Central Land Council

Chief Minister Everingham assures Mr Holding that the Northern Territory Government will legislate for community living areas along the lines advocated in Justice Toohey's report. In a major victory for the CLC, the High Court rules that the Aboriginal Land Commissioner should proceed with the Warumungu land claim despite the Northern Territory Government's attempt to alienate the land under claim.

The decision is a victory not just for the Warumungu but also for traditional landowners in other cases where the Northern Territory Government had attempted to prevent land claims by alienating land after a claim was lodged.

Mr Charles Perkins becomes Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Mr Perkins was Chairman of the CLC between September 1975 and June 1976.

A group of five Arrernte families who are traditional landowners for an area of pastoral land north of Alice Springs form the Mpweringe-Arnapipe Outstation Council to press their claims for living areas. The families, who are often referred to as 'the Yambah mob', have been pushing for living areas since 1975

The CLC drafts a policy on excisions markedly different from the Community Living Areas Bill. The policy is designed to deal with the real needs of dispossessed groups and take account of the history which has forced people off their land.

It calls for Commonwealth rather than Northern Territory legislation, recognition of traditional affiliation as a factor and Aboriginal freehold title.

The CLC assists traditional landowners in Western Australia to form the Western Desert Land Council, which then makes submissions to the Western Australian Government's land rights inquiry.

In a widely reported speech, the Executive Director of Western Mining Corporation, Hugh Morgan, describes land rights as a return to paganism and anti-Christian, kicking off a barrage of anti-land rights media. In Western Australia, the mining and pastoral industries mount a scare campaign to influence the Burke Government.

The CLC calls on the Commonwealth Government to initiate a public awareness campaign about land rights to dispel the prejudices and misconceptions being exploited by the anti-land rights lobby, but the call is unheeded.

Traditional landowners for Uluru meet with representatives from the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, the Tourist Commission, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and the film industry to discuss filming in and around Uluru National Park. The meeting agrees to guidelines which permit most filming but prevent the desecration of sacred sites and intrusions into Aboriginal living areas.

The Arrernte traditional landowners of Yambah Station, north of Alice Springs, meet with John Gorey, the station lessee, to discuss living area excisions. The meeting reaches an in-principle agreement for five small living areas to be provided for the five major families. Unfortunately the death of Mr Gorey and external political pressure mean that the agreement is never honoured.

The Central and Northern Land Councils send a joint delegation to Canberra to meet with Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Clyde Holding and Resources and Energy Minister Peter Walsh to discuss the mining industry's campaign against land rights. Senator Walsh has already stated publicly that he wants to see mining and exploration speeded up in the Northern Territory and Mr Holding won't commit the Government to maintaining Aboriginal control over mining and exploration on Aboriginal land.

The Commonwealth's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage (Interim Protection) Act 1984 is passed. The Act protects sites and objects of traditional significance, including human remains. The Act is intended to stay in effect for just two years, as a stop gap until comprehensive land rights and heritage protection legislation can take its place. It is designed to be a 'backstop' when state and territory law fails, and relies on the discretion of the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. The CLC continues to press for a Commonwealth law giving Aboriginal people real control over sacred sites and cultural heritage.

The Community Living Areas Bill is introduced into the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, but its passage is tied to another piece of legislation which alienates stock routes and land under claim. The CLC responds by lodging twenty-two land claims to stock routes and stock reserves alongside leases where pastoralists have not co-operated with excisions negotiations.

The Cattlemen's Association urges its members to stop negotiations altogether and Mr Holding calls a meeting with representatives of CLC, NLC, DAA, the cattlemen and the Northern Territory Government.

The Yambah mob decide to move out of town and live on stock route and stock reserve areas near Yambah Station, north of Alice Springs. They hope that by camping on their traditional land they can increase the pressure for some suitable excisions.

This is my father's land. That is why I am stopping here. With white man's land, when the station owner dies, his son takes over. It's just the same. This is my father's land and I'm taking over. All we want is our place. Mr Turner August

The Board of Inquiry into the proposed Alice Springs Telegraph Station recreation lake accepts the significance of the sacred sites which would be destroyed and highlights engineering problems of the proposal. The Northern Territory Government says it will look at alternatives, but Chief Minister Everingham says the Telegraph Station may be considered again.

At a meeting to resolve the crisis over the Community Living Areas Bill, Mr Holding proposes formation of a working party on the stock routes and reserves claims. He says the Federal Government will act if the Northern Territory Government doesn't pass excisions legislation in line with Justice Toohey's recommendations.

In order to speed up the land claim process a second Aboriginal Land Commissioner, Justice Michael Maurice, is appointed. He and Justice Kearney will divide the workload to try and clear the backlog of claims waiting to be heard. ,

The CLC assists in the establishment of the Jurnkurakurr Outstation Resource Centre to serve traditional landowners in the Tennant Creek region. The Northern Territory Government informs the Land Councils that it is not prepared to proceed with the Community Living Areas Bill, after more than a year of negotiations on the issue.

The CLC assists in the establishment of the Jurnkurakurr Outstation Resource Centre to serve traditional landowners in the Tennant Creek region.

The Northern Territory Government informs the Land Councils that it is not prepared to proceed with the Community Living Areas Bill, after more than a year of negotiations on the issue.

Agreement is reached with Mereenie Joint Venturers regarding an easement for, and access roads to, the Mereenie-Alice Springs oil pipeline crossing more than 200 kilometres of Aboriginal land.

In addition, CLC commits substantial resources to investigating the possible commercial participation of traditional owners in a proposed pipeline to Yulara Village.