Commonwealth Numbered Acts

ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 - SECT 3

3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

''Aboriginal'' means a person who is a member of the Aboriginal race of
Australia;

''Aboriginal Council'' has the same meaning as in the Aboriginal Councils  and
Associations Act 1976 ;

''Aboriginal land'' means-

   (a)  land held by a Land Trust for an estate in fee simple; or

   (b)  land the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow by a Land Council;

''Aboriginal tradition'' means the body of traditions, observances, customs
and beliefs of Aboriginals or of a community or group of Aboriginals, and
includes those traditions, observances, customs and beliefs as applied in
relation to particular persons, sites, areas of land, things or relationships;

''adult Aboriginal'' means an Aboriginal who has attained the age of 18 years;

''alienated Crown land'' means Crown land in which a person (other than the
Crown) has an estate or interest, but does not include land in a town;

''area'', in relation to a Land Council, means an area for which the Council
is established under this Act;

''Authority'' means an authority established by or under a law of the
Commonwealth or a law of the Northern Territory;

''Commissioner'' means the Aboriginal Land Commissioner established by this
Act;

''community purpose'' means a purpose that is calculated to benefit primarily
the members of a particular community or group;

''Crown Land'' means land in the Northern Territory that has not been
alienated from the Crown by a grant of an estate in fee simple in the land, or
land that has been so alienated but has been resumed by, or has reverted to or
been acquired by, the Crown, but does not include-

   (a)  land set apart for, or dedicated to, a public purpose under the Lands
        Acquisition Act 1955 or under any other Act; or

   (b)  land the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow by a Land Council;

''exploration licence'' includes a prospecting authority and also a permit in
respect of land under the Petroleum (Prospecting and Mining) Ordinance 1954 of
the Northern Territory, as amended from time to time;

''Incorporated Aboriginal Association'' means an Aboriginal association
incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976;

''Judge'' means a Judge of a court created by the Parliament;
''Land Council'' means an Aboriginal Land Council established by or under this
Act;

''Land Trust'' means an Aboriginal Land Trust established under this Act;

''law of the Northern Territory'' means a law made under, or having effect in
the Northern Territory by virtue of, the Northern Territory (Administration)
Act 1910;

''mineral royalties'' means royalties payable to the Commonwealth in respect
of the mining of minerals;

''minerals'' includes-

   (a)  gold, silver, copper, tin and other metals;

   (b)  coal, shale, petroleum and valuable earths and substances;

   (c)  mineral substances;

   (d)  gems and precious stones; and

   (e)  ores and other substances containing minerals,

whether suspended in water or not, and includes water;

''miner's right'' means a miner's right or other authority issued under a
law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals, being a right
or authority that empowers the holder to take possession of, mine or occupy
land, or take any other action in relation to land, for any purpose in
connexion with mining;

''mining interest'' means any lease or other interest in land (including an
exploration licence) granted under a law of the Northern Territory relating to
mining for minerals;

''mission'' means a religious society or association the purposes of which
are, or include, furthering the spiritual, cultural or economic welfare of
Aboriginals, and includes a trustee or trustees empowered to hold land on
behalf of such a society or association;

''petroleum'' means-

   (a)  any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, whether in a gaseous, liquid or
        solid state;

   (b)  any naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous,
        liquid or solid state; or

   (c)  any naturally occurring mixture of one or more hydrocarbons, whether
        in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, and one or more of the following,
        that is to say, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen, helium and carbon
        dioxide;

''sacred site'' means a site that is sacred to Aboriginals or is otherwise of
significance according to Aboriginal tradition, and includes any land that,
under a law of the Northern Territory, is declared to be sacred to Aboriginals
or of significance according to Aboriginal tradition;

''town'' has the same meaning as in the law of the Northern Territory relating
to the planning and developing of towns and the use of land in or near towns,
and includes any area that, by virtue of regulations in force under that law,
is to be treated as a town;

''traditional Aboriginal owners'', in relation to land, means a local descent
group of Aboriginals who-

   (a)  have common spiritual affiliations to a site on the land, being
        affiliations that place the group under a primary spiritual
        responsibility for that site and for the land; and

   (b)  are entitled by Aboriginal tradition to forage as of right over that
        land;

''traditional land claim'', in relation to land, means a claim by or on behalf
of the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land arising out of their
traditional ownership;

''Trust Account'' means the Aboriginals Benefit Trust Account established by
section 62;

''unalienated Crown land'' means Crown land in which no person (other than the
Crown) has an estate or interest, but does not include land in a town.

(2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to an
estate or interest in land includes a reference to an interest by way of a
right against the Crown to a grant of an estate or interest in land, but does
not include a reference to-

   (a)  a mining interest;

   (b)  an interest arising out of the operation of the Atomic Energy Act 1953
        or any other Act authorizing mining for minerals;

   (c)  an interest arising out of the taking possession, mining or occupation
        of land by virtue of a miner's right; or

   (d)  an interest by way of the occupation or use, with the licence or
        permission of the Crown, of land by an Authority or a mission.

(3) A reference in this Act to an Act authorizing mining for minerals shall be
read as a reference to such an Act whether passed before or after the
commencement of this section.

(4) A reference in this Act to the granting of a mining interest in respect of
Aboriginal land shall be read as not including a reference to the renewal, in
accordance with an option or other right conferred before the land became
Aboriginal land, of a mining interest that was in existence when the land
became Aboriginal land.

(5) A description of land in Schedule 1 shall be deemed not to include any
land on which there is, at the commencement of this section, a road over which
the public has a right of way.