3Interpretation

#### 3 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: > Aboriginal means a person who is a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia. > Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation means a corporation registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006. > Aboriginal land means: (a) land held by a Land Trust for an estate in fee simple; or (b) land the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow by a Land Council. > Aboriginal people or Aboriginal person: see Aboriginal. > Aboriginal tradition means the body of traditions, observances, customs and beliefs of Aboriginals or of a community or group of Aboriginals, and includes those traditions, observances, customs and beliefs as applied in relation to particular persons, sites, areas of land, things or relationships. > Account means the Aboriginals Benefit Account continued in existence by section 62. > adult Aboriginal means an Aboriginal who has attained the age of 18 years. > alienated Crown land means Crown land in which a person (other than the Crown) has an estate or interest, but does not include land in a town. > approved entity means a body approved by the Minister: (a) under subsection 3AA(1) as an approved entity; or (b) under subsection 3AA(2) as an approved entity for an area of land. > area, in relation to a Land Council, means an area for which the Council is established under this Act. > Authority means an authority established by or under a law of the Commonwealth or a law of the Northern Territory. > Commissioner means an Aboriginal Land Commissioner holding office under Part V. > Commonwealth Electoral Roll means the Rolls kept under the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. > community living area has the same meaning as in the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012. > community purpose means a purpose that is calculated to benefit primarily the members of a particular community or group. > conservation zone has the meaning given by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. > Crown Land means land in the Northern Territory that has not been alienated from the Crown by a grant of an estate in fee simple in the land, or land that has been so alienated but has been resumed by, or has reverted to or been acquired by, the Crown, but does not include: (a) land set apart for, or dedicated to, a public purpose under an Act; or (b) land the subject of a deed of grant held in escrow by a Land Council. > Director has the meaning given by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. > Electoral Commissioner has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918. > excludable matter means any of the following: (a) a matter relating to a member of the staff of a Land Council or to any other person assisting a Land Council in the performance of its functions or in the exercise of its powers; (b) a matter involving personal hardship suffered by a person; (c) a trade secret or other information having a commercial value the disclosure of which would, or could reasonably be expected to, affect a person adversely in respect of the person’s lawful business, professional, commercial or financial affairs; (d) any matter the divulging or communicating of which is prohibited by section 23E; (e) information the disclosure of which would found an action for breach of confidence; (f) information of such a nature that it would be privileged from being disclosed in legal proceedings on the ground of legal professional privilege; (g) information the disclosure of which would, or could reasonably be expected to, prejudice the enforcement or proper administration of the law; (h) a matter affecting the security of a Land Council, its members, its staff or its property; (i) information that is considered sacred or otherwise significant by a particular group of Aboriginals, the disclosure of which would be inconsistent with the views or sensitivities of those Aboriginals. > Executive Director means the Executive Director of Township Leasing referred to in section 20B. > exploration licence includes: (b) a permit in respect of land under the Petroleum (Prospecting and Mining) Act 1954 of the Northern Territory; and (c) a permit granted under the Petroleum Act 1984 of the Northern Territory; and (ca) a mineral exploration licence granted under the Mineral Titles Act 2010 (NT); and (cb) a geothermal exploration permit granted under the Geothermal Energy Act 2009 (NT); and (d) a right to explore for minerals under: (i) if subsection 53(2A) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955 applies by virtue of subsection 124(8) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989—the first‑mentioned subsection; or (ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply—regulations made for the purposes of subsection 124(1) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989; but does not include an extractive mineral exploration licence granted under the Mineral Titles Act 2010 (NT). > exploration retention licence means an exploration retention licence granted under a law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals and includes the following: (a) a retention licence granted under the Petroleum Act 1984 (NT); (b) a geothermal retention licence granted under the Geothermal Energy Act 2009 (NT); (c) a mineral exploration licence in retention issued under the Mineral Titles Act 2010 (NT); but does not include any of the following granted under the Mineral Titles Act 2010 (NT): (d) an extractive mineral exploration licence; (e) an extractive mineral lease; (f) an extractive mineral permit. > extractive mineral means: (a) soil; or (b) sand, gravel, clay or stone, being sand, gravel, clay or stone that is suitable for use in construction or building works. > extractive mineral deposit means a deposit of extractive minerals. > Finance Minister means the Minister who administers the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. > geothermal energy resources has the meaning given by section 4 of the Geothermal Energy Act 2009 (NT). > grant, in relation to an interest in land (including any interest referred to in a paragraph of subsection (2) of this section), includes the doing of any action by reason of which the interest arises. > intending miner, in respect of Aboriginal land, means: (a) a person who makes application, under a law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals, for the grant of a mining interest in respect of that land, while the person: (i) holds an exploration licence under that law in respect of that land; or (ii) being a person who has held an exploration licence in respect of that land, holds under that law an exploration retention licence, or has made an application for the grant of an exploration retention licence, in respect of that land or a part of that land; or (b) a person who: (i) if subsections 51(1A) and 53(2A) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955 apply by virtue of subsection 124(8) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989—makes an application, under subsection 51(1A) of the first‑mentioned Act for the grant of a lease or licence to mine for minerals on that land, while the person holds, under subsection 53(2A) of that Act, a right to explore for minerals on that land; or (ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply—makes an application for the grant, under regulations made for the purposes of subsection 124(1) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989, of a right to mine for, or recover, minerals on that land, while the person holds, under the regulations, a right to explore for minerals on that land. > Jabiru Town Development Authority means the Jabiru Town Development Authority established by the Jabiru Town Development Act 1978 (NT). > Jabiru town land has the meaning given by section 3AC. > Kakadu Aboriginal Land Trust means the Land Trust of that name established by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette under subsection 4(1). > Land Council means an Aboriginal Land Council established by or under this Act. > Land Trust means an Aboriginal Land Trust established under this Act. > law of the Northern Territory means a law made under, or having effect in the Northern Territory by virtue of, the Northern Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1978. > mine includes extract. > mineral royalties means royalties payable to the Commonwealth or the Northern Territory in respect of the mining of minerals. > minerals includes: (a) gold, silver, copper, tin and other metals; (b) coal, shale, petroleum and valuable earths and substances; (c) mineral substances; (d) gems and precious stones; and (e) ores and other substances containing minerals; whether suspended in water or not, and includes water and geothermal energy resources but does not include extractive minerals. > mining interest means: (a) any lease or other interest in, or right in respect of, land granted under a law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals (other than a lease or other interest in land, or a right, relating to exploration for, or the mining or development of, extractive mineral deposits); or (b) if subsections 51(1A) and 53(2A) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1955 apply by virtue of subsection 124(8) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989—any lease, licence or other right granted under any of those provisions; or (c) if regulations have been made for the purposes of subsection 124(1) of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989—any right granted under those regulations to explore for, mine for, or recover, minerals; but does not include, when the expression is used in Part IV, any such lease, licence, interest or right that is an exploration licence or exploration retention licence. > mission means a religious society or association the purposes of which are, or include, furthering the spiritual, cultural or economic welfare of Aboriginals, and includes a trustee or trustees empowered to hold land on behalf of such a society or association. > Northern Territory Mining Minister means the person holding ministerial office under section 36 of the Northern Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1978 who is responsible for the administration of the law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals. > NT mining authority means an authority, issued under a law of the Northern Territory relating to mining for minerals, that empowers the holder to take possession of, mine or occupy land, or take any other action in relation to land, for any purpose in connection with mining. > petroleum has the meaning given by subsection 5(1) of the Petroleum Act 1984 of the Northern Territory. > qualifying area means an area that: (a) is wholly included in the area of a Land Council; or (b) is partly included in the area of one Land Council and partly included in the area of one or more other Land Councils. > sacred site means a site that is sacred to Aboriginals or is otherwise of significance according to Aboriginal tradition, and includes any land that, under a law of the Northern Territory, is declared to be sacred to Aboriginals or of significance according to Aboriginal tradition. > town has the same meaning as in the law of the Northern Territory relating to the planning and developing of towns and the use of land in or near towns, and includes any area that, by virtue of regulations in force under that law, is to be treated as a town. > township, in relation to a Land Trust, has the meaning given by section 3AB. > traditional Aboriginal owners, in relation to land, means a local descent group of Aboriginals who: (a) have common spiritual affiliations to a site on the land, being affiliations that place the group under a primary spiritual responsibility for that site and for the land; and (b) are entitled by Aboriginal tradition to forage as of right over that land. > traditional land claim, in relation to land, means a claim by or on behalf of the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land arising out of their traditional ownership. > unalienated Crown land means Crown land in which no person (other than the Crown) has an estate or interest, but does not include land in a town. (2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to an estate or interest in land includes a reference to an interest by way of a right against the Crown to a grant of an estate or interest in land, but does not include a reference to: (a) a mining interest; (b) an interest arising out of the operation of the Atomic Energy Act 1953 or any other Act authorizing mining for minerals; (ba) a lease or other interest in land, or a right granted in respect of land, under a law of the Northern Territory relating, in whole or in part, to exploration for, or the mining or development of, extractive mineral deposits; (c) an interest arising out of the taking possession, mining or occupation of land by virtue of an NT mining authority; or (d) an interest by way of the occupation or use, with the licence or permission of the Crown, of land by an Authority or a mission. (3) A reference in this Act to an Act authorizing mining for minerals shall be read as a reference to such an Act whether passed before or after the commencement of this section and as including a reference to section 124 of the Lands Acquisition Act 1989. (4) A reference in this Act to the granting of a mining interest in respect of Aboriginal land shall be read as not including a reference to the renewal, in accordance with an option or other right conferred before the land became Aboriginal land, of a mining interest that was in existence when the land became Aboriginal land. (5) A description of land in Schedule 1 shall be deemed not to include any land on which there is, at the commencement of this section, a road over which the public has a right of way. (6) A reference in this Act to the Crown shall be read as a reference to the Crown in right of the Commonwealth or the Crown in right of the Northern Territory or both, as the case requires.