NSW Aboriginal Land Council --- "Greiner and Land Rights" [1989] AboriginalLawB 44; (1989) 1(40) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 2

• Greiner And Land Rights

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Greiner and Land Rights

by N.S.W. Aboriginal Land Council

In an apparent about face the Greiner government has abandoned its plans to repeal the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983. This follows the appointment of Charlie Perkins as a consultant to examine possible amendments to the Act. While the NSW Aboriginal Land Council has welcomed these moves it is, nonetheless, cautious about the' type of amendments the government may promote.

It is possible to rewrite the Act and still achieve the objectives set out in the Government Green Paper released last February. That document, prepared by the Parliamentary Secretary on Aboriginal Affairs, Paul Zammit, established policies to abolish the system of Land Council democracy, wind back investment funding and "mainstream" Aboriginal services. Faced by strong opposition from the ALP and Australian Democrats in the Legislative Council, Greiner had little choice but to back down and commence a new period of consultation and policy formulation.

Hence, the advent of Perkins.

Meanwhile, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council has launched an aggressive public relations campaign to promote the achievements of Aboriginal Land Councils around NSW.[1]

As the Council Chairman, Tiga Bayles, explained at the launch on October 8th;

The Government should assist our goal of establishing a `black bank' with reserves of $500 million to enable Aborigines to free themselves from government aid. The term `black bank' is only a loose term but it represents our central objective for self-determination and self-sufficiency once the land rights funding ceases in 1998.

Each year the NSW Government pays 7.5% of land tax to the Aboriginal Land Council system, half of which is placed and used in an Investment Fund. At the campaign launch the Leader of the NSW Democrats, Elisabeth Kirkby, and ALP spokesman, Colin Markham, vowed to combine their numbers in the Upper House to block amendments which were not supported by Aborigines.

Tiga Bayles made plain the opposition of Aboriginal Land Councils to any changes which included:

• amending the Aboriginal Land Council structure of 117 Local Aboriginal Land Councils, 13 Regional Aboriginal Land Councils and the NSW Aboriginal Land Council;
• cuts to the annual funding allocation and, in particular, the growth and development of the Investment Fund; and
• alteration to the system of internal democracy whereby Aboriginal Land Councils are elected by the local community and responsible to them in their decision-making.

The next stage in this debate comes in late November when Charlie Perkins delivers his report to the government following consultation with Aboriginal Land Councils and other Aboriginal organisations around NSW.

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[1] For copies of the information kit "Self-Sufficiency Not Dependency" please contact the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Office on [phone]