The Minns Labor Government says their bill is just a “tidy-up” from a statutory review of the Crown Land Management Act. It is not!

Their bill contains serious legal changes that appear designed to undermine Aboriginal land claims in NSW, including by changing the rules around Crown land so that they could defeat undetermined properly made claims. These are not minor administrative amendments. These are major changes with real consequences for First Nations land rights.

What makes this even worse is the process.

The Government introduced the bill on 17 March 2026, but did not table the statutory review report until 19 March 2026. That means Parliament was asked to consider the legislation before seeing the review it supposedly comes from. The report itself was already long overdue.

This is a stealth attack by Premier Chris Minns on First Nations communities, and it is the opposite of transparent and accountable governance.

Even more concerning, the statutory review report does not recommend some of the most serious changes now contained in the proposed laws. Yet Labor are trying to push them through under cover of a “review” bill, while many members of the Labor caucus are likely unaware of the most egregious changes and their impact on Aboriginal land rights.

If the Government wants to change Aboriginal land rights in NSW, it should do so openly, directly, and only after proper consultation with Aboriginal communities and organisations. It should not smuggle these provisions into a Crown lands bill and hope no one notices.

Parliament should not support stealth attacks on First Nations justice.

Email the Premier and the Minister now. Tell them to stop this bill, remove the provisions that undermine Aboriginal land claims, and stop attacking land rights by stealth.