Traditional land owners have voted in favour of allowing a coalmine to be opened by Adani in central Queensland, but some from the Indigenous group have labelled the vote a sham.

More than 300 people attended the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) meeting on Saturday where Adani said members “voted overwhelmingly” to authorise an Indigenous land use agreement (ILUA) with the miners for the construction and operation of the Carmichael mine, west of Mackay.

“The company has worked positively and constructively with elected leaders within W&J over several years to ensure that the company’s mine at Carmichael not only proceeds, but proceeds with the benefits of the mine being realised by traditional owners at every stage of the project,” the mining company said in a statement.

But there are competing interests in the W&J claim group, which acts similarly to an electorate made up of 12 families, which have complicated the company’s ability to secure an ILUA.

On Saturday an investigation by Guardian Australia revealed details of the payments and other financial dealings by Adani and its advocates in the W&J in their bid to overcome four years of resistance to the Carmichael mine.

The payments had not been not detailed to the broader W&J group, despite rules set down last year by that any “monetary benefits” be reported and held in trust.

They have become a flashpoint in a dispute over who legitimately speaks for traditional owners who had repeatedly rejected the mine. Adani has denied any wrongdoing.

It is understood that the seven applicants who supported Adani have been paid collectively at least $10,500, on top of travel and accommodation costs, to attend meetings with the company this year. They are Irene White, Patrick Malone, Les Tilley, Norman Johnson Jr, Craig Dallen, Priscilla Gyemore and Gwendoline Fisher.

Malone and Gallen confirmed to Guardian Australia that they had received sitting fee payments.

After the five anti-Adani applicants complained about the undisclosed payments, the seven paid by Adani reported the payments to to the group’s native title lawyers, who were satisfied with the disclosure.

Adani formally gained the support of a majority of the 12-person W&J native title applicant group for the first time in January.



It said Saturday’s vote to endorse an Indigenous land use agreement (ILUA) by the broader W&J group was properly convened and independently chaired in accordance with statutory process.

However the anti-Adani group, Wangan and Jagalingou Family Council, has released a statement describing it as a “sham meeting which has engineered a sham outcome”.

Spokesman Adrian Burragubba said the council would challenge “Adani’s phoney land use deal” in the federal court.

“Just last month the W&J claim group met of our own accord and said ‘no’ to Adani,” he said.

“We made it clear that Saturday’s meeting is not a legitimate meeting of the claim group and the resolution to approve Adani’s deal is not legitimate either.”

The council has also accused the Indian mining giant of bankrolling a “bogus” land use agreement.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report