Land council raided by anti-corruption watchdog, CEO sacked

The head of a Northern Territory land council has been sacked and its office on Groote Eylandt raided by the anti-corruption watchdog, amid an ongoing probe into corruption allegations.

Mark Hewitt, the chief executive of the Anindilyakwa Land Council (ALC), was stood down this week by its board, following his referral to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Former Anindilyakwa Land Council chief executive Mark Hewitt.Credit: Anindilyakwa Land Council

In May, this masthead reported Hewitt had asked Indigenous clan leaders to give him and his wife a shareholding in a landmark minerals project that the council is driving and which will generate an estimated $1 billion in revenue over its 10-year life.

“This week, I received a letter from the ALC chair informing me that at its meeting on 16 October 2024, the ALC board resolved to terminate the employment of the ALC CEO,” Minister for Indigenous Australians Senator Malarndirri McCarthy said.

“Without the trust of the Anindilyakwa people and other key stakeholders, the ALC cannot properly achieve its mission of serving and advocating for the interests of the Anindilyakwa people.”

The National Anti-Corruption Commission executed a raid on the ALC’s office this week.

Groote Eylandt has been home to the world’s largest manganese mine since 1964. Credit: Anindilyakwa Land Council

“The Commission can confirm that it carried out operational activity today in Groote Eylandt in relation to an ongoing investigation,” it said in a statement.

“As the matter is ongoing, we will not be making further comment, as to do so may compromise operational activities or unfairly impact reputations.”

The ALC has been contacted for comment. Hewitt has also been contacted for comment, but has previously denied wrongdoing.

Hewitt, a non-Indigenous man, was appointed ALC chief executive in 2011. In 2018, he also sought appointment as co-CEO of Winchelsea Mining – the company responsible for developing the minerals project, over which the land council he led would have significant sway.

Leaked confidential documents obtained by this masthead revealed Hewitt’s request was initially endorsed by several Anindilyakwa leaders. They are the guardians of the remote tract of pristine water and land off the eastern coast of Arnhem Land, including Winchelsea Island, where manganese was to be mined.

Hewitt argued it was his hard work and ingenuity that had been key to the Anindilyakwa’s progression of the Winchelsea mining venture that territory and federal officials heralded as a template for traditional owners dealing with resource and energy projects on their lands.

He was also armed with legal advice that noted his play for a shareholding would not be unusual in the private sector – but this was not the private sector and the share plan unravelled after a young land council lawyer discovered the deal.

As Anindilyakwa CEO, Hewitt was in effect a salaried public official answerable under Commonwealth laws that safeguard Aboriginal land council resources.

A 2023 inquiry by the Australian National Audit Office found the ALC did not properly manage conflict of interest issues that may arise with its employees, among other concerns.

In August, McCarthy received an update on ALC’s progress in addressing these issues, which she said showed its “governance and operations remained deficient”.

The audit office raised concerns about “a risk of conflicted interests” due to Hewitt’s role leading the land council that directs millions of dollars in royalties to the mining company.

Groote Eylandt is the largest of the islands in an archipelago about 650 kilometres east of Darwin. The traditional owners are the Anindilyakwa, many of whom still speak their own language as their first language.

The population is tiny: in 2018, there were an estimated 1600 Aboriginal people living in the archipelago and a further 1000 non-Indigenous people.

Since 1964, Groote has hosted the world’s largest manganese mine, producing high-grade ore.

With Lachlan Abbott and Ashleigh McMillan

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