Ready for the Many and Economic and Community Development
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OvERviEw Of thE CLC 3 Chairman’s Report 3 Director’s Report 4 About the CLC 6 CLC Executive & Council Members 8 CLC Governance 11 Organisational Structure 14 Output & Outcome Structure 15 Performance Report 16 OutPut GROuP 1 19 Land & Natural Resource Management 1.1 Permits 20 1.2 Land & Natural Resource Management 21 OutPut GROuP 2 33 Land Claims & Acquisition Support 2.1 Land Claims 34 2.2 Other Land Acquisition 36 OutPut GROuP 3 38 Economic Development & Commercial Services 3.1 Land use Agreements 39 3.2 Employment, Education & training 44 3.3 Mining 51 3.4 Commercial Assistance 61 OutPut GROuP 4 63 Advocacy Services 4.1 Public Awareness & Education 64 4.2 Advocacy & Representation 65 4.3 Cultural & heritage Support 72 4.4 Community Development Support 75 OutPut GROuP 5 86 Administration & Support Services 5.1 Distributions 87 5.2 Administer Land trusts 89 5.3 Dispute Resolution in Relation to Land 92 OutPut GROuP 6 93 Native title Native title Determinations 96 Compensation Applications 97 Claimant Applications 98 future Acts 101 indigenous Land use Agreements 103 CORPORAtE Management 104 fiNANCiAL StAtEMENtS 115 Glossary & COMPLiANCE iNDEx 168 2. CLC AnnuAL RepoRt 2012/2013 chairman’s report After six years serving on the Council and OVERVIEW Executive, with three of these as Deputy Chair, i was voted in as Chairman at the Council Maurie Japarta Ryan CLC meeting in April 2013. Throughout my previous six years on the Executive compensation monies paid by the Australian it has been an honour to work with previous Government for the five-year leases that were chairmen Mr W Brown, L Bookie and P Wilyuka. taken out over 30 of our communities. I was deeply heartened by the strong support I The Council made a courageous decision received from Council members; it is a privilege to to ensure the majority of these funds were receive this recognition from my peers. I promised directed into community benefit projects, with to fight to protect their rights and achieve better the remainder being available for distribution. results on the ground. I am passionate about This work caused some stress for staff and securing more support for outstations, ensuring constituents alike, and I certainly did my best our children get a decent education that equips to ensure traditional owners and community them for the challenges of the future, and members were clear about the role of the achieving constitutional recognition. CLC and the processes being used to ensure the best possible outcomes. With this process Since commencing as Chairman it has been a almost finalised we can now turn our minds to very busy time, and I have driven thousands of implementing priority community development kilometres. I was honoured to speak at the official projects, and I look forward to reporting next opening of the Willowra Learning and Early year about what has been achieved. Childhood Centre. This is an example of a community using their royalty monies to invest I have continued my work as an ABA Advisory in their own future, and I was truly inspired by the Committee member during this reporting period, way the community has come together to make and am hopeful that our hard work on the this dream a reality. In June, the CLC co-hosted the development of a homelands policy will result National Native Title Conference along with native in a significant allocation of ABA funds towards title holders from Alice Springs. This provided supporting homelands. an excellent opportunity to hear from Aboriginal I would like to thank Council members and staff and Torres Strait Islander people and their for working hard to ensure the CLC stays strong organisations right across the country about how and delivers programs that reflect what people on they are asserting native title rights, and dealing the ground really want. There are many success with the many challenges associated with land, stories, but we also need to be ready for the many and economic and community development. I want hurdles and obstacles ahead. The CLC will keep to congratulate the CLC staff for the effort that working to look after the interests of the 24,000 went into ensuring the conference was a success. Aboriginal people that live in our region, and I will On a more serious note, the CLC has had a fight as hard as I can during my three year term. huge task coping with the process of ensuring Mr Maurie Japarta Ryan the best possible outcomes from the rent and Central Land Council Chairman CLC AnnuAL RepoRt 2012/2013 3. director’s report Once again the CLC has had an extremely busy year, with staff and constituents working David Ross across our vast region on consultations and projects as diverse as camel management, community development planning, leasing consultations, mining exploration consultations, sacred site clearances, fire management and cattle enterprises. The CLC now has more than 200 staff with around As a result of the Australian Government’s ‘secure 100 of these based out bush. I am pleased that we tenure’ policy, the CLC had another busy year have extended our reach and presence in remote consulting with traditional owners regarding communities, and are still doing our utmost to applications for leases within communities. In respond to the many needs of Aboriginal people total, the CLC has now processed 455 leases, in our region. and an additional 23 forty-year housing leases have been consented to. With many applications It has been a significant year at a political level, now being received for leases over assets that with a change of government in the Northern the shires hold, the intensity of this workload Territory and the lead-up to a federal election. looks set to increase over the next financial year. While it was heartening to see Aboriginal people Formalisation of the land administration system out bush exercise their political clout resulting is moving ahead relatively smoothly. The process in a change of government in the NT, it has been for the grant of leases under section 19 of the frustrating to witness a tendency for important Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 policy decisions to be based on politics rather is efficient, clear and accessible to third parties than evidence. Aboriginal people continue to bear seeking or wishing to formalise an interest in the brunt of these constantly changing polices land; however, the lack of investment in essential and knee-jerk responses to complex social services infrastructure, such as sewerage, water, problems. In this environment, the CLC has tried power and roads, means that most communities to maintain a focus on producing quality policy have limited capacity to support new business or advice on our core issues, such as land reform, housing developments. while also working with the peak Aboriginal organisations on broader issues such as alcohol After many years of negotiation we finally reached and governance. I welcome the Australian agreement with the Australian Government over Government’s investment in the new Aboriginal the amount of rent and compensation money Governance and Management Program to be to be paid for the compulsory acquisition of the coordinated by the peak organisations. Certainly five-year leases over the majority of our remote the Strong Aboriginal Governance Summit communities. Traditional owners accepted the held in Tennant Creek this year gave us a clear offer and money was received by the CLC for indication of the needs and aspirations of smaller distribution. The CLC put a significant amount organisations, and the CLC is proud to be involved of effort into developing strategies to ensure in a program that will make a real difference to that the money would be used for community small Aboriginal organisations on the ground. benefit. The Minister recognised the pressure of 4. CLC AnnuAL RepoRt 2012/2013 this increased workload and provided additional strength in the past year. We are now trying resources to support this work. to consolidate the program before responding to the many requests for expansion in our region. Traditional owners of each community have subsequently made decisions regarding the Managing the organisation at a time of rapid use and distribution of remaining funds, and growth has also been a key area of focus this this process is largely concluded. Processes year, with the completion and approval of a involving the distribution of monies are new five year strategic plan, work with our often difficult and I want to thank all of the Audit Committee on a risk management plan, staff involved for ensuring this process finalisation of a new staff Enterprise Agreement went as smoothly as possible. Planning and and commencement of a round of governance implementation of the community benefit training workshops for our 90 Council members. OVERVIEW projects will continue for the next few years. This work might not be high profile, but it keeps the organisation focused, accountable and as CLC An important highlight of the year was the effective as possible. declaration of the Southern Tanami Indigenous Protected Area (IPA). The Southern Tanami IPA Along with the new Council elected in April 2013, is the largest IPA in Australia, spanning our new CLC Chair, and my talented team of staff, an incredible 10 million hectares. Declaration I look forward to building on our many successful as an IPA provides a framework to protect and programs and working with our constituents maintain ecological and cultural assets, and to ensure we are doing the best that we can to ensures the provision of critical resources to protect their interests and build a better future for allow our ranger groups to undertake the work the bush.