Central Land Council

CLC opens a southwest regional office at Mutitjulu community near Uluru. Traditional landowners are shocked to find a front-end loader and other machinery at Kunjarra (Devils Pebbles), a registered sacred site near Tennant Creek. The Northern Territory Government has given a mining company approval to work on the area despite the opposition of custodians. When discussions with the mining company fail, traditional landowners obtain a court injunction to stop the work and maintain a protest camp for more than six weeks until the company retreats. The Devils Pebbles/Kunjarra Munga Munga Dreaming is being threatened by the mining company. It is very sad to see our country being destroyed by taking our life on the land and just leaving the marks on our body and the song to sing and talk about, and nothing to look back where once our grandparents walked upon. Christine Napanangka Plummer and Patrice Napurrula Frank

The Northern Territory Government withdraws its proposed Aboriginal Areas Protection Bill for 'further consultation' following the protests of Aboriginal people throughout the Northern Territory. The Land Councils jointly draft 'minimum standards' for sacred sites protection. The cornerstone is the absolute right of Aboriginal custodians to control protection of sacred sites.

The CLC reaches agreement with Otter Exploration N.L. to permit exploration over 3,091 square kilometres of the Tanami. The agreement includes sacred sites protection, opportunities for Aboriginal employment and compensation for traditional owners. Company representatives commend CLC for the 'excellent spirit' of the negotiations.

The Northern Territory Government goes to the Federal Court to try and block the grant of land in the Lake Amadeus land claim. They want a declaration that the lease granted to Conway and Lander after the land claim was lodged is valid.

At a meeting called by the Northern Territory Power and Water Authority (PAWA), senior women custodians from four language groups conclusively reject the Alice Springs Telegraph Station dam proposal by demonstrating powerfully their continuing spiritual links with the site. PAWA promises to explore alternative sites upstream.

CLC enters into three exploration agreements with Tanami Joint Venture (TJV) covering 7,374 square kilometres of Aboriginal land. In addition to sacred site protection, compensation and employment opportunities, traditional landowners are also eligible to take up an equity interest in any mining venture that might ensue.

TJV, as operators of the Tanami mine, have established a very good relationship with the local Aboriginal people. This relationship and the constructive and positive approach adopted by the company contributed to the speed and success of negotiations. These agreements are a further example of the capacity of traditional landowners to enter into commercial ventures and to contribute to the responsible economic development of the Northern Territory. Mr Long Pwerle, CLC Chairman

The first part of the Wakaya-Alyawarr land claim hearing begins. A last-minute settlement offer by Northern Territory Government is accepted by one group of traditional landowners but rejected by eight others who pursue the land claim. The offer provides for Northern Territory freehold title which is not as strong or secure as title under the Land Rights Act.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission (ATSIC) Bill is introduced into Federal Parliament. It will dissolve DAA and establish elected regional Aboriginal councils and a national Aboriginal council to make decisions about policy and allocation of funds. On the same day, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Hand says the Federal Government will legislate to provide living areas on Northern Territory pastoral leases because of the Northern Territory Government's inaction.

CLC Director Pat Dodson welcomes Mr Hand's announcement: It is important that everyone is clear about how little land is being talked about. In Central Australia the average size of pastoral leases is about 3,000 square kilometres. The living areas that are needed average ten to fifteen square kilometres. No one is talking about the wholesale transfer of land. Pat Dodson, CLC Director

A Federal Court judge dismisses the Northern Territory Government appeal to block registration of the title to Mt Allan and orders the government to pay all costs. The Northern Territory Government appeals to the full bench of the Federal Court. The case is later settled out of court when the Government agrees to drop its legal action and pay the CLC's costs and traditional landowners agree to open two station roads to the public.

Five Arrernte families establish a protest camp alongside the Stuart Highway fifty kilometres north of Alice Springs to highlight their fourteen-year fight for living areas on Yambah Station.

We have set up the camp close to the highway to let the public know, and to let the Government here in the Territory know, that this is how we have been living for the past five years and we have had enough. We want it to stop. We have had a lot of travellers from interstate, and from town, come in because they are curious. We tell them what is happening and show them how we are living and they have shown us support by signing our petition. Margie Lynch, spokesperson for Mpweringe-Arnapipe Council

Pat Dodson leaves CLC to return to his own country around Broome in Western Australia. He is appointed to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Kumantjayi Ross becomes CLC Director. Mr Ross, who was born and raised in Alice Springs, started work with the CLC in 1979 and is a business management graduate who had been Deputy Director since 1988.

A University of Sydney report, commissioned by the CLC and other Alice Springs Aboriginal organisations, shows that Aboriginal wages, benefits and programs account for one-third of the Central Australian economy.

The Prime Minister and the Chief Minister sign a Memorandum of Agreement on excisions. Facing the threat of Commonwealth amendments to incorporate an excisions process in the Land Rights Act the Northern Territory agrees to amend the Crown Lands Act so that Aboriginal people can apply for excisions from pastoral leases. The Commonwealth agrees to hand back title to some stock routes and reserves to Aboriginal claimants. The hope is that the two processes will be enough to meet the land needs of 'the people that land rights forgot' - people whose traditional land has been taken by the pastoral industry.

The Northern Territory Government agrees to establish a tribunal to arbitrate on applications refused by the Minister for Lands, but the land councils are not consulted on the agreement and the compromise doesn't recognise applications based on traditional ownership.

The Central Land Council meeting at Arrawajin, south-east of Tennant Creek, affirms its opposition to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act and calls on the Commonwealth Government to take action to protect sacred sites under the Land Rights Act in a unanimous resolution:

As custodians of Aboriginal Sacred Sites we know Aboriginal Law does not change. We will not let changes to whitefella law allow the possible deliberate destruction of our sites. All custodians of Aboriginal Sacred Sites will keep on standing strong to protect our Sacred Sites as our people have for more than 40,000 years.

The CLC Chairman Mr Long Pwerle calls on the Commonwealth Government to withhold Commonwealth funding from the proposed Strehlow Research Centre which will house the Strehlow collection of sacred objects, artefacts, films and anthropological information. The Northern Territory Government has already passed an Act to establish the research and tourist centre without consulting Aboriginal people.

The Act has to be changed to make sure that appropriate Aboriginal people control the collection, and that the traditional custodians are able to decide what happens to their property. If some custodians want their objects back then they should be given back, but according to the Strehlow Act it is illegal to give anything back. Long Pwerle, CLC Chairman

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission (ATSIC) Act is passed. The Act provides a national elected representative structure for Commonwealth Aboriginal Affairs. It is one of the most amended pieces of legislation in the history of the Commonwealth Parliament and is passed despite the strenuous objections of the Northern Territory Government.

In the Lake Amadeus land claim, the Federal Court declares the 'lease' of Kings Creek Station invalid because the land already had been claimed under the Land Rights Act. The decision is a significant victory and has flow-on effects to other land claims, but the after effects of the 'lease' are complicated. The lessees sue the Northern Territory Government for compensation but refuse to deal with the CLC. Their investment at Kings Creek becomes a major stumbling block to the land being handed back to traditional landowners.

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Act 1989 is passed, adding twenty-six portions of stock routes and stock reserves in the CLC area to Schedule I of the Land Rights Act. As the scheduled areas are handed back and become Aboriginal land, traditional landowners withdraw their claims on other stock routes and reserves. This concludes the long-running dispute with the Northern Territory Government and the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association over stock route land claims.

In November 1989 Don Lynch spoke to Land Rights News:

Before Kidman got that country, we had that land. The land was there all the time. They put their mark around the boundary - that's whitefella way. When they put that line they cut our country in half. But we had our map all the time since the earth was put up. The Aboriginal map is different than squares. It's just like a snake, not square. Between tree and tree, hill and hill, that's how we follow our story. All the country's named. Just like when the white man dug out and named the bore - Ironwood Bore, Snake Well, Top Bore and all them. But all of them have got Aboriginal names, different names. Today you see one hill there and 'No you can't go across, that's the boundary!' They got surveyor's pegs there. 'No you can't go there that's the station, you might get shot.' 'What I want now is to get a bit of land for my kids while I'm still alive. We're entitled to our land. We're entitled to that land, because it's my father's and grandfather's land, it belongs to us. We only want a small bit, an excision. That station owner, his father used to visit the camps and play with the kids when he was young. We grew him up. He was eating goanna, sugar ants and everything with us. We taught him Arrernte language. In 1984 we moved back up to Yambah and set up camp on that stock route. At first we thought we'd stay a few months camping then we'd get a proper place, but we're still waiting, more than five years now. It's been a hard time. We've had to pay ourselves to get water trucked up from town. That young fella [the station owner] tried to put us over in the corner on the western side, but that's different country for different Aboriginals. That doesn't belong to us. Now we're going to get that stock route [Black Tank Bore] but we still want to talk about an excision. There's only three old blokes left holding that country now. That stock routes all right but I still want to get an excision over on the eastern side at Alparla, near the Bond Springs boundary. That's still the place I want - my country.