Aboriginal land council: Its their way or the highway

By ERWIN CHLANDA Transparency is a very one-sided proposition for the Central Land Council (CLC): It wants the news media to publish its positions but it won't give answers to questions the media put to them. That's certainly the experience of the Alice Springs News with this secretive organisation which, like other Aboriginal land councils and land trusts, are not subject to freedom of information requests. We received a media handout reporting from a meeting at Yulara today – also known as the posh Ayers Rock Resort – at which Warren Williams was re-elected as CLC chair and Barbara Shaw as deputy chair.

The handout quotes Mr Williams, who represents Warlpiri communities, calling on politicians "to visit remote Territory communities if they are in any doubt about the sky-high cost of living, lack of real jobs and overcrowded and dilapidated houses.

“We need to see more young people training and working in our communities, in mines and on roads. Our roads need lots of work.”

Mr Williams is not quoted about the CLC being the biggest shareholder in Centrecorp which is said to have assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

This is one of the subjects about which the News, on February 17, sought an interview with CLC Chief Executive Officer Lesley Turner. An aide required us to let her know what we would like to talk to him about.

We did: "I’m working my way through the 2024 annual report which is likely to throw up a few questions."

• The main focus of the interview will be where, after 50 years of land rights, Aboriginal people in The Centre will be going in the next half century?

• The story background will be that Aboriginal people own half The Centre, including the tourism icons West and East MacDonnells and The Rock, yet poverty is everywhere.

• A fraction of the land they own, covered in solar panels, would meet the entire world’s demand for electricity.

• In prime cattle and camel country they can’t supply the small population with meat.

• Given the size of the population, what is a reasonable size of horticulture and what is its current size?

• How many Central Australian Aborigines work at the Newmont gold mine? [My previous information was there were six from the Yuendumu region.]

• How many CLC employees are economists?

• Other points: The circumstances of the Kittle (Motor Company sale in which Centrecorp reportedly had 49% ownership); the position of Centrecorp – plus any questions the answers are likely to beg.

The answer we got from one of the CLC's media persons: "Sorry but Les is not available to respond to your inquiry. I wish you a beautiful day."IMAGES from the 2023/24 CLC annual report.