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'Like an ambush': Gove Peninsula elder rejects new land council plan

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • A new remote Northern Territory land council, the Dilak Land Council, was announced at the Garma Festival, surprising some Yolŋu leaders.
  • Djawa Yunupiŋu, chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and Gumatj elder, announced the plan, stating it fulfills elders' visions to return power to landowners.
  • Wanyubi Marika, an elder from a leading Rirratjiŋu clan group, rejected the proposal, citing a lack of consultation and expressing frustration, preferring to remain with the Northern Land Council.

The announcement of a new remote Northern Territory land council, the Dilak Land Council, has taken some Yolŋu leaders by surprise, with a prominent clan group elder initially rejecting the prospect of participation. Djawa Yunupiŋu, chairman of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and a Gumatj elder, unveiled the plan at the Garma Festival, framing it as the realization of elders' visions to fully restore power to landowners.

This land council is the vision of our elders who knew one day, when the time was right, the power would be brought back fully into the hands of the land owners

— Djawa YunupiŋuExplaining the motivation behind the proposed Dilak Land Council.

This proposed council arrives on the 50th anniversary of the federal Aboriginal Land Rights Act and would be the first new land council established in the Northern Territory in approximately 35 years. If formed, the Dilak Land Council would operate separately from the influential Northern Land Council (NLC), which currently manages mining royalty distributions across the Top End. Mr. Yunupiŋu stated that the new council intends to collaborate with the NLC.

I'm not happy and I'm not going to it

— Wanyubi MarikaExpressing his rejection of the new Dilak Land Council proposal.

However, Wanyubi Marika, an elder from the Rirratjiŋu clan group and chairman of the Rirratjiŋu Aboriginal Corporation, has voiced strong opposition. He declared he would not join the new council, stating, "I'm not happy and I'm not going to it." Marika expressed a need to consult with his lawyers and indicated he currently disagrees with the plan, preferring to support the Rirratjiŋu's existing program with the Northern Land Council.

At the moment I don't agree with it, I just stick to the Rirratjiŋu current Northern Land Council program and support to Rirratjiŋu

— Wanyubi MarikaStating his current position and preference for the existing land council structure.

Marika described the announcement as feeling "like an ambush," citing a perceived lack of consultation and expressing frustration and confusion. He emphasized that his clan group, the Rirratjiŋu, derives significant power and control over land and development through their current standing with the Northern Land Council and the Land Rights Act. Mr. Yunupiŋu, in a subsequent statement, asserted that Marika and other Rirratjiŋu elders were consulted, along with all 13 Gove Peninsula clan groups, and pledged continued engagement.

This thing was thrown into my face, like an ambush

— Wanyubi MarikaDescribing his reaction to the announcement of the new land council.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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