigenous Australians. She was influential in instigating the 1967 Constitutional Referendum ...

, Kevin Gilbert, Alan Woods, Alice Briggs, Camela Potter, Linda (Trudy) Longbottom, Betty Tighe, Ray Kelly, Jack Campbell, and Ted Thomas. This council was run by volunteers, with no funding, and they lobbied for the passage of the ''

''. This early body submitted ten land claims to the government between 1977 and 1981, the first being the

Terry Hie Hie Terry Hie Hie is a very small farming town in the north of New South Wales, Australia within the Moree Plains Shire Council. Terry Hie Hie is south of the Gwydir Highway, east of the Newell Highway and 47 km south-east of Moree, the nea ...

claim in northwestern NSW. The claims also called for compensation for the damage to their livelihood and loss of land. A Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly upon Aborigines was formed in November 1978, chaired by Maurice Keane. The select committee proposed the formation of an Aboriginal Heritage Commission charged with the protection of

Aboriginal sacred site Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

s. It also proposed the formation of a land rights system centred on local community councils, backed by Aboriginal regional land councils, and finally an Aboriginal Land Development Commission.

Governance and functions

The NSWALC is an independent

statutory corporation A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

constituted under the ''

'' (ALRA). Nine councillors, representing nine regional areas, are elected every four years. Its statutory functions include compliance with the regulations as well as financial management of New South Wales' network of land councils. the chairperson of NSWALC Council is Anne Dennis, who represents the North Western Region. Charles Lynch, representing the Northern Region, is the deputy chairperson. Both hold office for a term of two years and are eligible for re-election. The seven other regional councillors are: Abie Wright (Sydney/Newcastle), Leeanne Hampton (Wiradjuri), Grace Toomey (Central), Danny Chapman (South Coast), Peter Smith (Mid North Coast), Ross Hampton (Western), Dallas Donnelly (North Coast). There is an administrative section, overseen by a

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. The head office is located in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

, and there are five regional branch offices. Its mandate includes developing land rights among Aboriginal people in New South Wales, via its network of Local Aboriginal Land Councils, through land acquisition, by land claim or purchase, establishment of commercial businesses and community schemes to create an economic base for Aboriginal communities, as well as the continued passing and enhancement of

and heritage through the management of traditional sites and other cultural materials within NSW. The NSWALC's function includes advocacy for policies which benefit of the Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales, including representing them at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Local Aboriginal Land Councils

NSWALC oversees a network of 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs), split into nine regions. LALCs seek to improve, protect and foster the best interests of all Aboriginal persons within their area and other Council members (who may reside elsewhere) more generally. LALCs have functions in relation to: land acquisition, land use and management, Aboriginal culture and heritage, financial stewardship and community benefits schemes. In addition to being a statutory corporation, NSWALC itself has the functions of an Aboriginal Land Council (for the whole of NSW) under ''

'' (NSW).

Cummeragunja

Cummeragunja Cummeragunja Reserve or Cummeragunja Station, alternatively spelt Coomeroogunja, Coomeragunja, Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja, was a settlement on the New South Wales side of the Murray River, on the Victorian border near Barmah. It was also refe ...

, in the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , ...

region, is owned and managed by the Cummeragunja Local Aboriginal Land Council, having taken over from the Yorta Yorta Local Aboriginal Land Council since ownership was passed to it in 1984.

La Perouse

The La Perouse LALC is one of the founding LALCs, established to represent the local Aboriginal people of the La Perouse area in southern Sydney.

Advocacy

After the new targets were announced by the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

for its new

Closing the Gap The Closing the Gap framework is an Australian government strategy that aims to reduce disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, based on seven targets. From adoption in 2008, after meetings with the Close the Gap social ...

strategy, NSWALC chief executive James Christian said that the targets were not ambitious enough, in particular the justice goals.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Aboriginal land councils