14 May 2025 The National Native Title Council (NNTC) is pleased to support the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in advancing its global vision to protect people and the environment directly affected by mining. IRMA is the only voluntary mining standard where affected communities and Traditional Owners have the same power as mining companies. ‘Both traditional mineral extraction and new critical mineral mining need to be held to a rigorous standard. Traditional Owners’ rights should be central to any extraction projects on Country, not an afterthought or a box to be checked.’ Jamie Lowe, NNTC CEO, states. IRMA is designed to provide the world’s most comprehensive and rigorous definition of best practice in mining. It promotes a transparent audit process where independent audit firms assess mining operations...

12 March 2025 The National Native Title Council (NNTC) welcomes the decision of the High Court of Australia in Commonwealth of Australia v Yunupingu [2025] HCA 6 and congratulates the Yunupingu family and Gumatj Clan. The High Court of Australia has delivered a landmark judgment on compensation for native title holders in the Northern Territory. The Court considered whether acts done by the Commonwealth of Australia in the Northern Territory, whilst subject to the control of the Commonwealth between 1911 and 1978, gives rise to the Constitutional requirement for the government to provide native title holders with just and fair compensation. The decision is a confirmation of existing case law confirming the equal treatment of property rights of all Australians under the law. It determined that the extinguishment of...

The National Native Title Council (NNTC) is urging the Australian Government to provide Traditional Owners funding and access to finance in response to a Parliamentary report that recommends essential steps to supporting First Nations Australians’ right to economic self-determination. “The clean energy transition provides vast opportunities for Traditional Owners with numerous clean energy, transmission and critical minerals projects predicted,” says Jamie Lowe, CEO of the NNTC. “But while billions of dollars of funding have been earmarked for industry, virtually no funding has been set aside for Traditional Owner groups with scant access to finance.” Released on 26 November 2024 by the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, the report comes on the heels of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement at the Garma Festival in...

The National Native Title Council (NNTC) urges Senators to reject calls for the establishment of a Select Committee on First Nations Representative Bodies which would inquire into native title corporations and their representative regional bodies. “Following the failure of the Voice to Parliament, it’s upsetting that some politicians would continue to use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as a political football…it is a sad day when native title holders who have spent decades fighting for their rights get dragged into politics for no good reason” – Kado Muir, Chair of the NNTC. “Allies of First Nations Australians in the Senate will do our people no favours by indulging in further politicisation and division.” Jamie Lowe, CEO of the NNTC warned. “Calls for yet another review of Native...

In a speech at the Garma Festival in northeast Arnhem Land today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to enable transformational investment by partnering with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance (FNHPA) to connect First Nations communities directly with companies and investors. This announcement builds on the co-design work underway as part of the formal partnership agreement signed in November 2022 between the Albanese government and the FNHPA on cultural heritage reforms. Responding to the Prime Minister’s address, Gunditjmara and Djabwurrung man and CEO of the National Native Title Council (NNTC), Jamie Lowe says “We all know there is immense opportunity on the horizon for First Nations communities, particularly as part of the clean energy transition. But we want to learn from the First Nations experience with development...

The National Native Title Council welcomes the progress towards the land and sea targets seen in the Productivity Commission’s latest Annual Data Compilation Report and Data Dashboard. The report, released yesterday, tracks progress of all Australian governments against the targets they agreed to under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Targets 15A and 15B seek 15% increases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea rights or interests by 2030. After initially slow progress, both targets are now on track with 4,213,978 km2 of land and 113,461 km2 of sea country subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s rights or interests. In fact, based on the reported data, the sea country target has already been met, 6 years ahead of schedule. “The land and sea...

Business and investment leaders have taken a pivotal step towards elevating their protection of First Nations cultural heritage by committing to a new best practice standard defined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that was launched in Canberra today by the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance (FNHPA). “Today’s launch of the Dhawura Ngilan Business and Investor Guides heralds a new period in Australia’s business relations, with commitment from the private sector to reach beyond legislative standards and implement leading practice for cultural heritage as defined by First Nations peoples,” says Kado Muir, Co-Chair of the FNHPA and Ngalia cultural and community leader. The Guides are inspired by, and take the name from, the Dhawura Ngilan Vision (Dhawura Ngilan means ‘Remembering Country’ in the Ngunnawal Language) drafted by...

A Statement from the NNTC The peak body for Australia’s local and regional native title organisations, the National Native Title Council (NNTC), congratulates the Gomeroi People for their landmark victory in the Full Federal Court this week. The Gomeroi People were successful in an application to overturn a determination of the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT). That determination would have allowed Santos Pty Ltd to proceed with its contentious Narrabri Gas Project in northern NSW. The Full Federal Court upheld the Gomeroi People’s appeal on the basis that the Tribunal had not adequately considered the Gomeroi People’s objection, stemming from the broader effects of Green House Gases arising from the Narrabri project. “This is a great victory for the Gomeroi People” says Jamie Lowe Gundijtmara and Djabwurrung Traditional...