The Northern Land Council (NLC) Group is an independent statutory authority of the Commonwealth of Australia, under the Minister for Indigenous Australians (the Portfolio Minister). The NLC Group’s supreme body is the Full Council, made up of 83 members – 78 members plus 5 co-opted women positions, elected once every three years from across 7 NLC regions, with the next election schedule to be held in December 2019.

The Portfolio Minister, approves the method of choosing members of the NLC. Section 29 of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, states that an Aboriginal person who is a traditional owner or a resident living within the NLC region may nominate for membership of the NLC Group.

The Chair and the Deputy Chair are elected at the first meeting of the Full Council, along with one member nominated from each of the NLC’s 7 regions as Executive Council members. The Chair and the Deputy Chair comprise the NLC Group’s nine-member Executive Council. Being a member of the Group Executive Council is a pre-requisite to serve on the Boards of all of NLC’s subsidiaries.

The related parties to this Group are Key Management Personnel of the Group.

The NLC Group Council Executive Members, elected in November 2016, are as follows:

* North Australia Aboriginal Corporation (NAAC), Northern Aboriginal Investment Corporation Pty Ltd (NAIC) and Northern Australian Aboriginal Charitable Trust (NAACT)

The NLC Group Chief Executives, who held office over the 2018/19 financial year, were as follows:

Balances and transactions between the Group have been eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this note. Transactions between the Group and its subsidiaries, which are not being consolidated are disclosed below.

Trading transactions

During the year, the Group entered into the following transactions with subsidiaries that are not consolidated as part of the Group :

The following amounts were outstanding at the reporting date:

The loan relates to recovery of expense payments to Directors of the subsidiaries.

There were no other transactions with Directors or any other entities controlled by common Directors.

In 2017 the Northern Land Council (NLC) and Central Land Council (CLC) had developed a joint economic development framework which includes, as a cornerstone, the establishment of the Aboriginal Land and Sea Economic Development Agency (ALSEDA). It is intended that ALSEDA provides funds to establish enterprises/businesses on Aboriginal land and coordinate the stakeholders required to ensure their success. Over the last three financial years the Northern Territory Government invested $1.097 million in the establishment of ALSEDA.

In November 2018, an Agreement to the value of $900,000 (excluding GST) was signed by Joseph Morrison, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NLC, between NLC and Centrefarm Aboriginal Horticulture Ltd (Centrefarm). The Agreement was in relation to a Special Purpose Funding, provided by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), in respect of the ALSEDA Project. At the time the agreement was signed Joseph Morrison was one of two Centrefarm Directors. Of the $900,000 only $50,000 was paid to Centrefarm while Mr Morrison was the CEO.

Centrefarm, established by the CLC in 2002, is a not-for-profit Aboriginal company limited by guarantee and has members, not shareholders. Those members are the Aboriginal traditional owners that it works for, to engender economic development on Aboriginal land, Aboriginal land-trust properties, other properties and areas owned or part-owned by Aboriginal interests.

In October 2019, the new CEO of NLC, Marion Scrymgour, reviewed the agreement and signed a variation to the November 2018 Agreement to include the following:

i. increase the contract value to $1,059,000 (excluding GST) to match the funds received from the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet (PM&C)

ii. adjust the completion date for this project from 20 November 2020 to 31 March 2020; and

iii. the submisison of a completion-report, along with an acquittal.

As at 29 November 2019, $1,059,000 (excluding GST) has been paid in relation to this Agreement.