Support for mine-affected communities to secure a long-term future

The Granites Mine Affected Area Aboriginal Corporation (GMAAAC) was set up by the Central Land Council (CLC) to support 9 mine-affected communities in the Northern Territory. GMAAAC collects compensation for the social impacts of the mine so affected communities can use the money for sustainable, community-driven projects.

The newly elected committee at Yuendumu in 2023

Funding a stronger future

The Granites mine operates in the Tanami desert. Tanami Downs, Yuendumu, Lajamanu, Willowra, Nyirrpi, Yuelamu, Balgo, Ringer Soak and Billiluna are affected by the mine’s operations.

GMAAAC works under an Agency Agreement with the CLC. GMAAAC receives affected area income as compensation for the affected communities impacted by the mine. 

Partnerships in governance 

The CLC’s Community Development Team, which supports Aboriginal people to generate community benefit from income from land use agreements, meets with each of the community committees 2 to 3 times a year. Meeting attendees discuss how to strengthen their communities using funds distributed through GMAAAC.

Committees are elected by their communities every 3 years through consensus or a private ballot. Once elected, the committee members also become GMAAAC members. There are 84 in total. The committees elect 18 directors who oversee the corporation, manage the GMAAAC’s investments and undertake strategic planning.

Elections at Willowra

Committee members and the CLC’s community development team discuss practical local solutions while the community development team facilitates the work. The community development team also ensures sustainable community benefits consistent with the corporation’s rules and objectives. 

The projects vary as they’re locally tailored to get the best outcomes for each community. Lajamanu set up a permanent water playground for people to come together, play and cool off. In Yuelamu, rangers joined school country visits and delivered educational activities, such as an overnight excursion to a 1928 Coniston Massacre site, while Willowra recorded and mapped sacred sites. 

Backing local solutions

Community projects funded by GMAAAC improve life outcomes in the communities. Between 2008 and 2022, GMAAAC invested more than $100 million in community benefit projects that aim to:

• improve access to health and essential services, education, employment and training
• promote Aboriginal self-management
• support language and culture.

Roughly half of the funds received by GMAAAC are used for these community projects, which the 9 communities’ committees determine. The other half is invested for when the mine closes. 

The CLC’s community development team helps the committees to increase their governance capacity and makes sure the projects are achievable, measurable and sustainable.

‘Our community development officers meet regularly with the committees and help them to consistently practice good governance,’ says CLC chief executive Les Turner.

‘Our community development team facilitates meetings, supports sound decisions, planning and prioritisation of projects, and monitors whether those projects meet outcomes and learn from them.

‘And they prioritise, design and fund community projects that address social, economic and health disadvantage in those communities.’
The committees are building their knowledge about how money can best work for their communities, equipping them to make sound decisions that meet their goals. 

Securing the future

GMAAAC invests half of its income for after the mine closes. Directors of the corporation come together 3 times a year for 5-day meetings in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) to manage the corporation, undertake training, and monitor their investments.

Director inductions at Lajamanu

Financial advisers provide advice to the GMAAAC board to support them in managing the corporation’s investments. Once the mine is closed, these investments will allow the corporation to continue the community benefit projects.

GMAAAC also funds ongoing governance training for directors with a two-way learning program that also increases their financial literacy. 

‘This program is building our confidence and experience to talk up and take this back to our other work in communities,’ a GMAAAC director says. ‘When we are getting into hard work in our communities we look back to this training because it builds up our confidence.

‘This training helps us to be stronger all the time because we are learning hard things and how to work two-ways and build relationships with other partners.’

The training is two-way learning for both the trainers and the directors. Directors have input into the co-designing of the training and materials. Training is adapted to suit Yapa (Aboriginal) ways of learning. The program evaluation brings in director feedback, which reports trainers ‘are seeing the importance of Yapa ways of doing things,’ says a GMAAAC director. 

In many ways, GMAAAC creates partnerships that support people in mine-affected areas to self-determine their communities’ futures, and advocates for Aboriginal leadership throughout. Together, the committees, the GMAAAC board and the CLC make sure the money helps many more people in the years to come.

GMAAAC’s strong governance was recently recognised in Reconciliation Australia’s 2024 Indigenous Governance Awards, where GMAAAC was a finalist.