Who we are

The Central Land Council is a Council of 90 Aboriginal people elected from communities in the southern half of the Northern Territory.
The roots of the CLC lie in the history of Aboriginal struggle for justice and our rights to our traditional land.

The Land Rights Act gave Aboriginal people title to most of the Aboriginal reserve lands in the Northern Territory and gave the opportunity to claim other land not already owned, leased or being used by someone else.

Right: The Council at a meeting in Tennant Creek

The Central Land Council region covers 771,747 square kilometres of remote, rugged and often inaccessible areas. Due to the dispersed population and large geographical areas, CLC staff travel more than a million kilometres in their work every year.
There are 15 different Aboriginal language groups in Central Australia. The CLC region is divided into nine regions based around these language groups.

Today Aboriginal people make up 27 per cent of the Northern Territory's population with more than 24,000 Aboriginal people living in Central Australia.
Aboriginal people own 49 per cent of the land in the Northern Territory.

The Central Land Council is a representative body promoting Aboriginal rights. It is a statutory authority under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

It also has functions under the Native Title Act 1993 and the Pastoral Land Act 1992.

Delegates vote for the Chairman and Deputy
Chairman at CLC elections held
in Tennant Creek in April 2010.

The Chairman

The Chairman and Deputy Chairman are elected, under the supervision of the Australian Electoral Commission, for a four year term.

Mr Lindsay Bookie was elected at a Council meeting in Tennant Creek on Thursday 15 June 2006 and was re-elected as chairman on Tuesday 13 April 2010.

Mr Bookie, 66, is an Eastern Arrernte man who is well respected for his knowledge of Arrernte law and culture. He runs an award-winning 4WD tourism business on his traditional country at the northern edge of the Simpson Desert.

He worked on pastoral properties in the region, served as a community police officer at Harts Range for five years and has also worked as a Central Land Council field officer.

Mr Bookie represented the Bonya region on the ATSIC Regional Council and the Bonya Regional Health Council
Mr Bookie says he's extremely proud to be Chairman of the CLC.

“I've been a delegate and supporter of Land Council for many years and it’s an honour to have the chance to work hard for Aboriginal people,” he said.

“I'm very keen to let people know about the good work the CLC has been doing - especially in tourism - but also in cattle projects and ranger programs all over Central Australia.
“I know we have many social problems – especially with alcohol – because I see it every day, but there are also many positive things happening and I don't want people to forget about those.”

The Executive

The CLC's delegates for each of the nine regions elect an Executive member to represent them at Executive meetings

The Director

CLC Director Mr Ross was appointed the CLC Director following a meeting of the CLC Executive in January 2000. It is the second time he has held the position as Director.

Mr Ross left the CLC in 1994 to become a Commissioner of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and 18 months later became the Chairman of the Indigenous Land Corporation based in Adelaide.

He started work at the Central Land Council in 1979 in a clerical position. From 1981 he was field operations manager and from

1983 until 1985 he was secretary to the Council.

In 1987 he completed an Associate Diploma in Business Management at the South Australian Institute of Technology before taking up the Deputy Director's position and then becoming Director in 1989.