The Northern Land Council’s Accountable Authority, under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), comprises the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer.

Chairman

Mr Bush-Blanasi is a Mayili man and resident of the Wugularr (Beswick) community in the Katherine region. He was educated in his own community before completing his studies at Kormilda College in Darwin. Mr Bush-Blanasi is a strong advocate for the rights and interests of Aboriginal people.

He is committed to achieving equality for Aboriginal people to enable them to take part in social, political and economic activities, and to ensure the maintenance and protection of their cultural knowledge.

This is Mr Bush-Blanasi’s sixth term at the NLC.

He is also a board member of the Aboriginal Investment Group and has a long record of service on boards of several other Aboriginal bodies.

​​​​

Chief Executive Officer

​

​

​Ms Scrymgour took up the CEO’s position on a full-time basis in May 2019, becoming the first woman CEO of any land council in the Northern Territory. She was born and raised in Darwin. Her mother was a Tiwi Islander and her father was a member of the Stolen Generations, who was taken from his parents at Ti Tree in Central Australia.

After attending St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and O’Loughlin College, Ms Scrymgour went on to enjoy a successful career as a health service administrator in Katherine. In 2001, she was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for the seat of Arafura, which covers the Tiwi Islands. Ms Scrymgour became the first Indigenous woman in parliament and later became the first Indigenous leader of an Australian government in history when she was made Deputy Chief Minister. She retired from politics at the 2012 election.

After working for several years for the Australian Red Cross, Ms Scrymgour returned to Katherine’s Wurli Wurlinjang Aboriginal Corporation as its CEO and was elected chairperson of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory. Her work was recognised in 2013 when the University of Sydney awarded her an honorary Doctor of Health Sciences degree.

​