Since the early days of self-government there has been a tension between “local government” and land rights in the NT. It is time to address that tension, and to try to overcome the problems caused by previous governments’ opposition to land rights. The reality is that land rights and native title are here to stay, and equally that we need better, more accountable and more capable systems of governance in our communities and regions.

Since 1976, the Land Councils have been part of the complex tapestry that is Aboriginal governance in the NT. The tapestry consists of both introduced elements – such as local government bodies – and existing structures of Aboriginal law and culture. In many ways, the Land Councils and the Land Rights Act can be seen as half-way houses between the introduced and the indigenous elements of governance.

Both the Land Rights Act and the Native Title Act are based on recognition of pre-existing Aboriginal law and decision-making. Effectively, they recognise Aboriginal governance. However the chequered political history of the NT has not enabled Aboriginal people to use their land rights as a basis for governance: instead the adversarial approach of most of the last three decades has led to complexity, conflict and duplication of governance systems and approaches. At the heart of land rights and native title is the principle of the informed consent of traditional owners. This fundamental tenet is an attempt by the Australian law to “see” Aboriginal law in operation, and serves as an important touchstone for all cross-cultural decision-making. The recognition – evidenced by the convening of this conference - that the current system of overlapping and duplicative structures is not working is very welcome. How we, as Aboriginal people, then go about developing new approaches is the hard part.

The current lessons from the apparently inexorable dissolution of ATSIC is that grafting systems of governance together does not work. The lessons from North America clearly point to a different model: taking the strength of our traditional systems as the basis for contemporary Aboriginal governance. We need to look at organic models that build on our existing capacities. In the NT this should mean that local and regional government is based on a recognition of the traditional law that underpins our lives as Aboriginal people. However it must also provide equality of services and opportunity to all residents on our land. Where the system has failed us so far has been in a deliberate refusal within the local government framework to acknowledge Aboriginal governance and law.

There are some very specific ways in which the current Local Government arrangements could be reformed so that the conflict with traditional rights was no longer a problem:
- The Local Government Act (or its successor) should be explicitly consistent with the Aboriginal Land Rights Act and the Native Title Act.
- Agreements between local governing bodies and traditional land owners should be facilitated through the legislation – both on and off Aboriginal land.
- Local or regional government constitutions should require the informed consent of the traditional owners over whose land they hold jurisdiction.
- Opportunities for participation of all residents and landowners in decision-making and administration should be clarified.
- Local and regional economic development needs to be better meshed with existing systems of governance and rights to land, as well as taking account of human rights to health, housing, education and employment. This balancing act is critical to the success of emerging regional structures.
- Capacity building and development must be given priority and resources made available to develop leaders and appropriate governance cultures.