The elected members of the Central Land Council have called out untrue media statements by three constituents who have alleged that they were asked to leave a council meeting at Watarrka (King’s Canyon) in July.
“This is untrue – I was there,” said CLC executive committee member Barbara Shaw from Alice Springs. “Nobody was removed from the meeting. On the contrary, the women in question were heard at length and treated with politeness and respect.”
At the July council meeting Ms Shaw participated in a discussion by the elected members from the CLC’s Alice Springs region about a forthcoming review of how CLC members are chosen.
The council normally undertakes these reviews before a CLC election, with the next such election scheduled for April 2025.
Ms Shaw said the visitors asked to speak to the regional group and were allowed to do so.
“We welcomed the women into the group and listened for a long time to their reasons why their outstation should have its own, separate representation on the council.”
“We heard them out and gave them most of our limited discussion time, but they took over,” said another member of the group, Conrad Ratara from Ntaria (Hermannsburg).
“Ours is the largest of the nine CLC regions, and we also needed to talk about how the many other communities and organisations around Alice Springs are represented on the CLC,” he said.
Having made their case, the visitors left the group on their own accord during a break in the meeting.
“Members of our region then wished to complete our discussion without visitors and we asked them politely not to re-join the group after the break,” Ms Shaw said.
“There are so many witnesses who can testify that we treated the visitors respectfully and that nobody asked them to leave the meeting,” Ingrid Williams from Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa), another elected member from the Alice Springs region said.
“I am surprised and hurt that, after giving them so much of our time, they are now attacking us with false media statements.”
“If they are unhappy they should make a formal complaint so it can be properly investigated,” Ms Williams said.
Anyone can lodge a complaint against the CLC or give feedback by following the process set out on the CLC website.
The CLC has not received any complaints about the July meeting and encourages the women to put their concerns in writing or meet with the CLC’s executive committee and senior management.
Any CLC constituent can attend council meetings and speak at non-confidential parts of these meetings with the permission of the chair or the council, and many do so regularly.
Every three years CLC constituents elect the 90 members of the council and can stand for election themselves.
Contact: Tess O’Loughlin | 0461 396 054 | media@clc.org.au