A lengthy dispute over the location of the Northern Territory Government's National Aboriginal Art Gallery could be drawing to a close with Alice Springs traditional owners declaring their preference for a site.
In a letter dated May 15, the Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation wrote to the Government on behalf of traditional owners to declare their support for the Government's plans to build the gallery at Anzac Oval.
The Alice Springs Town Council owns the oval and six months ago said it would not negotiate its handover until the Government could prove it had the support of the local traditional owners.
Dale Wakefield is the MLA for Braitling and a key proponent of the project in Government.
"It's a really important step forward … until we have certainty on the land tenure we can't get investment from other sources," she said.
The NT Government maintains that they have long had the support of the majority of traditional owners.
"So this isn't new in lots of ways, but its about Lhere Artepe being frustrated about people speaking on their behalf," Ms Wakefield said.
"We don't expect there to be unanimous support through the whole community, and we shouldn't have the expectation of Aboriginal people to all agree — it's not a standard we expect of the non-Indigenous community."
Lhere Artepe represents some traditional owners of Alice Springs for the sake of native title claims.
"Lhere Artepe will continue to work with the Northern Territory Government to ensure that traditional owners are involved in every step of the project and to ensure that Aboriginal economic development opportunities are realised for traditional owners," the letter said.
Council considers letter
The State Government said that they would compulsorily acquire the oval for just under $3 million if council continued to resist negotiations.
"We keep jumping through the hoops that council demands, but we've got a very clear end point to that so I'm waiting for that response — we will wait to hear back," Ms Wakefield said.
Eli Melky is an Alice Springs town councillor.
"This site is very important to a lot of people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people," he said.
"It would have to be proven to me, by those who know more than me, if the terms 'custodian' and 'traditional owners' would be satisfied by the Lhere Artepe organisation.
"We didn't ask for a letter — not from an organisation, we asked [for support] from custodians or traditional owners."
