Hands off our land rights
By Dr Raymond Kelly
Despite everything the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights movement has achieved in the 40 years since its establishment, the Minns Labor Government has introduced a Bill that would not only fundamentally change Aboriginal Land Rights in this State, but would diminish our inherent rights as Aboriginal People, writes NSWALC chair Dr Raymond Kelly.
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For more than 40 years, the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights movement has been a driving force for justice, empowerment and self-determination for Aboriginal Communities right across the State.
As the Aboriginal Land Rights Network, we have secured opportunities for our People, built housing, created jobs, generated economic wealth, supported families and strengthened Community; this benefits everyone in New South Wales. The work we have done across the State cannot be understated. It has contributed to the well-being of our People and will continue to do so for generations to come.
But our ability to claim and use land has come under direct threat from the very powers that put it in place.
The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) (ALRA) is the only restitution framework for the return and activation of freehold lands to provide an economic base for our Communities in this State. This is not symbolic. By progressing claims, backing Local Aboriginal Land Councils, and making land work for Communities, we create opportunity, build long-term prosperity, and support those who continue to live with the impacts of colonisation.
Despite everything we have achieved over the 40 years since our establishment, on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, the Minns Labor Government introduced a Bill that would not only fundamentally change Aboriginal Land Rights in this State, but would diminish our inherent rights as Aboriginal People.
The Crown Land Management Amendment (Statutory Review) Bill 2026 (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament in the Upper House late at night, without any notice of its true intent and discriminatory impact. It was a deliberate move to sneak through a series of amendments under the guise of miscellaneous minor amendments, which was explained as an administrative task.
The Minns Labor Government did not attack the Aboriginal Land Rights Act directly. Nor was it even referenced. They instead chose to amend another Act with very real impacts on our rights – the politics and strategy were deliberate. Present one face to the general public by purporting to work with Aboriginal Peoples on Closing the Gap and Treaty, all the while seeking to remove the very basis for a better future by stealth.
Let me be very clear: there is nothing minor about these amendments. At its core, the Bill will undermine the very foundation of the ALRA. The ALRA allows land to be claimed when it is unused and unneeded Crown land. This is the foundation upon which land is returned to Aboriginal Communities to enable economic, social and cultural outcomes for Communities.
The Bill and its proposed amendments hollow out the ALRA and undermine the position of Aboriginal People in New South Wales. The Bill, if passed, will reverse long-standing legal principle reconfirmed most recently by the High Court in the Quarry Street decision in favour of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council. This judicial ruling reaffirmed a simple truth: land must be genuinely and actually used, not just land banked under an inactive lease.
The Bill seeks to overturn common sense by creating a legal fiction that a lease without any actual utilisation of the land will hereafter be ‘a lawful use’, with the intent of defeating another undisclosed Act - the ALRA. This provision alone could potentially impact thousands of claims into the future. But Steve Kamper, the Minister responsible for the administration of the Crown Lands Management Act, has argued that this is a “small number of edge cases”.
To suggest that thousands of parcels of land are a ‘small number’ shows a complete disregard for the scale and significance of what is at stake – not just for Aboriginal People, and the benefits we can generate for the broader NSW public.
Compared to the total land mass of New South Wales, the land held by our Network remains minuscule. Out of around 80 million hectares of land in New South Wales, we have had 175,000 hectares returned to us through the ALRA. That is less than 0.2% of the total land mass in NSW.
With retrospective powers also being bestowed on Steve Kamper through his proposed amendments, he can perhaps make good on his desire to ‘clear out’ the backlog of 43,500 claims still waiting to be determined. There’s no denying that thousands of parcels of land carry great significance for our People and the loss of the opportunity they present is anything but minor. Views to the contrary simply show a complete disregard and disrespect for our Peoples.
As the most marginalised Community in this Country, how can the Minns Labor Government sleep at night knowing that by seeking to overturn rights championed by their forebears, they are entrenching our dispossession and trying to keep us on the economic fringes of New South Wales. Where will it end?
This direct attack on our People, hidden under an administrative change, is a pure example of just how far and low governments will go.
The irony of Steve Kamper’s crusade against Aboriginal Land Rights is clear. In December 2024, he praised two Aboriginal Land Agreements over Sandhills Estate in Byron Bay as a model for “Crown land being utilised to deliver a range of benefits for critical emergency services, Aboriginal outcomes, Community recreation and environmental protection”. He pointed to them as proof of “NSW agencies and the Land Rights Network working together to secure an outcome that puts the needs of the Community and our social infrastructure first.”
So, the question is simple: what has changed? Perhaps he simply doesn’t like win-win solutions that benefit the whole Community, preferring instead to change the rules by stealth to lock in Government win, Community lose outcomes?
It’s clear that whatever the reason is, Steve Kamper is not interested in giving Aboriginal People in this state a fair go. There was no consultation on the Bill prior to its introduction to Parliament, and he is continuing to tell lies, fearmonger and stoke Community division. This is not how good law or respectful partnerships are made.
Given Steve Kamper’s approach to date – doubling down on divisive information, whipping up fear and racism with his comments – there is a real risk for us that any consultation becomes little more than a tick-and-flick exercise. It must be more than that.
This is not a political focus group activity for the Minns Labor Government to run on Aboriginal issues ahead of the next general election in March 2027. Are they testing the waters to see how much they can get away with in appealing to swing voters thinking about voting for other far-right-leaning minor parties? Labor has a real problem here in relating to their traditional voter base of workers and the disadvantaged.
We know we have our allies and supporters out there, with the 6.2 million YES voters in the 2023 referendum on constitutional recognition and a Voice to Parliament. We are now calling on our allies and supporters to stand with us on this issue and speak to your local MPs.
Yes, the debate on the Bill has been delayed. But let’s be clear: our rights are not safe. The pause is the result of advocacy by the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council and the Land Rights Network – and there’s still a real risk the Government will push on regardless.
We are at a critical moment. What happens next will shape the future of Land Rights and our place in the Community of New South Wales. Now is the time to stand together, to protect what is rightfully ours and to fight for what must be restored.
We are calling on our Community and our allies to stand with us.
Join us. Sign the petition. Help us defend Aboriginal Land Rights.
About the author
Dr Raymond Kelly
Dr Raymond Kelly is the chairperson of New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council. He is a Dhangatti/Gumbayngirr man who has been a steadfast advocate for Land Rights in NSW for many years, with significant contributions to the broader Aboriginal Community. These include his service to the Awabakal LALC as a Board member and a former Chairperson, Board member of the NSW Heritage Council, and the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust and as a member of the Me-Mel transfer committee. Dr Kelly also offers representation to the NSW Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee. Dr Kelly believes in transparent leadership, good governance and working together to help empower the LALCs across the Sydney/Newcastle Region.
