On 24 August Territorians will go to the polls to decide on the next government of the NT.

The Central Land Council recently quizzed the Labor, Country Liberal and Greens parties on a range of issues close to the heart of Traditional Owners in their jurisdiction.

Asked if they would establish Treaty Working Group with the four NT Land Councils and start planning a second Barunga Treaty agreement that is based on the recommendations of the 2022 NT Treaty Commissioner's report, the Labor government said it thinks "a reestablishment a Treaty Working Group will be a good first step"; the Greens said they "are committed to truthtelling and Treaty, (and) the Treaty Commissioner's recommendations to implement a Treaty Making Process are an important first step in realising Treaty"; while the Country Liberal Party has no plans to establish a new Working Group.

The Central Land Council asked the three parties if they will you work with the NT Executive Committee on Aboriginal Affairs to ensure the Productivity Commission's recommendations on Closing the Gap are delivered.

Labor said it values the insights of both the Productivity Commission Report and the recent Auditor-General's Report and "will use them to improve the lives of Aboriginal Territorians".

The NT Greens said the Closing the Gap targets are "an urgent priority", and backed "measures that will see greater accountability, and implementation of funding and programs that support the Closing the Gap targets and priority reforms", as well as independent monitoring, along with direct reporting by ministers and heads of department.

The CLP said it will "work closely with Chief Executive Officers" to determine the future operation of existing boards and committees.

Asked if they would create an independent body with strong powers to monitor the NT Government's progress on Closing the Gap, including how the government is improving the way it works way in partnership with Aboriginal people, Labor acknowledged the recommendation of the Productivity Commission to create an independent body to monitor progress on Closing the Gap; the Greens reiterated their support greater accountability; and the CLP gave no response.

The Central Land Council asked if the parties would establish a new NT Legislative Scrutiny Committee to review new legislation and amendments to ensure they don't impact badly on the rights of Aboriginal people - in line with the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Labor noted that its members of the legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee supported the introduction of a new parliamentary review process and noted the process could take several forms – including a Legislative Scrutiny Committee. Labor members also supported steps to assess if a Bill aligns with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and with human rights instruments including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Country Liberals said if elected, they will "review the existing arrangements to ensure all impacts are considered" as part of the process for any new legislation, but made no mention of the UN Declaration.

The NT Greens backed implementing law and policies consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, noting that First Nations peoples' freedoms and human rights as set out in the Declaration "must be recognised and implemented in all aspects of policy and law-making in the NT".

Labor committed to raising the energy star rating for new houses in the NT from five to seven and the Greens backed "all measures to improve the quality and quantity of housing in remote communities and homelands", while the CLP gave no response on the issue of energy ratings for new homes.

The CLC noted the $1 billion Commonwealth commitment to education in the NT "is significant" and should guarantee all schools can be fully funded in line with the Gonski Education report; asking the parties: Will you deliver enrolment – based funding in all NT public schools by the start of 2025?

Labor vowed to ensure all schools are fully funded by 2029 and said "we will be funding schools under new enrolment model from the start of 2025… This model will increase the direct funding to our most disadvantages schools first". The Greens "strongly" supported implementing the recommendations in the Gonski Education report. The CLP response made no mention of funding commitments.

On the Royal Commission into the protection and detention of children in the Northern Territory and the full resourcing and implementation of the NT Aboriginal Justice Agreement by 2027:

The CLP promised youth justice reforms to ensure youth offenders will be directed to compulsory diversion programs, and vowed to establish two Youth Boot Camps located in Darwin and Alice Springs with Aboriginal mentors. On the Justice Agreement they made no comment.

Labor said it would implement the remaining recommendations of the Royal Commission, noting that the Royal Commission final report included 227 recommendations, of which 218 required action by the NT Government. The last report on the implementation of the recommendations was published in October 2023, and had 30 recommendations still 'underway'.

Labor noted it had invested more than $45 million delivering the Aboriginal Justice Agreement and said it "will continue to back the Agreement and grow our investment to improve justice outcomes for Aboriginal people".

The Greens "strongly" supported implementing all recommendations from the Royal Commission, as well as immediately raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years. They did not comment on the Aboriginal Justice Agreement.

The Central Land Council asked the three parties if they would ensure identification of cultural values is designed and led by Traditional Owners and facilitated by Land Councils - as per the council's statutory functions - in all water allocation plans.

Labor said "Understanding the Aboriginal Cultural Values of Water" is a critical action under their plan, with the aim that by the end of this year, the NT government "will partner with Aboriginal organisations to better understand the cultural values of water across the Territory".

The other two parties did not respond.

The Aboriginal Benefit Account, which was set up under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, receives funds equivalent to the royalties from mines located on Aboriginal land in the NT. These funds must be used to benefit Aboriginal people living in the Territory, including through ABA grants.

The CLC asked the parties if they will guarantee that proposed reforms to the mining royalty system in the NT do not reduce income to the ABA and affected area payments to communities affected by mining:

The CLP noted that it took an ad valorem mining tax (based on the value of materials mined) to the last election, "recognising the need for certainty and greater competitiveness for the mining sector", and said the details of "royalties arrangements will be established as part of the development of any new legislation".

Labor told the Land Council that mines that were operating - and paying royalties in the 2023 calendar year - are grandfathered under the existing profit-based royalty scheme (Mineral Royalties Act 1982), while new mines that commenced from 1 July 2024 are administered under the new ad valorem scheme: Mineral Royalties Act 2024.

The NT Greens said they believe royalties incurred by mining companies must reflect "fair compensation to the community" for the loss of the NT's non-renewable resources, the environmental degradation incurred, and the cultural losses associated with compromised access to Country by Traditional Owners.

On the subject of amending NT's Sacred Sites Act to strengthen its operation and recognise Central Land Council sacred site protection processes, the CLP gave no response; Labor said it has "paused our sacred sites legislation to ensure that we have completed adequate consultation with CLC", adding that the party is "committed to ensuring that the Sacred Sites legislation is fit for purpose and protects the cultural rights of Aboriginal Territorians" and if returned to office will "pass this much needed legislation"; and the NT Greens "strongly" supported "strengthening protections of Aboriginal sacred sites and cultural heritage".

On the matter of funding for the NT Aboriginal Rangers Grant program, the Country Liberals said they remain committed to the Program and if elected "will receive a detailed briefing on all aspects of the program and consult widely with the community"; Labor noted that the current Territory government funding (which varies annually since it has operational and capital elements working to a different cycle) finishes at end June 2025 and the scheme evaluation "has been extremely positive"; while the NT Greens said they "want Aboriginal ranger programs to be adequately resourced across the NT with secure, long term funding".