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

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. 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 Aborigin ...

'' (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 mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. The words "law" and "lore", the latter ...

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), an ...

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 Indigeno ...

Background

Lands Trust

The Aboriginal Lands Trust of New South Wales existed from 1974 to 1983. Members in 1977–79 included George Griffiths, Bill Cohen, Charlie Leon, Lyall Munro,

Ossie Cruse Oswald "Ossie" Cruse is an Australian activist and Aboriginal elder. Cruse was born in 1933 in Orbost, Victoria. He became active in the area of Aboriginal rights after the 1967 Australian referendum, touring Africa with former prime minist ...

(chairman), Ron Riley,

Essie Coffey Essie Coffey (born Essieina Shillingsworth Jibbah; – 3 January 1998), also known as Essieina Goodgabah and "Bush Queen of Brewarrina", was an Aboriginal Australian community worker, filmmaker, singer, and advocate for Indigenous Australians ...

, and Henry Bolt. This was "the first all-Aboriginal democratically elected statutory body to own freehold title to Aboriginal land in Australia", according to Sue Norman (2011). In February 1982 the NSW Government informed the Aboriginal Lands Trust that the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Frank Walker would be responsible for matters relating to it, and that

Pat O'Shane Patricia June O'Shane (born 1941) is a retired Australian teacher, barrister, public servant, jurist, and Aboriginal activist. She was Australia's first Aboriginal magistrate, serving the Local Court in Sydney, New South Wales, between 1986 u ...

had been appointed Secretary to the Minister. Protests ensued, but ''

'' created the NSWALC as a statutory body. This was considered a backwards step by members of the Aboriginal Lands Trust, because significant lands, hunting and gathering rights, and other rights were lost in the new Act.

Land Council

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 A ...

in Redfern to discuss land rights. It called for abolition of the Aboriginal Lands Trust (a body of which Lyall Munro Snr 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 Order of the British Empire, MBE (née Mercy; 22 July 1938 – September 2024) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist and Yaygirr, Yaegl elder. Her activism centred on social change for Indigenous Australians. She wa ...

, 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 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 An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant and meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include any feature in the landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status i ...

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 corporation, government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government ...

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 chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. The head office is located in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

, 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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

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 Victoria, Australia, Victorian border near Barm ...

, in the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

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 called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

for its new

Closing the Gap The Closing the Gap framework is a strategy by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments of Australia that aims to reduce disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians on key health, ...

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

References

External links

Official website
{{Indigenous Australians Aboriginal land councils Aboriginal organisations in New South Wales