Current Issue

ART AT THE HEART OF LAND RIGHTS

That’s why, during this momentous anniversary year, the Central Land Council is partnering with Desart to present the prestigious Vincent Lingiari Art Award for the fourth time. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate half a century of land rights,” CLC chair Warren Williams says. VINCENT LINGIARI ART AWARD 2021 WINNER GRACE...

Current Issue

PROUD TO BE TIWI

Historian Peter Forrest has written that the Tiwi are “arguably Australia’s most intact Aboriginal group. Certainly, they retain their fiercely possessive attitude toward their land and their culture, and they have a resolute determination to maintain controls over those essentials of Tiwi integrity.”  Today the Tiwi people face...

Current Issue

50 YEARS OF LAND RIGHTS IN THE NT

But when the Australian Government excised more than 380 square kilometres of Arnhem Land in 1963 to make way for the Nabalco bauxite mine, it sparked a momentum that would grow into the contemporary land rights movement and ultimately lead to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.  December marks 50 years of the...

Business

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

Qualified carpenter Tom Falck and his Larrakia wife Jodie “got to talking one day” about how they could build a business that helped Indigenous Territorians to work in the construction industry.  After many weeks of brainstorming, North Australia Projects and Services – better known simply as NAPAS – was born.  The...

Current Issue

LAND RIGHTS

In 2026, Australia marks fifty years since the passing of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), a landmark moment in the recognition of Aboriginal people’s enduring connection to Country, culture and lore. For Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation, this anniversary carries particular significance. The foundations of...

Current Issue

THAMARRURR 

The remote community of Wadeye is often seen through a narrow lens.  In the news, it is portrayed as a place of violence and dysfunction. But step inside the community and a different story emerges — one grounded in deep culture, strong family connections and an enduring relationship to Country.  Life in Wadeye is not easy. Each...

Current Issue

CREATING WEALTH FOR YOLNGU

They were talking to politicians and bureaucrats from Canberra – men who knew little or nothing about Indigenous attachment to the land – and knew they had to put their case intelligently and clearly. The negotiations began in 1968 and continued until the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act was passed by the Federal Parliament...

Current Issue

A QUIET REVOLUTION

In the heart of the Barkly Tableland, in one of the country’s remotest regions, a quiet revolution in clean energy is being forged in the tiny Outback town of Marlinja.  In July 2024, the Marlinja Community Solar Microgrid was commissioned, following five years of development preparation, and making history as Australia’s first...

Business

MASTERS OF TWO WORLDS

Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT), founded in 1980 to research, design, develop and teach appropriate technologies and deliver technical training to Aboriginal people living in remote communities, is moving into the growing cybersecurity industry and AI.  Chief executive Niki Ross says the aim of this transition is to future proof...

Current Issue

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS AT WALFORD 

This is what continues to draw families to Walford Anglican School for Girls in Adelaide.  Set in one of Australia’s safest and most liveable cities, Walford offers girls access to outstanding educational and co-curricular opportunities within a caring and close-knit community. For families sending daughters interstate, Adelaide’s...

Current Issue

A BUDGET ‘FOR EVERYDAY TERRITORIANS’ 

This is an important room to speak to after a budget, because people here deal with the practical end.  You see quickly whether a budget is real, whether projects are funded, tenders are moving, confidence is holding, and the Territory is becoming easier or harder to invest in.  The budget continues the work we started when...

Business

AUSMAT SUPPORTS FLOOD-HIT TOWN 

In early March, Katherine experienced significant flooding when the Katherine River peaked at 19.2 metres on 7 March — the town’s worst flooding in 28 years — resulting in the evacuation and temporary closure of Katherine Hospital.  Just two weeks later, further flooding was forecast as ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle moved towards the...