Dr Bush-Blanasi 19-11-1961—12-11-2023

NT News, 14 November 2023

Long-time Northern Land Council chairman and 2023 NT Australian of the
Year Dr Bush-Blanasi has passed away aged 61 following a short illness.
He was surrounded by members of his extended family when he passed
away at Royal Darwin Hospital on Sunday.


Dr Bush-Blanasi was a Yolngu man with country in the Blue Mud Bay
region of East Arnhem Land and was a claimant in the High Court case of
that name that resulted in Traditional Owners taking ownership of 85 per
cent of the NT’s intertidal zone.
He was a long-term resident of the Wugularr (Beswick) community east of
Katherine.


Dr Bush-Blanasi had been the chairman of the NLC for four terms and had
served as an NLC member for nine terms.
He spent decades fighting at the local and national level to empower
Indigenous Australians and was an advocate for major land rights and
native title claims, bush vote enrolment, education and remote healthcare,
particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.


As NLC chairman, Dr Bush-Blanasi was instrumental in securing sea
country rights in Arnhem Land for Traditional Owners and the 2022
incorporation of the Aboriginal Sea Company.
In 2022 he was appointed co-Chair of the interim board to establish the
Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation (NTAIC).


He was a long-serving board member of the North Australian Indigenous
Land & Sea Management Alliance, a member of the Aboriginal Housing
Northern Territory Aboriginal Corporation (AHANT) and the Aboriginal
Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APONT).


He was an accomplished artist and founding member of the Association of
Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists (ANKAAA) and was a
founding director of the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association
(TEABBA).

Dr Bush-Blanasi was a vocal advocate for the Yes case in last month’s
Voice referendum.


Education, domestic violence and the rights of women were all community
issues that Dr Bush-Blanasi was proud to take a strong stand on.


He was a strong supporter of the Learning On Country program, a joint
venture between the administrators of 17 remote schools, the NLC and
Aboriginal ranger groups that provides a pathway between education and
employment.

He was a vigorous campaigner against the scourge of domestic violence in
the Northern Territory and he always promoted the rights and interests of
women, particularly within the NLC where women have achieved
employment parity with men.


In March 2019 he was proud to appoint Marion Scrymgour as the CEO of
the NLC, the first such appointment in Australia.


Details of the memorial service for Dr Bush-Blanasi will be advised as they
come to hand.