A blanket exemption from freedom of information legislation provided to Aboriginal land councils allows them to operate as “secret societies” and should be removed, an Arnhem Land clan group has told the attorney general, George Brandis. Aboriginal land councils and land trusts are entirely exempt from operation of the FoI Act, alongside the auditor general, government solicitor, government intelligence agencies, the Office of National Assessments, the Parliamentary Budget Office and officer, and the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council. “The commonwealth law which exempts land councils from FoI applications is there for the very good reason of protecting Aboriginal cultural knowledge and property,” he said. The Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation is locked in a bitter dispute with the NLC over the distribution of mining royalties between it and other clan groups. The NLC had determined that 74% of royalties went to the Gumatj Aboriginal corporation.

Source: The Guardian November 16, 2016 05:37 UTC