Board Members
The ALC is a not-for-profit entity that was established under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act, 1976 (ALRA), which reports to the Australian Minister for Indigenous Australians and is an Australian Government Statutory Authority with responsibilities under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act, 2013 (PGPA).
The ALC was created to carry out the functions specified to it by the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act, 1976 (ALRA). The ALC is one of four land councils in the Northern Territory, and its primary function is to advocate for the interests of the Anindilyakwa people and assist them to acquire and manage traditional lands and seas.
The ALC Board provides strategic vision and oversight of the ALC, and the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are held accountant for their performance by the Board. The Board provides regular feedback to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and CEO in respect to their duties and performance. The CEO and Chairman are the only two members of the Accountable Authority.
The Board comprises of clan representatives from the 14 indigenous clans within the ALC jurisdiction and one community representative each from the communities of Angurugu, Umbakumba, and Milyakburra. Currently, the majority of Board members are women.
Board Members are formally elected under the supervision of the Australian Electoral Commission every three years and the next election will take place in August 2024.
The ALC elected members (as at 31/07/2022) are listed below.
Chairman Tony Wurramarrba
Tony Wurramarrba is a well-known leader and spokesperson for the Anindilyakwa people, and has had an extensive and committed career in advocating for the priorities of the Anindilyakwa people.
Tony has provided service to the ALC for over 13 years, during which time he has held positions of Chair and Deputy Chair of the ALC. In Australia Day Honours 2013 Tony was recognised for his outstanding service to the Indigenous community of the Groote Archipelago as an Officer of the Order of Australia.
With the support of other ALC Board members, Tony has continued to advocate for the priorities of the Anindilyakwa people with all levels of government, as well as with GEMCO. He was re-elected to the ALC Board at the September 2018 triennial Election and again voted in as the Chair at the new Board’s inaugural meeting. Tony continued to represent the Anindilyakwa people and the ALC on a number of Boards and forums during the 2019-20 financial year, including as Chair of the reformed Education, Employment and Training forums of the Groote Archipelago; representative on the Minister for Local Government’s Working Group, established to provide advice on the future of Local Government; Member of the Mining Liaison Committee; ALC Representative on the Machado Joseph Disease (MJD) Foundation Board;. Tony also held a Director position on the Board of GEBIE to February 2014.
Tony is also on the Board of Directors for the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency and Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Hewitt
Mark Hewitt has held a number of high-level national and international roles in both the public and private sectors spanning from the resources industry, the Australian Government and major Indigenous organisations.
Mark was the General Manager of the Diamond Corporation International in Belgium, a Project and Mine Manager for the Central Poona Joint Venture in WA, and was the Environment and Communities Manager for Harmony Gold Mining Company also in WA.
From 2005 to 2011, Mark performed a range of executive roles in the Department of Families, Housing and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs for the Australian Government. During this time he was also the Regional Manager for the Pilbara region for the WA Government.
Mark is currently the Chief Executive Officer for the Anindilyakwa Land Council and a Chief Executive Officer at the Winchelsea Mining Joint Venture.
