AN ABORIGINAL traditional owner who could have become one of Australia's richest people if he had allowed uranium mining on his land near Kakadu National Park says he is not interested in money.

''When you dig a hole in that country you are killing me,'' Jeffrey Lee, 39, said yesterday. ''I don't worry about money at all.''

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has announced that, if re-elected, Labor would accept Mr Lee's offer to incorporate the 1228 hectares of environmentally sensitive land he owns into world heritage-listed Kakadu.

The move would block plans by French nuclear energy giant Areva to extract 14,000 tonnes of uranium from its mineral leases in the area that are worth billions of dollars in revenue.

''The decision means that this unique land, so important to its traditional owners, will be protected forever,'' Mr Garrett said.