Wangan and Jagalingou native title claimants seek to prevent Carmichael Indigenous land deal being signed before court ruling over who has authority

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Traditional owners opposed to the Adani Carmichael coalmine have filed an application for an injunction with the federal court to prevent the native title tribunal from signing off on an Indigenous land use agreement before the outcome of a court challenge.

The application was filed following a meeting of the W&J traditional owners council in Brisbane on Saturday, where the 120 attendees voted against the Ilua for the fourth time since it was proposed in 2012.

It will attempt to prevent the native title tribunal from approving the Ilua on the basis of an agreement from some traditional owners before a federal court decision to determine who has authority to act over the land is handed down in March.

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Representatives of the Wangan and Jagalingou native title claimants are split six to six over the proposed deal, which would relinquish native title rights over the area of the mine in the Galilee basin in return for cash benefits, guaranteed jobs, and a number of business contracts.

Adrian Burragubba, a spokesman for the W&J traditional owners council, said the application for the injunction had been filed against both Adani and the Queensland government in an attempt to prevent the agreement being pushed through.

“Adani is pushing to have their sham Ilua with our people registered before our federal court hearing against it in March next year,” Burragubba said in a statement. “They want the Queensland government to extinguish our native title while pretending to have our consent.

“There will be no surrender of our traditional lands and waters. Our people voted down the Ilua again yesterday and endorsed the legal challenges to prevent this destructive project.”

An analysis of the deal by Economics Consulting Services, a respected agency that has brokered more than 150 Iluas including the Noongar single land claim and the Olympic Dam agreement, found that it would return just 0.2% of the mine’s gross projected revenue over 30 years to traditional owners, which is at least 75% less than the industry average.

The Noongar agreement was successfully challenged in February on the basis that not all registered traditional owners supported the deal, a legal loophole that could have been used by W&J claimants to stymie the proposed Ilua but was hastily closed by legislation.

The Economics Consulting Services analysis, which was presented at the W&J meeting and shared on their website, said the deal would produce a total value of $154m over 30 years provided the promise of jobs for Indigenous people, which accounts for 75% of the value, is delivered.

It notes: “Jobs and contract targets have not been delivered in most jurisdictions and agreements.”

It would deliver $17.4m in cash benefits, a maximum of $21.75m from business contracts, and a maximum of $114.5m in the form of 50 jobs over 30 years.

The report says the reliance on jobs means it is “not a well-balanced package.”

It says the industry average for these deals sees traditional owners get between 0.35% and 0.75% of total revenue, with Queensland usually at the lower end of the scale.

If the Queensland average was applied, it says, the total value of the package would be $270m, or 1.75 times what is currently being offered.

The analysis is based on phase one of the mine, which would produce 30m tonnes of coal a year over 30 years. Adani says the mine will produce 60m tonnes a year for 60 years, but the analysis says that’s “very unlikely.”

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Linda Bobongie, chair of the W&J traditional owners’ council, said the proposed Ilua was “a bad deal for our people.”

“Yet again, our people have asserted our right to self-determination and demand that governments and mining proponents respect our right to free, prior and informed consent,” Bobongie said.

The nine-part resolution passed on Saturday retracts the authority of traditional owners who have signed up to the Ilua to speak on behalf of the W&J claimants “and declared their signatures are to be treated as nullity”.

The Ilua is critical to Adani gaining finance as many major banks subscribe to the equator principles, under which resource projects are not backed without traditional owner consent.

A spokesman for Adani said: “There appears to be two W&J groups – one that has lost every court case and costs to try to stop the project and the jobs it will generate for W&J people and another group that has supported and continues to support the project. Adani is committed to the project and all W&J people.”

• This story was amended on 4 December 2017 to clarify that traditional owners had filed an application for an injunction.