Central Land Council
in this section
CLC Press Releases
- 14 Augyust 2008 2008
- Communities have their say on intervention ›› more
- 31 July 2008 2008
- Fairfax news in bad taste ›› more
- 24 July 2008 2008
- election: accountability needed ›› more
- 17 July 2008 2008
- Royal commission needed into NT funding ›› more
- 11 July 2008 2008
- Simpson Desert: the last land rights claim under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act ›› more
- 8 July 2008 2008
- Sacred site damage at Wilora ›› more
- 30 May 2008
- Seal the Mereenie Loop Road Now ›› more
- 27 May 2008
- Angela Pamela Negotiations ›› more
- 9 May 2008
- Angela Pamela and the native title process ›› more
- 18 February 2008
- Coalition should support permit system ›› more
- 15 February 2008
- Politicians threaten to derail fresh start ›› more
- 22 January 2008
- Police ignorance upsets Lajamanu community ›› more
- 26 November 2007
- Optimism for a fresh consensual approach on Aboriginal affairs ›› more
- 21 November 2007
- Concerns over Central Petroleum tactics ›› more
Uluru Kata Tjuta 20 Years on...
26 October 2005
The 20th anniversary of the handback of Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park to its Aboriginal traditional landowners, and its subsequent leaseback to the Australian Government is a celebration of not only Aboriginal people getting their land back but also one of the first examples Aboriginal people entering into a partnership with Government, the Central Land Council said today.
"Today is extremely significant," CLC director David Ross said. "Today we tend to take agreements and partnerships for granted, but back then in 1985 it was groundbreaking. I think these arrangements of joint management, whereby the traditional indigenous owners and the Government entered into an agreement to jointly manage the Park for their mutual benefit, were a world first.
"There have been some extraordinary achievements from joint management * the Aboriginal traditional owners are able to still protect their sacred sites and still own the country and the Park has been listed as a World Heritage site partly because this living culture remains so strong.
"We have Aboriginal companies like award-winning Anangu Tours and Maraku Arts who have grown with the Park, and there are some Aboriginal rangers who have been trained and mentored within this Park to become professional rangers who are able to work anywhere.
"However, joint management isn't always easy and there are a number of challenges ahead, in particular, increasing the number of Aboriginal people employed within the Park and at the resort. In addition, all agencies and the community must work together to improve the grim situation confronting the people at Mutitjulu which is within the Park boundaries," he said.
At the end of the day, there can be no room for complacency. Joint management is an evolving entity, constantly changing as different governments come and go, different generations of traditional owners become involved and the dynamics of the affected communities change.
"There needs to be a fundamental commitment by both sides to see it work. Sometimes that is difficult and sometimes it takes a lot of valuable resources but the reality is that genuine joint management requires hard work, mutual respect and resources.
"The Central Land Council is always happy to participate in any process that improves joint management. Recently a reinvigorated Joint Management Partnership with Parks Australia was put in place resulting in an expansion of the Management Partnership team and the Board of Joint Management currently enjoys strong leadership," Mr Ross said.
contact: Jane Hodson 0417877579 0889516217