Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life © Commonwealth of Australia 2019 ISSN 1030-522X With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and where otherwise noted, all material presented in this document, the Northern Land Council Annual Report 2018/19, is provided under a Creative Commons Licence. The details of the relevant licence conditions are available on the Creative Commons website at creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au/, as is the full legal code for the CC BY 3 AU licence. Wagiman rangers at fire management camp ii NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION OUR VALUES OUR VISION We will: Is to have the land and sea rights of • Consult with and act with the Traditional Owners and affected Aboriginal informed consent of Traditional people in the Top End of the Northern Owners in accordance with the Territory recognised and to ensure Aboriginal Land Rights Act that Aboriginal people benefit socially, culturally and economically from the secure • Communicate clearly with Aboriginal possession of our land, waters and seas. people, taking into account the linguistic diversity of the region WE AIM TO • Respect Aboriginal law and tradition • Be responsive to Aboriginal Achieve enhanced social, political and peoples’ needs and effectively economic participation and equity for advocate for their interests Aboriginal people through the promotion, protection and advancement of our land • Be accountable to the rights, and other rights and interests. people we represent • Behave in a manner that is appropriate and sensitive to cultural differences • Act with integrity, honesty and fairness • Uphold the principles and values of social justice • Treat our stakeholders with respect iii Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life Saltmarsh iv NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION About this report The Northern Land Council’s Annual Report 2018/19 provides a comprehensive account of its performance from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 in accordance with its obligations under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the Native Title Act 1993 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (referred to throughout this document as the ALRA, the NTA and the PGPA Act, respectively). The Annual Report 2018/19 is divided into five parts: • About Us: Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life; history; our people and organisational structure. • The Year in Review: the major issues and achievements for the reporting year. • Corporate Governance and Management. • Financial Statements: details on income and expenses for both the NLC as a Commonwealth entity and as a native title representative body. • Appendices and references. The NLC submits this report to the Minister for Indigenous Australians for tabling in the Australian Parliament. v Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life Pandanus on the Roper River at Ngukurr vi NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION Contents OUR VALUES OUR VISION iii Regional Development Branch 104 ABOUT THIS REPORT v Land Use Agreements 111 THE NLC’S ACCOUNTABLE AUTHORITY 03 Commercial Development 119 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 04 Pastoral 121 FINANCIAL SUMMARY 2018/19 06 ABA Homelands Project 127 FROM OUR CHAIRMAN 09 Consultations 131 FROM OUR CEO 13 Minerals & Energy Branch 136 Activities 137 PART 1: ABOUT US 17 Land Rights Act Part IV (Mining) 146 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 23 Native Title Act (1993) 150 MANAGEMENT 29 Community Planning & Development Unit 152 PART 2: THE YEAR IN REVIEW 35 PART 3: CORPORATE 161 Anthropology Branch 38 Branch Review and Restructure 38 Corporate Plan 163 Payment Agreement (Royalties) Strategic Plan 164 Policy and Processes 40 Human resources management 172 Dispute Conciliation 40 Capability 172 Present and Future Challenges 41 Workforce Diversity and Inclusion 175 Land Interest References 41 Northern Land Council Annual GIS Section 42 Performance Statements 2018/2019 186 Regional Profiles 43 Legal Branch 52 PART 4: FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 199 Sea Country 64 Background 64 Resolution 65 PART 5: APPENDICES 263 Council Meetings Attendance 264 Caring for Country Branch 70 Compliance Index 270 Learning on Country 72 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms 273 Indigenous Protected Areas 83 Key Partnerships 88 National Parks 89 Information Technology 93 Training, Exchanges and Capacity Building 95 Women’s and Youth engagement 100 vii Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life CONTACT US P: +61 (8) 8920 5100 / 1800 645 299 (Free Call) 8:00 - 4:30 pm (CST) weekdays F: +61 (8) 8945 2633 www.nlc.org.au Northern Land Council GPO Box 1222, Darwin NT 0801 YOU CAN VISIT THE NLC AT THE FOLLOWING OFFICES: REGION LOCATION ADDRESS PHONE FAX Darwin/Daly/ Darwin 45 Mitchell Street, (08) 8920 5100 (08) 8920 5255 Wagait Darwin NT 0800 Wadeye Lot 788, Kanarlda Street, 0418328843 Wadeye NT 0822 West Arnhem Jabiru 3 Government Building, (08) 8938 3000 (08) 8979 2650 Flinders Street, Jabiru NT 0886 Maningrida Lot 739, Maningrida NT 0822 0456467984 East Arnhem Nhulunbuy Endeavour Street, (08) 8986 8500 (08) 8987 1334 Nhulunbuy NT 0880 Galiwin’ku Lot 78, Nurruwurrunhan (08) 8970 5025 Road, Galiwin’ku Katherine Katherine 5 Katherine Terrace, (08) 8971 9899 (08) 8972 2190 Katherine NT 0850 Ngukurr Ngukurr Balamurra Street, (08) 8977 2500 (08) 8975 4601 Ngukurr NT 0852 Victoria River Timber 35 Wilson Street, (08) 8974 5600 (08) 8975 0664 District Creek Timber Creek NT 0850 Borroloola Borroloola Robinson Road, Mara Mara (08) 8975 7500 (08) 8975 8745 Barkly Camp, Borroloola NT 0854 Tennant 178 Paterson Street, (08) 8962 1884 (08) 8962 1636 Creek Tennant Creek NT 0860 viii NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION The Hon. Ken Wyatt AM MP Minister for Indigenous Australians PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Dear Minister, In accordance with the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the Native Title Act 1993 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, I am pleased to submit the Northern Land Council’s 2018/19 Annual Report. The Accountable Authority under Section 46 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 is responsible for the preparation and content of this report in accordance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014. This report reviews the Northern Land Council’s performance and illustrates the commitment and achievement of the Council and our staff throughout the year. I commend the report to you for presentation to the Australian Parliament. Yours sincerely Samuel Bush-Blanasi CHAIRMAN ix Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life Burketown Ranger Forum 01 NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 INTRODUCTION Highlights From 2018/19 Activities • The Executive Council, Full Council and Chief Executive Officer approved 107 land use agreements under s19 of the Land Rights Act. • The NLC held land use agreement consultations, which involved 11,145 Traditional Owners and met at 61 locations. • The first sitting of the High Court of Australia in Darwin – in September 2018 – heard the Timber Creek Compensation case and was the first successfully litigated application for native title compensation in Australia. • The NLC represented native title holders of the Jabiru and Pine Creek townships in consent determination proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia. • Negotiation and signing of a Heads of Agreement at the Nitmiluk Full Council Meeting on 28 June 2019 as a significant step towards permanently settling the sea rights High Court matter commonly known as Blue Mud Bay. • Development of TO-led sea country plans at three locations: Limmen Bight, Maningrida and Blue Mud Bay. • Secured significant project capital from the Northern Territory Government’s inactive Ranger Grants Program. • Worked with the NT Government to reform the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act to help secure powers for Indigenous rangers. • NLC awarded the contract to host the Northern Australian Ranger forum in August 2019. • Secured a substantial compliance and related training investment from the Australian Government. • Grew the Learning on Country investment from six sites to twelve. • Under the ALRA, income of $62,172,000 was generated from Aboriginal land during 2018/19. • A total of 7709 royalty payments were made during 2018/19, worth $60,469,000. • Eight Aboriginal groups committed more than $6.5 million for community benefit purposes, working with the NLC’s C P & D Program, and have delivered 24 community-led projects valued at about $2.5 million. 02 Our Land, Our Sea, Our Life The NLC’s Accountable Authority The Northern Land Council’s Accountable Authority, under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), comprises the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer. SAMUEL MARION BUSH- SCRYMGOUR, BLANASI, CHIEF CHAIRMAN EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mr Bush-Blanasi is a Mayili man and resident Ms Scrymgour took up the CEO’s position of the Wugularr (Beswick) community in on a full-time basis in May 2019, becoming the Katherine region. He was educated in the first woman CEO of any land council in his own community before completing his the Northern Territory. She was born and studies at Kormilda College in Darwin. Mr raised in Darwin. Her mother was a Tiwi Bush-Blanasi is a strong advocate for the Islander and her father was a member of rights and interests of Aboriginal people. the Stolen Generations, who was taken from his parents at Ti Tree in Central Australia. He is committed to achieving equality for Aboriginal people to enable them to After attending St Mary’s Catholic Primary take part in social, political and economic School and O’Loughlin College, Ms Scrymgour activities, and to ensure the maintenance went on to enjoy a successful career as a health and protection of their cultural knowledge. service administrator in Katherine. In 2001, she was elected Member of the Legislative This is Mr Bush-Blanasi’s sixth Assembly for the seat of Arafura, which covers term at the NLC.