Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The township lease model has actually proven that it can support the aspirations of Aboriginal people in the context of business development and homeownership. On the Tiwi Islands, where they have a township lease, 15 families are buying their own homes. Traditional owners have built a fantastic shopping complex that they own, and they did not get this on some dodgy loan from the government. The loan for that shopping centre came from a commercial bank, as every other Australian business would expect it to happen.

We have made sure that local people can get leases in commercial time frames so they can use their assets to engage the mainstream economy and create jobs. Township leases deliver this as they can go ahead and at the same time traditional owners can be paid rent. These are voluntary leases that are the decisions of traditional owners. Governments and land councils should not be the gatekeepers on development. It is time that local peoples were the drivers at the seat for economic development in their local communities.