NSW Land Rights network mourns passing of Frank Walker

Former NSW Aboriginal affairs minister Frank Walker

NATIONAL: The Aboriginal Land Rights movement of New South Wales is mourning the sad passing of former federal and NSW state MP Frank Walker.

Mr Walker was the state Attorney General during Neville Wran’s government, and fought ferociously for Aboriginal land rights in the early eighties.

He passed away in Sydney on Tuesday, June 12. He was 69.

Perhaps Mr Walker’s greatest legacy for Aboriginal people in NSW was his integral work putting together the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (ALRA) of 1983 in his role as the first ever Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.

Faced with ferocious opposition from both sides of the house and parts of the Aboriginal lobby, Frank worked closely with Aboriginal groups and key decision makers to ensure the bill would pass.

Sure enough, the ALRA eventually passed in 83…by just one vote.

NSWALC recorded an interview with Mr Walker late last year, for the Legends of Land Rights series.