CLC says 2800 constituents commit $225m of income to projects as ‘royalty reform’ draws councils ire
A Territory land council GM has hit out at the Finocchiaro government’s “royalty reform”, saying “Aboriginal people themselves are driving reform and doing things differently”. Find out how.
Northern Territory
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Recommended “royalty reform” by the Northern Territory Government has drawn the ire of one land council, whose general manager says “Aboriginal people themselves are driving reform and doing things differently”.
The comment comes from Central Land Council general manager regional and development services Mischa Cartwright, and were sent to this masthead after federal opposition leader Peter Dutton threw his support behind the Finocchiaro government’s seven recommendations to the federal government in Alice Springs on Wednesday.
As part of the recommendations – made in the wake of an eight-week-old baby being flown to an Adelaide hospital from Alice Springs after her skull was fractured in a home invasion – Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro wants to “ensure royalty distributions occur in communities and not in Alice Springs,” as mentioned in her media release, sent out Wednesday afternoon.
However, Ms Cartwright said “solutions to complex problems require innovative thinking, systems that work together and evidence-based policy settings that enable positive change”.
“Knee-jerk reactions are a distraction from the real reform and leadership that is needed,” she said.
Ms Cartwright said CLC constituents had been opting to use a growing share of their income from land use agreements for community benefit projects creating jobs on country, investing in infrastructure, contributing to resourcing schools, bilingual and bicultural education, sports and tourism facilities and art centres.
“This investment in community development now outstrips the share of income from land use agreements the CLC distributes to individual traditional owners,” she said.
More than 650 Aboriginal people worked on these projects, according to Ms Cartwright, who said “to date CLC constituents have committed more than $255 million of their income to almost 2,800 projects”.
“That’s not waiting for handouts, that’s actively creating a better future by investing in community benefit,” she said.
She also said “the vast majority” of CLC meetings “have been happening out bush for years” with only nine of the 60 meetings scheduled to take place in Alice Springs this year.
Ms Finocchiaro, alongside NT Treasurer Bill Yan, met with the CLC on January 16 during the Chief Minister’s trip to Alice Springs.
Ms Finocchiaro said “our government is committed to reducing crime, which requires a number of different responses, including royalty reform”.
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Originally published as CLC says 2800 constituents commit $225m of income to projects as ‘royalty reform’ draws councils ire
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