Premier to argue Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation cannot proceed with Lake Torrens drilling judicial review

The Premier will argue against an Aboriginal group’s legal fight to stop drilling he approved at a sacred site in Far North SA.

Premier and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Steven Marshall will argue legal action lodged by an Aboriginal group should not be allowed to proceed, after he approved mineral exploration at Lake Torrens in the state’s Far North.

The Barngarla people have launched a Supreme Court judicial review in an attempt to stop drilling at the sacred site, which is listed as an Aboriginal heritage place but not protected under native title law.

Mr Marshall late last year approved a licence allowing exploration company Kelaray, a subsidiary of Argonaut Resources, to drill for ore on the western shores of the lake, 450 kilometres north of Adelaide.

A Freedom of Information document later uncovered by SA Native Title Services revealed the decision went against advice from his own department that it would not be possible to mitigate the impacts on Aboriginal heritage values.

In a hearing on Wednesday, Warwick Ambrose, for Mr Marshall, said the premier’s position is that the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation (BDAC) has not demonstrated its “standing” in the case.

Standing is a principle whereby a party must demonstrate its connection to a case in order to participate in legal action.

It could now fall to the court to determine the issue, which will hinge on whether the Barngarla people are traditional owners of the Lake Torrens area.

An application has been granted allowing exploration company Kelaray to drill for ore on the western shores of Lake Torrens.

Lake Torrens salt crust with the Flinders Ranges in the distance. Supplied: Argonaut Resources

Court documents reveal the BDAC wants the exploration permit to be declared “invalid, unlawful and of no legal effect”.

If that declaration is made by the court, authorisation would be void and the exploration, which has already started, would not be allowed to continue.

Two corporation members – Harold Charles Dare and Jason Bilney – are also listed on the application.

Dan O’Gorman, for Mr Dare, Mr Bilney and the BDAC, said exploration would disturb dreaming stories and song lines.

He said the Barngarla did not hold concerns about the effect on particular objects or sites, but rather any sort of disturbance on the lake as a whole.

“There is no specific items that we rely upon but rather that sort of general disturbance of the surface and therefore the disturbance of the dream lines and the dreaming stories and the song lines,” Mr O’Gorman said.

He said Mr Dare compared the exploration to “taking a white fella’s mother out of her cemetery”.

Chief Justice Chris Kourakis said some concerns of the BDAC highlight a perceived failure to address particular questions when granting the authorisation.

In a judicial review, he said, “you are really looking for legal error and technical error”.

The matter is due to return to court next week.