NSWALC Convenes Emergency Meeting To Ask Network For Support It Forgot To Give Them Last Year

PARRAMATTA – More than 250 leaders from across the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Network raised their hands simultaneously at the NSWALC 2026 Statewide Conference today in what organisers described as “a powerful show of unity” and what attendees described as “answering the question about travel reimbursement.”

The conference had been scheduled months in advance but was hastily pivoted to an emergency session after the NSW Government introduced the Crown Land Management Amendment Bill 2026 without consultation on a Tuesday evening – a move NSWALC called “an attack by stealth” and that Minister Steve Kamper’s office called “minor procedural amendments” with the same energy as someone calling a house fire “a minor temperature event.”

NSWALC has launched a Change.org petition and urged all members to contact their local MPs. Several attendees noted the irony of being asked to mobilise after years of feeling unheard by the peak body itself.

“They want us to sign a petition now” one longtime LALC member said. “Last time I sent them feedback they replied with an auto-generated email and a link to the annual report.”

Another attendee said the emergency pivot proved that NSWALC can act with urgency when it chooses to. “Funny how we can reorganise an entire conference in 48 hours when government comes for the land but it takes three years to process a claim from our own members.”

NSWALC Chair Dr Raymond Kelly said the Network would fight the Bill “tirelessly” and called on all Aboriginal people and allies to stay informed. “When Premier Neville Wran introduced the only land restitution framework in Australia in 1983 I am sure he didn’t think a Labor Government would be killing it in 2026” he said.

The petition has so far gathered modest numbers. It is unclear whether this is because members haven’t seen it or because they are still waiting for someone from head office to return their call from 2024.