Land councils, also known as land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations organised by region that represent the Indigenous Australians who occupied that region before the arrival of European settlers. They have historically advocated for recognition of traditional land rights, and also for the rights of Indigenous people in other areas such as equal wages and adequate housing.
Most Land Councils provide representation and organization of native title for Indigenous Australians, and receive funding from the Australian Commonwealth Government to do this work. Most land councils were formed since the late 1970s to gain native title, and most propositions for land councils have been put forth to the state governments since the 1990s, particularly after the downfall of the terra nullius legal precedent in Mabo v. Queensland (1993).
Some land councils can be governed by other, larger councils, which federate multiple local land councils for representation at the state and federal level.
Famous quotes containing the words land and/or council:
“The land of my fathers. My fathers can have it.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“I haven’t seen so much tippy-toeing around since the last time I went to the ballet. When members of the arts community were asked this week about one of their biggest benefactors, Philip Morris, and its requests that they lobby the New York City Council on the company’s behalf, the pas de deux of self- justification was so painstakingly choreographed that it constituted a performance all by itself.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)