Malcolm Turnbull acknowledges ‘hard-fought land rights battle’ as the title deeds to 55,000 hectares of land across from Darwin harbour are handed back to traditional owners.
“This is a big day for us,” Kenbi traditional owner Jason Singh told the crowd. “At last we have waited and we get our land back.
“Thank you all for coming and welcome to our country.”
A crowd of several hundred, including Malcolm Turnbull, sat at Mandorah facing Darwin harbour, the city’s skyline in the distance. For 37 years the people of this land have looked across to the seat of power of the Northern Territorygovernment, which for four decades fought against them and their rights to their country.
In April an agreement was finally reached. On Tuesday the title deeds to the 55,000 hectares of the Kenbi land claim, covering the Cox peninsula on the western side of Darwin harbour, were officially handed back.
At almost four decades since it was officially lodged, the Kenbi claim was one of the longest running in Australian land rights history. It has been particularly fraught, with three challenges in the federal court and two in the high court. It was awarded to just six individuals, known as the Tommy Lyons group, and a separate group of Larrakia people have maintained their claims of ownership and unhappiness at the decision.
Traditional owner Raelene Singh holds the deeds to the historic Kenbi land claim. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
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