Central Land Council

Mining and Development

Mining on Aboriginal land contributes more than a billion dollars a year to the Northern Territory economy and accounts for eighty per cent of the Territory's income derived from mining. Much of the mining activity occurs west of Alice Springs in the Tanami Desert where eight mines are in operation and thousands of square kilometres of land are under exploration.

Traditional owners at Kulpitjara sign off on another agreement which will ensure that the Mereenie Oil and Gas field can operate for another 21 years.

Luckily, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act gives protection to the traditional owners of Aboriginal land and enables the Land Council to make agreements with mining companies which satisfy all the interested parties. The CLC has a statutory responsibility to carry out this function. The Aboriginal landowners get sacred site protection, environmental protection, some compensation and sometimes employment and training. The mining companies achieve clear, reliable and enduring agreements without the confusion and uncertainty that may characterise mining exploration elsewhere.

The CLC has made agreements on behalf of traditional Aboriginal landowners with mining companies for more than 20 years.

Under both the Land Rights Act and the Native Title Act, the CLC has forged agreements which offer security to mining companies and jobs, training, sacred site protection, environmental protection and opportunities for Aboriginal people.

What the Central Land Council must do:

• Ensure that the right of traditional owners to control access to Aboriginal land is maintained and that native title rights and interests are enhanced and protected;

• Ensure that Aboriginal people are fully informed and empowered to take control of decisions regarding exploration and mining on their land or where they hold native title;

• Ensure that the wishes and opinions of traditional owners and native title holders over exploration and mining proposals are properly ascertained and instructions pursued faithfully;

• Ensure that opportunities for participation and involvement by traditional owners and native title holders in exploration, mining and related activities are pursued and promoted;

• Ensure that the Central Land Council's statutory responsibilities and functions under the mining provisions (Part IV) of the Land Rights Act and Native Title Act (mining future acts) are carried out efficiently and effectively and in accordance with the respective legislation; and

• Ensure that contractual obligations arising from agreements for exploration and mining are undertaken diligently.

The Land Rights Act and Mining

The Callie open-cut gold mine on Aboriginal land in the Tanami Desert. Beneath this hole is another mine extending thousands of metres below the surface

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 remains the most effective and workable legislation concerning Aboriginal rights to land in Australia. Its mining provisions give Aboriginal landowners meaningful control over their land as well as providing exploration and mining interests with an ordered, transparent and equitable procedure for access. The process is clearly set out in Part IV of the Act.

The overriding statutory obligation on the land councils to consult traditional owners and act on instructions on the basis of group consent ensures absolute validity of traditional landowners' consent. Adherence to the processes under the Act delivers certainty to both traditional owners and miners.

An exploration agreement with the CLC gives a mining company the security to proceed with a project and confidence that mineral discoveries can be developed within clear guidelines and without the threat of a subsequent challenge.

Native Title and Mining

Several groups of native title hoders in the Central Land Council's region have signed Indigenous Land Use Agreements with mining companies and have avoided costly and lengthy court cases.

An indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) is a voluntary agreement between a native title group and others about the use and management of land and waters. It can be made before native title is determined to exist.

ILUAs can made about other types of issues besides future developments on land where native title may exist. An agreement could be made about coexisting with the rights of other people, access to country and extinguishment of native title and compensation

Mining and Employment

Thanks to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, the Central Land Council has been able to ensure that some mining companies employ Aboriginal people where they are mining on Aboriginal land. At the Granites Mine in the Tanami more than 100 Aboriginal people are employed out of a worforce of 500 people. The CLC has set up a dedicated unit to deal with employment issues.