- Katherine Regional Land Council -
Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976
Section 21A
1. The Applicants .................................................................................................................. 2
2. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 2
3. The qualifying area............................................................................................................ 3
4. The Name for the New Land Council ................................................................................ 4
5. The Number of Aboriginals living in the qualifying area ..................................................... 4
6. The Management Structure ............................................................................................... 4
Council Members ........................................................................................................... 4
Council Staff & Consultants ........................................................................................... 5
7. The Arrangement for Consulting and Representing Aboriginals ........................................ 5
(a) Consulting ................................................................................................................ 5
(b) Representing ............................................................................................................ 8
8. Consultations to Date ........................................................................................................ 8
9. Other Information Prescribed by the Regulations .............................................................. 9 a) Regulations ............................................................................................................. 9 b) Native Title Representative Body ............................................................................ 9 c) Local Government Services .................................................................................... 9
d) Industry Organisations .......................................................................................... 10
Attachment A: Boundaries of the qualifying area ................................................................. 11
Attachment B: Population Statistics ..................................................................................... 12
Attachment C: Persons Supporting this Application ............................................................ 15
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
The applicants and their living places are:
[Names Removed]

Beswick

Djarrung

Elliott

Jilkminggan

Jilkminggan

Katherine

Katherine

Katherine

Kybrook

Minyerri (Hodgson Downs)

Ngukurr

Robinson River

Timber Creek

Weemol

Werenbun
The applicants are eligible to make this application under s.21A(1)(b) Aboriginal
Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 ("ALRA") because each of them is an adult Aboriginal living in the qualifying area.
The applicants cover the range of areas to be encompassed by the new land council.
The Jawoyn Association is assisting tile applicants and communications to the applicants should be directed to them as follows :
The Applicants
Katherine Regional Land Council ( Proposed )
[Address Removed]
Land councils are responsible for administering the ALRA. They are to fulfill statutory responsibilities for the benefit of the Aboriginals resident in their areas and
Aboriginals with traditional interests in their areas. They do not exist to exercise control and power over such Aboriginals.
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
The applicants are mindful of the very positive contribution which the Northern
Land Council ("NLC") has made over many years to the welfare of Aboriginals across the Top End.
It is time for Aboriginal groups and communities to take a more active and direct role in the management of their traditional interests in land and in advocating their interests generally.
This cannot be achieved through the NLC. Conscious of growing needs and aspirations of Aboriginal communities in the Top End, the NLC has tried for many years to give effect to some kind of meaningful 'regional' decision-making. It has, however, failed again and again.
The area in respect of which the new land council is proposed to be established is a qualifying area for the purpose of paragraph (a) of the definition of "qualifying area" in s.3(1) ALRA because it is wholly included in the area of the NLC.
The boundaries of the qualifying area are shown at Attachment A(*).
The qualifying area is an appropriate area for the establishment of a new land council for the following reasons.
The qualifying area is of an administratively effective size.
The boundaries, in large measure (and so far as relevant), coincide with the boundaries

of existing Shire Councils (along the north),

of land held by Aboriginal Land Trusts (along the north east),

of the area for which the NLC is currently recognized as the Representative
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Body (in respect of the seaward areas),

between the NLC and the Central Land Council (along the south).
In addition, so far as reasonably practicable, the qualifying area encompasses the traditional lands of traditional groups of people which share close social, cultural and historical connections, including the following groups :

Alawa people (Hodgson Downs / Minyerri),

Dalabon people (Bulman),

Dargaman people (Katherine),

Garawa people (Borroloola / Robinson River),

Jawoyn people (Katherine/Kakadu south),

Jingili people (Elliott / Marlinja),

Mangarrayi people (Jilkminggan),

Mara (Borroloola),
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -

Mayall people (Katherine / Pine Creek),

Mudburra people (Elliott / Marlinja),

Ngalakan (Ngukurr),

Ngaliwurru / Nungali people (Timber Creek),

Ngalkbon people (Bulman),

Ngandi (Ngukurr),

Ngarinman (Yarralin / Aminbidji)

Nunggubuyu (Ngukurr),

Rambarrngna people (Bulman),

Ritharangu (Ngukurr),

Waanyi people (Nicholson River),

Wagaman (Pine Creek),

Wandarang (Ngukurr),

Wardaman people (Katherine West),

Yangman people (Mataranka),

Yanyula (Borroloola).
It is proposed that the new land council be named "Katherine Regional Land
Council".
It is estimated that over 14,000 Aboriginals live in the qualifying area.
This estimate was derived from information sourced from the Australian Bureau of
Statistics , the Katherine West Health Board Aboriginal Corporation and the Remote
Area Health Corps Limited .
A breakdown of the figures is at Attachment B (*).
The proposed management structure of the new land council is to be discussed with and approved by the Minister.
Council Members
It is expected that the Minister would determine methods for choosing council members which will be substantially similar to those presently in place for choosing NLC members within the qualifying area.
The applicants would welcome the opportunity of discussing this with the Minister.
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
Council Staff & Consultants
The new land council will respect the wishes of traditional owners in relation to the persons they wish to engage to advise them from time to time. Often, the traditional owners will already have a sound working relationship with such persons.
Accordingly, a small administrative office is proposed:

Chief Executive Officer

Financial Management Officer

Secretary / PA

3 Project Officers

Legal Officer

Anthropologist

2 Administrative Officers
The new land council anticipates maintaining the existing NLC regional offices within the qualifying area, the head office being in Katherine.
The new land council will engage (or will assist traditional owners' entities to engage) consultants as and when required, for example, depending upon the particular skills and experience of staff, it may be cost-effective to engage an external bookkeeper or to seek advice from a senior lawyer as and when required.
The new land council will adopt a "user-pays" policy (subject, of course, to appropriate consideration being given to initiatives of the traditional owners and other relevant
Aboriginal communities and groups, whether incorporated or not) and, subject to any limitations in the ALRA (for example, in Part IV - Mining), will encourage and support traditional owner's to do likewise.
The new land council will seek to have funding available for meeting the costs of the advisers chosen by the traditional owners, at least where such costs cannot be met by a third party developer or from other sources; for example, Indigenous business development funding programs. The provision of such funding would, of course, be conditional on the advisers' being appropriate and their fees reasonable.
The new land council will maintain a consultants' register.
The proposed new land council will be able to satisfactorily perform the functions of a land council because of the wealth of relevant experience of Aboriginals living -in the qualifying area and their support for the new land council.
The Jawoyn Association has offered, for an initial period, to support the new land council's administration.
a) Consulting
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
Traditional Ownership
The new land council believes that it cannot properly provide the services required of it unless the identity of the traditional owners is certain. Priority will be given to a comprehensive program to identify the traditional owners of the land within the qualifying area and their respective decision-making processes. It is anticipated that this will, in some instances, be a very difficult task as it will entail dealing with long-standing disputes and uncertainties which have been allowed to 'fester' for many years.
The new land council also considers that, without such certainty, the traditional owners themselves cannot properly look after their country.
Collaboration
The new land council will work in close conjunction with traditional owners and their incorporated associations, as well as with Aboriginal communities and their organisations.
Subject to discussion and approval from the Minister and the relevant traditional owners, the operational structure of the new land council is to feature the active promotion of collaborative processes of decision-making with the most local or regional, competent
Aboriginal group, organization or community. Arrangements which promote selfdetermination by such Aboriginal groups are to be developed, with a view to encouraging the most local level of appropriate decision-making.
The focus of the new land council will, in accordance with the wishes of the relevant traditional owners, be to empower and support traditional owners to exercise responsibility for the management and development of their traditional lands. In particular, the new land council will assist in the coordination and facilitation of negotiations between traditional owners and those who propose the use or occupation of the traditional owners' land.
With such a devolution of powers, the new land council can expect, over time, that more and more of its focus will be on assisting, facilitating and monitoring the local
Aboriginal groups, organisations and communities responsible for facilitating local land management and development.
It follows that the new land council will only undertake negotiations for the use of land with the approval of the relevant traditional owners and will seek the approval of traditional owners to the terms and conditions granting interests in their traditional lands.
Having regard to the functions and responsibilities of a land council which, in general, are set out in s.23 ALRA, the arrangements proposed for consulting Aboriginals living in tile qualifying area on issues concerning land use are as follows:

inform the traditional owners directly or by such means as they have requested,
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -

ask the traditional owners how they wish to deal with the issues and, in particular, what advisers they wish to use which, for example, may include their incorporated association and support such wishes.
The new land council will take special care to support the traditional owners' traditional or other decision-making processes; cp. s.77A ALRA; and to their adoption of effective, efficient and informed decision-making processes. In particular, it is expected that, by doing so, proper respect will be accorded to the traditional owners' elders.
It is anticipated that, by doing so, consultation costs will be reasonable.
In addition, the new land council will give priority to the initiatives of traditional owners for the management and development of their traditional lands.
Money Management
The new land council will offer and encourage traditional owners to obtain and consider proper advice in relation to the distribution and investment of the monies they receive from the use and occupation of their traditional lands.
In particular, the new land council will seek to put in place arrangements to ensure the efficient distribution of the traditional owners' monies (including interest earned), without delay. This may, for example, be by providing in the relevant land use agreement for payments to be made to the incorporated association nominated by the traditional owners to receive the money. Such arrangements are likely to incorporate measures to ensure the proper handling of the money (having regard to the purposes of s.35
ALRA), but will avoid any reason for repeated, costly meetings with traditional owners each time there is money available for distribution.
In particular, the traditional owners or, it is expected, the group having authority of the traditional owners to make decisions about the use of money, for example, their elders or their association's board of directors, will be encouraged to consider longterm investment and community development options.
Delegations / MoUs
Where appropriate, for the purpose of supporting and empowering traditional owners to manage and develop their traditional lands, traditional owners' incorporated associations will be delegated powers under the ALRA to process and deal with issues concerning affecting their lands.
The new land council would maintain a facilitating and oversighting role.
Additionally or alternatively, memoranda of understanding may be reached between the new land council and traditional owner groups about how they will work together.
Traditional Title Records
The new land council will support traditional owners in relation to the collection and maintenance of their traditional knowledge, especially insofar as it is relevant to their traditional ownership of land.
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
The new land council will, insofar as they request, provide confirmation of a group's traditional ownership so that that group may be empowered to properly look after their traditional country, without having to seek the land council's assistance or participation every time the traditional owners wish to take any action affecting their traditional country.
Review Committee
The new land council will establish a small, standing committee of Aboriginal elders and independent, relevantly qualified and experienced professionals to review decisions of the new land council at the request of Aboriginals affected by the decisions.
This committee will also regularly review the new land council's operations and make recommendations for improving its services.
Setting Priorities
The new land council will give appropriate priority to the proposals of traditional owners in relation to the management and use of their traditional lands.
At the same time, clue consideration will be given to the proposals of others including, for example, mining companies and governments. In view of the "user-pays" arrangements which will apply to these proposals, it is anticipated that additional services can be obtained, as and when required, from consultants.
In addition, as a smaller organization (than the existing Land Council), the new land council will have the capacity to act on a timely basis, including when there are commercial or other reasons to give priority to certain matters .
The new land council will implement a "triage" to identify tile priority which should be given to each project with which it is concerned. This will entail the maintenance of a detailed project list database. b) Representing
On matters which do not directly concern the use of particular land, the new land council will generally rely on the Council members to represent their communities and, on occasion, they will be required to consult with their communities in relation to matters of general representation.
The new land council will expect its members to pass on concerns from their communities to the land council and actively assist in reporting to their communities on the operations of the land council. Members will be appropriately supported and resourced.
In the course of preparing this application, members of many communities or associations within the qualifying area have considered the establishment of the new land council, including the following:
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -

Barunga

Binjari

Borroloola

Bulman

Elliot / Marlinja

Jawoyn Association

Mili Brumby

Minyerri (Hodgson Downs)

Mt Catt

Ngukurr

Numbulwar

Robinson River

Jilkminggan

Jodetluk

Katherine

Kybrook

Mangarrayi Aboriginal
Corporation

Manyallaluk

Roper Gulf Shire Council

Timber Creek

Urapanga

Wardaman Aboriginal
Corporation

Werenbun

Yarralin
With few exceptions, overwhelming support was expressed for the establishment of the new land council. In fact, apart from NLC staff, no opposition was expressed to the application.
At Attachment C (*) is a copy of petitions signed in support the establishment of the new land council from Aboriginals living in the qualifying area, as well as from others who live in or outside the qualifying area.
Additional letters of support will be provided as they become available.
a) Regulations
There is no other information prescribed by the Regulations of the ALRA as being required to be included in this application. b) Native Title Representative Body
The new land council will apply under the Native Title Act 1993 , for recognition as the representative Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander body for the qualifying area. c) Local Government Services
The local governing authorities operating in the qualifying area are:

Roper Gulf Shire Council

Victoria Daly Shire Council

Barkly Shire Council

Katherine Town Council

West Arnhem Shire Council
The new land council will seek to reach memoranda of agreement with the local governing authorities operating the qualifying area, addressing communications and mutual support and, in particular, to:
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- Katherine Regional Land Council - i. facilitate cooperative operations, and ii. facilitate the provision of local government services to communities in the qualifying area. d) Industry Organisations
The new land council will also seek to establish and maintain cooperative working arrangements with relevant industry bodies, especially those relevant to industries in which traditional owners do or are likely to participate. Such bodies include:

Northern Territory Cattlemen 's Association

Chamber of Commerce Northern Territory

Northern Territory Fishing Council

Northern Territory Resources Council

Northern Territory Tourist Commission

Northern Territory Parks & Wildlife Service
[The signing pages have been removed for confidentiality purposes]
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
Map description: Boundaries of the Qualifying Area
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
The map outlines the boundary of the Proposed Katherine Regional Land Council. The qualifying area is approximately 436,062 sqkm in size and includes the whole of Roper Gulf
Shire and the Katherine Municipality. The northern border of the proposed qualifying area follows the northern border of the Roper Shire Council to the eastern border of the Northern
Territory and through the West Arnhem Shire and the Victoria Daly Shire towards Southern
Alligator River to the western border of the Northern Territory.
The east and west land boundaries of the qualifying area continue along the corresponding borders of the Northern Territory to the boundary between the Northern Land Council and the Central Land Council. The southern border runs along the boundary between the
Northern Land Council and the Central Land Council bisecting the Victoria Daly Shire and
Barkly Shire.
The boundary of the qualifying area also extends past the low water mark on both the east and west sides of the Northern Territory coastline.
The map also outlines the Central Desert, Belyuen, Coomalie, East Arnhem, Tiwi Islands,
Wagait and MacDonnell Shires as well as the Darwin, Litchfield and Palmerston Municipality boundaries which are not included in the qualifying area.
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
Aboriginal population figures derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (bracketed figure), the Katherine West Health Board and the Remote Area Health Corps .

Amanbidji - 100

Beswick - 450

Binjarri - 290

Borroloola - 699

Bulla - 200

Bulman - 450

Burunga - 350

Daly Waters - 790

Elliott north - 414

Eva Valley- 80

Jilkminggan - 290

Katherine - 3000

Kybrook (150)

Larrimah - 18

Manyallaluk - 130

Mataranka - 630

Minyerri - 500

Ngukurr - 1500

Numbulwar - 1300

Pigeon Hole - 163

Pine Creek - 350

Rittarangu - 100

Rockhole - 250

Timber Creek- 700

Urapanga - 60

Victoria River District (527)

Weemol - 90

Wugular - 500

Yarralin - 380
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- Katherine Regional Land Council -
[Details have been withheld due to privacy concerns]
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