Yolŋu Leader Announces Breakaway Land Council for Direct Economic Development in Northern Territory

A powerful Yolŋu leader has announced the creation of a breakaway remote Northern Territory land council to help drive direct economic development for his people. Gumatj Corporation leader Djawa Yunupiŋu used his keynote Garma Festival speech in north-east Arnhem Land to announce the shake-up to the NT's current land rights system.

"We are going to the top of the mountain," Mr Yunupiŋu said. The creation of the Dilak Land Council would put the ability to make economic development decisions into the hands of his people, and away from the powerful Northern Land Council (NLC) which oversees communities across much of the Top End.

"It will be the power for our future," he said. "The Northern Land Council was a vision of our elders, who knew that one day, when the time was right, the power would be brought back fully into the hands of land owners, as it should be."

'New life to the land and the people'

The announcement coincides with the 50th anniversary of the creation of the federal Aboriginal Land Rights Act, passed by Malcolm Fraser's government in 1976. Mr Yunupiŋu announced the new land council in front of high-profile delegates including Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.

The NLC has been criticised in recent years for its perceived delays in granting land tenure permits for those wanting to set up businesses on Aboriginal land in the Top End. It also controls the distribution of mining royalties across territory communities.

Mr Yunupiŋu said it was his hope that the Dilak Land Council, which would represent the 13 clan groups of the Gove Peninsula, would give his people the ability to liaise directly with those wanting to do business on Yolŋu land.

"The Dilak council will give new life to the land and the people," he said. "It will work with the government, and mining companies, and any company who wants to do business with us.

"We will work in partnership with the Northern Land Council, for the people.

"We will be a part of the economic life of this nation, while never losing who we are, and what we stand for."

Arnhem region's uncertain future

In recent years, Mr Yunupiŋu's Gumatj Corporation has been at the forefront of business development in north-east Arnhem Land. The company built and runs its own timber mill and furniture business, facilitates rocket launches on a remote launch site, and recently took over a shopping centre complex.

It comes as the north-east Arnhem region faces an uncertain future, with the impending closure of its main employer, a Rio Tinto bauxite mine, in 2029. Mr Yunupiŋu has long been an executive member sitting on the NLC board, though it is currently unclear whether he still holds that role.

The NLC has been approached for comment.