The Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporation (APO NT) calls for the Territory Coordinator Bill to be scrapped.
“The Territory Coordinator has unprecedented power that contradicts commitments the Northern Territory Government have signed up to under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap,” said Dr John Paterson, APO NT Lead Convenor.
“The Northern Territory’s four land councils have united in calling for the Territory Coordinator Bill to be dumped. And we completely agree. This bill has ignored public outcry from Territorians and fundamentally erodes our rights”.
“When the Country Liberal Party came to power, they said they would govern for all Territorians; this Bill represents a worrying direction for the Finocchiaro government.”
“In our submissions we called for greater and clearer safeguards, but given this has been ignored, we cannot support this legislation.”
“Our work is underpinned by the principle of Aboriginal self-determination. We will not stand by as unchecked powers to overrule existing laws threaten our people, our sacred sites, our culture and our rights. We call on the Government to listen to the community and take our concerns seriously.”
About APO NT:
APO NT Aboriginal Corporation is the leading Aboriginal representative body for the Northern Territory, comprising the Aboriginal community-controlled organisations of Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory, Central Land Council, Northern Land Council, Tiwi Land Council, Anindilyakwa Land Council, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, Aboriginal Housing NT and the Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network.
APO NT’s member organisations have a reach that extends into every Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory. APO NT is also a member of the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Peak Organisations and jointly advocates for full implementation of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap in partnership with all Australian governments.
Contact: secretarait@apont.org.au | 0473 423 806