AH KIT, John

VALE JOHN AH KIT
'JACK'

The Chairman, Executive Council, Full Council, CEO and staff of the Northern Land Council pay tribute to the Honourable Dr John (Jack) Ah Kit, former Minister in the Northern Territory government and Director of the Northern Land Council from 1984 to 1990. In late 2018 and early 2019 he returned as interim Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Land Council.

Jack will live on in all our memories as a leader of the Northern Land Council through the toughest of times. Not least in the 1980s, when all of the machinery of the then Northern Territory government seemed to be directed against the efforts of traditional owners, who were seeking to restore their rightful ownership of land across the Top End.

In 2018 Jack returned to his beloved Northern Land Council at a time of dire need. Working closely with the Northern Land Council Executive and Full Councils, Jack brought the Northern Land Council back on track, for which we are all thankful. As we all saw at that fateful meeting in March 2019, Jack was never one to back away from a stoush.

Jack was more than a mentor for many of us at the Northern Land Council, he was a part of our family, as he was for many hundreds of people – regardless of colour, creed or politics – if you liked a good argument or a good laugh, you had a friend in Jack.

We will all miss you Jack. You fought the good fight and it is now up to us to continue those battles.

The State Funeral for Jack Ah Kit will be held at TIO Stadium, Marrara at 3:00pm TODAY, Wednesday, July 22, 2020.