What is a township lease?

For most, the term “township leasing” first came to public attention in 2007 when the-then Indigenous Affairs Minister, Mal Brough, secured agreement from the Mantiyupwi traditional owners of Nguiu (now Wurrumiyanga) on Bathurst Island (represented by the Tiwi Land Council) to grant a 99-year lease from the Tiwi Aboriginal Land Trust to the Executive Director of Township Leasing (EDTL), a Commonwealth government body. This was the first time in the Northern Territory’s history that an agreement had been struck utilising the Land Rights Act to lease an entire township situated on Aboriginal land to the Commonwealth. This process was later replicated in the communities of Milikapiti and Ranku, situated on Melville Island, and also Angurugu, Umbakumba and Milyakburra, located in the Groote Archipelago.

An option (and indeed, preference) now exists where, instead of the long-term lease being held by the EDTL, it is immediately held by a community-controlled entity. The community-controlled entity is one that is either fully- or majority-controlled by the traditional Aboriginal owners upon whose land the relevant township is situated. Such a lease agreement has now been struck for the township of Gunyangara (Ski Beach, Arnhem Land – Northern Land Council region). In others – Pirlangimpi (Garden Point, Melville Island – Tiwi Land Council region) and Mutitjulu (Uluru, Central Australia – Central Land Council region) – there is an agreed mechanism within the lease to the EDTL so that, when key performance indicators are met by the entity, the EDTL works with the relevant land council to transfer the lease to the community-controlled entity.

This form of entity places control, responsibility and authority – for the first time in many decades – back into the hands of the people who truly speak for the land. In doing so, there is the opportunity for traditional Aboriginal owners to make direct decisions and impose conditions in relation to the securing of subleases; become property developers in their own right; encourage business development and provide for Government services; create employment and training opportunities; and, importantly, with authority over land returned to the leadership of the clan, return a sense of ownership and belonging which has been absent for generations.

If you are interested in securing a town lease over your community, then you should not hesitate. We are able to assist in making application for funding so that you can fully engage in the process. In addition, the above-mentioned town leases have all come with economic development packages which can assist in boosting development in your community, although there is the responsibility to make rental payments in return.

Please feel free to call Dominic McCormack on (08) 8941 6355 or email dominic@bowden-mccormack.com.au should you wish to discuss any town lease or Aboriginal land issues.