Antinuclear

Northern Territory development : Aboriginal owners asked to agree to extinguish native title

Northern Land Council calls for major rethink of northern development amid concerns about Ord expansion talks PM  By Sara Everingham ABC New, 25 July 15,   The head of the Northern Land Council (NLC) has said a major rethink of northern development is needed and he fears one of the Northern Territory Government’s key strategies for boosting agriculture will lead to little but heartache for Indigenous people.

Chief executive officer Joe Morrison said traditional owners were being asked to agree to extinguish native title to allow for the expansion of the Ord Irrigation Scheme from the East Kimberley into the Northern Territory but he said he was worried there would be few lasting benefits in return.

“The Ord is playing out to be one of the issues that requires some rethinking,” Mr Morrison said.

“What I put forward is to ensure that traditional owners right across northern Australia have some capacity to plan so they’re not always at the whim of the governments and third parties wanting to use their lands.”

Mr Morrison made the comments during a speech at a major northern development conference in Townsville this week – a conference he said did not do enough to include Indigenous land holders in northern Australia.

“We’re living in the 21st century, everyone knows there’s a lot of Aboriginal people and Islander people living in northern Australia and we’ve just got to do a lot more to engage them,” he said.

Don’t rush Ord negotiations, says NLC

July 25, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, Northern Territory