ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976
No. 191, 1976
ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 - TABLE OF PROVISIONS
ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 TABLE OF PROVISIONS PART I-PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title 2. Commencement 3. Interpretation PART II-GRANTS OF LAND TO ABORIGINAL LAND TRUSTS 4. Land Trusts 5. Functions of Land Trusts 6. Land Trust not empowered to accept moneys 7. Membership of Land Trust 8. Termination of appointment of members of Land Trusts 9. Resignation of member of Land Trust 10. Recommendations for grants of Crown land described in Schedule 1 11. Recommendations for grants of Crown land, other than that described in Schedule 1 12. Grants of land to Land Trusts 13. Grants of interests in land the subject of a deed in escrow 14. Occupation, &c., by the Crown, &c., of Aboriginal land vested in Land Trust 15. Payments to Land Council in respect of occupation of land by the Crown, &c. 16. Payments to Land Council by the Crown in respect of interests in Aboriginal land 17. Appropriation of payments to Land Council 18. Occupation or use of Aboriginal land by mission 19. Dealings, &c., with interest in land by Land Trusts 20. Leases in compliance with obligations of the Commonwealth PART III-ABORIGINAL LAND COUNCILS 21. Establishment of Land Councils 22. Land Council to be body corporate, &c. 23. Functions of Land Council 24. Register of traditional Aboriginal owners of Aboriginal land 25. Duty of Land Council to attempt conciliation of disputes 26. Land Council to meet expenses, &c., of Land Trust 27. Powers of Land Council 28. Delegation by Land Council 29. Membership of Land Council 30. Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Land Council 31. Meetings of Land Council 32. Bank accounts 33. Borrowing by Land Council 34. Estimates of expenditure by Land Council 35. Application of moneys of Land Council 36. Other payments to be approved by Minister 37. Financial records to be kept 38. Audit of financial records 39. Preservation of rights of member of staff of Land Council PART IV-MINING INTERESTS AND MINING OPERATIONS 40. Grants of mining interests 41. Application of Acts authorizing mining on Aboriginal land 42. Proclamation to be laid before House of Parliament 43. Payments in respect of granting of mining interests 44. Payments in respect of mining under Acts 45. Arbitration on agreement sought by Land Council 46. Arbitration on required agreement 47. Offence in connexion with mining interest 48. Consent of Land Council to reflect views of traditional Aboriginal owners PART V-ABORIGINAL LAND COMMISSIONER 49. Aboriginal Land Commissioner 50. Functions of Commissioner
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51. Powers of Commissioner 52. Appointment of Commissioner 53. Judge to be appointed as Commissioner 54. Power to require person to answer questions and produce documents 55. Interests of Commissioner in any business 56. Leave of absence 57. Acting appointments 58. Resignation 59. Staff to assist Commissioner 60. Consultants to Commissioner 61. Annual report, &c., by Commissioner PART VI-ABORIGINALS BENEFIT TRUST ACCOUNT 62. Aboriginals Benefit Trust Account 63. Payments into Trust Account and consequential appropriation 64. Payments out of Trust Account 65. Trust Account Advisory Committee PART VII-MISCELLANEOUS 66. Interpretation 67. Aboriginal land not to be resumed, &c. 68. Roads over Aboriginal land 69. Sacred sites 70. Entry on Aboriginal land 71. Traditional rights to use or occupation of Aboriginal land 72. Aboriginal land to continue to be reserve under Northern Territory law 73. Reciprocal legislation of the Northern Territory 74. Application of laws of Northern Territory to Aboriginal land 75. Application of miner's right in relation to Aboriginal land 76. Delegation by Minister 77. Remuneration and allowances 78. Regulations ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 - SECT. 1. Short title.
ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 An Act providing for the granting of Traditional Aboriginal Land in the Northern Territory for the benefit of Aboriginals, and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:- PART I-PRELIMINARY 1. This Act may be cited as the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.*1* ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 - SECT. 2. Commencement.
2. (1) This Act, other than section 70, shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation. (2) Section 70 shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation, being a date later than the date fixed for the purposes of sub-section (1). ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 - SECT. 3. Interpretation.
3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears- ''Aboriginal'' means a person who is a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia; ''Aboriginal Council'' has the same meaning as in the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976; ''Aboriginal land'' means- (a) land held by a Land Trust for an estate in fee simple; or (b) land the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow by a Land Council; ''Aboriginal tradition'' means the body of traditions, observances, customs and beliefs of Aboriginals or of a community or group of Aboriginals, and includes those traditions, observances, customs and beliefs as applied in relation to particular persons, sites, areas of land, things or
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relationships; ''adult Aboriginal'' means an Aboriginal who has attained the age of 18 years; ''alienated Crown land'' means Crown land in which a person (other than the Crown) has an estate or interest, but does not include land in a town; ''area'', in relation to a Land Council, means an area for which the Council is established under this Act; ''Authority'' means an authority established by or under a law of the Commonwealth or a law of the Northern Territory; ''Commissioner'' means the Aboriginal Land Commissioner established by this Act; ''community purpose'' means a purpose that is calculated to benefit primarily the members of a particular community or group; ''Crown Land'' means land in the Northern Territory that has not been alienated from the Crown by a grant of an estate in fee simple in the land, or land that has been so alienated but has been resumed by, or has reverted to or been acquired by, the Crown, but does not include- (a) land set apart for, or dedicated to, a public purpose under the Lands Acquisition Act 1955 or under any other Act; or (b) land the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow by a Land Council; ''exploration licence'' includes a prospecting authority and also a permit in respect of land under the Petroleum (Prospecting and Mining) Ordinance 1954 of the Northern Territory, as amended from time to time; ''Incorporated Aboriginal Association'' means an Aboriginal association incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976; ''Judge'' means a Judge of a court created by the Parliament; ''Land Council'' means an Aboriginal Land Council established by or under this Act; ''Land Trust'' means an Aboriginal Land Trust established under this Act; ''law of the Northern Territory'' means a law made under, or having effect in the Northern Territory by virtue of, the Northern Territory (Administration) Act 1910; ''mineral royalties'' means royalties payable to the Commonwealth in respect of the mining of minerals; ''minerals'' includes- (a) gold, silver, copper, tin and other metals; (b) coal, shale, petroleum and valuable earths and substances; (c) mineral substances; (d) gems and precious stones; and (e) ores and other substances containing minerals, whether suspended in water or not, and includes water; ''miner's right'' means a miner's right or other authority issued under a law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals, being a right or authority that empowers the holder to take possession of, mine or occupy land, or take any other action in relation to land, for any purpose in connexion with mining; ''mining interest'' means any lease or other interest in land (including an exploration licence) granted under a law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals; ''mission'' means a religious society or association the purposes of which are, or include, furthering the spiritual, cultural or economic welfare of Aboriginals, and includes a trustee or trustees empowered to hold land on behalf of such a society or association;
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''petroleum'' means- (a) any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state; (b) any naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state; or (c) any naturally occurring mixture of one or more hydrocarbons, whether in a gaseous, liquid or solid state, and one or more of the following, that is to say, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen, helium and carbon dioxide; ''sacred site'' means a site that is sacred to Aboriginals or is otherwise of significance according to Aboriginal tradition, and includes any land that, under a law of the Northern Territory, is declared to be sacred to Aboriginals or of significance according to Aboriginal tradition; ''town'' has the same meaning as in the law of the Northern Territory relating to the planning and developing of towns and the use of land in or near towns, and includes any area that, by virtue of regulations in force under that law, is to be treated as a town; ''traditional Aboriginal owners'', in relation to land, means a local descent group of Aboriginals who- (a) have common spiritual affiliations to a site on the land, being affiliations that place the group under a primary spiritual responsibility for that site and for the land; and (b) are entitled by Aboriginal tradition to forage as of right over that land; ''traditional land claim'', in relation to land, means a claim by or on behalf of the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land arising out of their traditional ownership; ''Trust Account'' means the Aboriginals Benefit Trust Account established by section 62; ''unalienated Crown land'' means Crown land in which no person (other than the Crown) has an estate or interest, but does not include land in a town. (2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to an estate or interest in land includes a reference to an interest by way of a right against the Crown to a grant of an estate or interest in land, but does not include a reference to- (a) a mining interest; (b) an interest arising out of the operation of the Atomic Energy Act 1953 or any other Act authorizing mining for minerals; (c) an interest arising out of the taking possession, mining or occupation of land by virtue of a miner's right; or (d) an interest by way of the occupation or use, with the licence or permission of the Crown, of land by an Authority or a mission. (3) A reference in this Act to an Act authorizing mining for minerals shall be read as a reference to such an Act whether passed before or after the commencement of this section. (4) A reference in this Act to the granting of a mining interest in respect of Aboriginal land shall be read as not including a reference to the renewal, in accordance with an option or other right conferred before the land became Aboriginal land, of a mining interest that was in existence when the land became Aboriginal land. (5) A description of land in Schedule 1 shall be deemed not to include any land on which there is, at the commencement of this section, a road over which the public has a right of way. ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS (NORTHERN TERRITORY) ACT 1976 No. 191 of 1976 - SECT. 4. Land Trusts.
PART II-GRANTS OF LAND TO ABORIGINAL LAND TRUSTS 4. (1) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, establish Aboriginal Land Trusts to hold title to land in the Northern Territory for the benefit of groups of Aboriginals entitled by Aboriginal tradition to the use or occupation of the land concerned, whether or not the traditional entitlement is qualified as to place, time, circumstance, purpose or permission, and shall so establish Land Trusts to hold the Crown land described in Schedule 1. (2) A notice published under sub-section (1) shall-
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(a) specify the name of the Land Trust; (b) identify the Aboriginal groups for whose benefit land is to be held by the Land Trust; and (c) set out the boundaries of the land to be held by the Land Trust. (3) A Land Trust-