Barngarla Aboriginal people building $1bn empire in land deals

The First Nations group whose court action scuttled the Kimba nuclear waste dump is building a $1bn empire.

Australia’s first billionaire Aboriginal corporation is about to be created by reaping revenue from huge renewable energy, green iron and water supply projects – linchpins of the state’s economic agenda.

The Barngarla people, whose court action torpedoed a Kimba nuclear waste dump, control traditional Eyre Peninsula lands with several solar and wind energy projects planned for an area equivalent to one-third of Kangaroo Island.

They are striking deals for annual revenue streams worth $50m to $80m per year by taking stakes in these projects and are in talks with the state government over the $5bn Northern Water desalination plant and 600km pipe network.

Stakes in these developments, plus revenue streams from multibillion-dollar hydrogen and green iron projects around Whyalla, are expected to make the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation the first in Australia to be worth at least $1bn, particularly without any current government funding.

Barngarla people at Premier's Energy Awards. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Barngarla people – Sonja (Jonas) Dare (right) and Barngarla’s oldest Elder Maureen Atkinson (left). Picture: supplied

Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation Sonja (Jonas) Dare said the board worked hard to recognise the economic prospects for enterprises wanting to use their 44,480 sqkm land, spanning eastern and northwestern Eyre Peninsula.

“Our community decided that if companies were going to profit from using our Country, then

we would demand a stake in the project through proactive and meaningful negotiation. No

successful company gives away their profits, so why should we be expected to,” she said, in a column for The Advertiser.

“ … We now have shareholdings in major ports on our country. We are the landlords of the

largest solar farm being developed on our country. We have Indigenous Land Use

Agreements (ILUAs) with mining and utilities companies that have resulted in a strong monetary and asset base for all Barngarla people, whilst also contributing to a sustainable future for all South Australians.

“We are now starting to invest funds generated through these agreements in education,

healthcare and housing. We hope to develop, in the near future, employment programs to

connect Barngarla people with job and career opportunities in the region.”

The corporation has 400 adult members and the Barngarla people, including children, number more than 1000.

Pot of gold at end of the rainbow on Barngarla Country. Picture: supplied

Positioning the region as a linchpin of the state’s economic agenda, Premier Peter Malinauskas leaves on Sunday for a three-day major economic summit showcasing his bid to reindustrialise the Upper Spencer Gulf through becoming a world leader in green iron, copper and renewable hydrogen energy.

A business case released on Thursday for the Northern Water supply project, crucial for BHP’s bid to produce $6bn worth of copper annually, says native title agreements are among “key components” to inform a final investment decision.

The Barngarla land includes the proposed Cape Hardy desalination plant, near Tumby Bay, and much of the 600km pipeline to the state’s north.

Map showing the extent of Barngarla land. Picture: National Native Title Tribunal

The Barngarla’s legal representative Nick Llewellyn-Jones, the head of Adelaide law firm Norman Waterhouse’s native title, renewable energy and resources practice, said they had conducted half of all Indigenous Land Use Agreements in South Australia in the past five years.

Mr Llewellyn-Jones said the Barngarla people were now involved in about half of all the nation’s commercial negotiations for ILUAs, which are a voluntary agreement involving native title parties about the use and management of areas of land and waters.

“This is obviously a significant but worthwhile challenge. The economic impact of this is massive and represents generational wealth, making the challenge overwhelmingly worthwhile,” he said.