Northern Land Council re- elects matthew Ryan as NLC chair

Council members from the Northern Land Council’s seven regions came together in Jabiru this week to decide on the leadership of the NLC for the next three years.

Mr Matthew Ryan was re-elected as Chair of the Northern Land Council for the 2025-28 term. Mr Ryan was first elected as Chair in March 2023. He is of Barabarra, Wurrpann and Gurindiji descent and resides in Maningrida.

Ms Lorraine Jones was elected Deputy Chair and is the second women to hold this position in the history of the NLC. Ms Jones has Ngaliwurru/Nungali heritage and lives in Timber Creek. She was elected to the Full Council in 2019 and then to the Executive Council in 2022.

Speaking from Jabiru yesterday, Mr Ryan thanked his fellow Council Members: “I'm grateful to have been re-elected as the Chair, it’s a great vote of confidence from the Council members and I look forward to working with all NLC constituents over the next three years.”

Mr Ryan spoke about his vision for a greater NLC presence across all seven regions and the importance of the advocacy work the NLC does.

“We want to see all our offices across the region well-resourced so we can have a greater presence across the seven regions.

“We want to achieve more for our traditional owners and our constituents and we want to work more closely with stakeholders.

“'We have to be very strong in our stance on advocacy and supporting our traditional owners across all regions. We need to work with both the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth governments, although the changes to the NT Sacred Sites Act earlier this year concern us greatly in terms of working with the NT Government.

“As we get ready to celebrate fifty years of the Land Rights Act, I am reminded of how much we have achieved, and how much work there is still to do in fighting for the rights of Aboriginal people in our region.”