Legal threat to Port Lincoln water desalination plant from Barngarla people, who scuttled Kimba nuclear waste dump

The Aboriginal group that scuttled a Kimba nuclear waste dump has turned sights on a controversial water supply plant.

The Aboriginal group that torpedoed a Kimba nuclear waste dump, the Barngarla people, is threatening legal action to halt a controversial desalination plant at Port Lincoln.

The native title holders to Eyre Peninsula have written to Deputy Premier and Water Minister Susan Close, opposing the project because of “ecological and heritage issues” and insisting the “current project proposal is unworkable from a First Nations perspective”.

Dr Close last March accepted SA Water’s advice to build a $313m desalination plant at Billy Lights Point, about 1km east of Port Lincoln Marina.

Billy Lights Point, Port Lincoln. Picture: Craig Hore

But the Barngarla letter declares ecological and heritage issues are insurmountable and cannot be fixed by heritage surveys or other talks, warning if SA Water proceeds they will consider legal action under environmental, Aboriginal heritage and native title acts.

They say the extent of their concern about the project is illustrated by a copy of their letter being sent to Premier Peter Malinauskas.

The Barngarla people’s Federal Court action against a $325m nuclear waste dump at Kimba was upheld last July, setting aside the federal government controversial decision and cancelling the project.

Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation deputy chairman Jason Bilney told The Advertiser the desalination plant site had been imposed without consultation, following earlier talks with SA Water about an alternative Sleaford West proposal.

Harry, Linda Dare and Jason Bliney, from Barngarla First Nations group, ahead of a March 9, 2023, court hearing in Adelaide challenging the Kimba nuclear waste dump. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

He said Billy Lights Point had some of the last pre-colonial fish traps in the Port Lincoln area and echoed community concerns about environmental damage to the lucrative aquaculture industry.

Mr Bilney urged SA Water to consider a pipeline from a planned major desalination plant at Cape Hardy, about 70km northeast, which is a centrepiece of the Northern Water Supply project – critical to hydrogen and copper industry expansion.

A state government spokeswoman said Dr Close was finalising a response to the Barngarla people’s letter, adding that Port Lincoln and lower Eyre Peninsula’s drinking water supply, the Uley South Basin, was forecast to not meet demand by 2025.

“SA Water has chosen Billy Lights Point because it best meets all the criteria to deliver water security needs of the region now and into the future, and is the most cost-effective and timely water security solution for the people of Eyre Peninsula,” she said.

“A desalination plant at Billy Lights Point is the most timely and technically feasible solution to provide a reliable and climate-independent water supply for the people of Eyre Peninsula.”