NT land councils rise up against Territory Coordinator Bill ahead

A call from the Northern Territory’s four land councils for the controversial Territory Coordinator Bill to be dumped has fallen on deaf ears.

Lia Finocchiaro said she was excited about the Territory Coordinator legislation. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A call by the Northern Territory’s four land councils for the Territory Coordinator Bill to be dumped has fallen on deaf ears.

The Land Councils say the Bill excludes Aboriginal people from involvement in development decisions on their traditional lands and prevents them from protecting their land and culture.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro gave a blunt “no” when asked if she would agree to the call by the four Land Councils.

“We’re really excited about the Territory Coordinator legislation starting next week in Parliament,” she said

“The scrutiny committee that we established on coming to government has now prepared and put forward its report.

“We’re working through that very large report.

“The committee received hundreds of submissions, held public hearings, so we’ll work through the recommendations and provide that report to the parliament.”

Interim Territory Coordinator Stuart Knowles.

The Land Councils say the Territory Coordinator will hold unchecked, expansive powers to circumvent regulations and bypass Territory laws and government processes.

This includes the authority to declare a Territory Development Area (TDA) or an Infrastructure Coordination Area (ICA) on Aboriginal land and Native Title areas without any prior consent or consultation with Traditional Owners.

“The Territory Coordinator will be able to affect decisions and processes across 32 Scheduled Acts listed in the Bill, along with a host of regulations made under those Acts giving the coordinator unprecedented and sweeping powers,” they said in a joint statement.

The addition of the Heritage Act 2011 to the list of Scheduled Acts will make it subject to the powers of the unelected Coordinator, demonstrating that the NT Government is callously uninterested in the protection and preservation of our places of historical importance; and powers to enter private property including Aboriginal freehold land without a warrant are abreach of fundamental rights.

Central Land Council Chief Executive Les Turner.

It is also concerning that the Bill’s Scheduled Acts can be updated at any stage by regulation. While the Northern Territory Sacred Sites Act 1989 is currently not listed, it can be added at the Territory Coordinator’s request – greatly increasing the vulnerability of thousands of critically important cultural and sacred sites.

While the Territory Coordinator cannot exercise powers over Federal laws such as the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) and the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), he can modify the 32 scheduled pieces of Northern Territory legislation, most of which contain protections for Aboriginal culture and land rights.

Anindilyakwa Land Council Chair Cherelle Wurrawilya said all activities on Aboriginal land must involve the owners of that land.

“After all this is privately owned land. Any other private land owner would have the same expectations,” she said.

“The right people must be consulted and give their free, prior and informed consent.”

Central Land Council Chief Executive Les Turner said the Bill was deeply anti-democratic giving an unelected bureaucrat almost unlimited power to make up the rules on the run and ignore our elected representatives.

Northern Land Council Chair Matthew Ryan said the land councils “should not be sidelined by the NT Government.

“We should have a seat at the table when it comes to decision-making that affects our future,” he said.

Tiwi Land Council Chair Leslie Tungatalum said the CLP government had promised to transparent if elected to govern.

“Their actions speak louder than words,” he said.

Originally published as NT land councils rise up against Territory Coordinator Bill ahead