Browsing Tag
land resources
4 posts
From 1973, a journey of land rights through the bush
Landing in Vincent Lingiari's palm, was his country. The red earth passed through Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's fingertips as he handed back 1250 square miles of Wave Hill Station to the Gurundji people. It was 1974, and a watershed moment that sparked a transition of Aboriginal land rights in the nation's colonial history. As the Central Land Council celebrates 50 years, chairman Warren Williams told AAP he is most proud of the things achieved during the organisation's first decade. The four land councils were established to bring together witnesses and evidence for the 1973 Woodward Royal Commission, and since, have…
Scientists despair as farmers clear nature hot spot
A globally significant savanna that supports an array of threatened species is being cleared for agriculture without any scrutiny under environmental laws, scientists say. There's rising alarm about the extent of unchecked land clearing in the Northern Territory's tropical savannas, south of Darwin. Conservationists used a webinar attended by federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Wednesday to implore her to stop "rampant clearing" that's putting an untold number of species at risk. That includes in the territory's savannas - one of the world's last extensive, largely intact natural landscapes that support an extraordinary mix of plant and animal species found…
Reduced mine bond ‘would leave thousand-year burden’
The NT government's decision to slash a large zinc and lead mine's bond would leave traditional owners and taxpayers with the cost for the next 1000 years, environmentalists say. Traditional owners are challenging the NT government in court over its reduction of the bond for the McArthur River Mine. Environmental Defenders Office barrister Oliver Jones told the NT Supreme Court the process used to calculate the bond was "illogical and incoherent". In November 2020, NT Mining Minister Nicole Manison lowered the bond for the mine's owner, Swiss resources company Glencore, from $520 million to $400 million. But Mr Jones said the bond was…
Eco groups cold on carbon capture for Beetaloo fracking
Environment groups have criticised a new CSIRO report looking at offsetting emissions from proposed gas extraction in the Northern Territory. The report explores options for offsetting greenhouse emissions produced by extracting gas from the Beetaloo Basin, should the NT government approve it. The groups have criticised the inclusion of carbon capture and storage among the measures. "This technology has never worked at scale, has a track record of failure, and is being used by the gas industry to justify opening up new gas fields like the Beetaloo," said NT Environment Centre executive director Kirsty Howey. CSIRO researchers spent two years…