Lee Point sacred sites ‘not within development area’: Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority

The sacred sites watchdog has confirmed it notified developer DHA of ‘an area of cultural significance’ at Lee Point but says protected sacred sites are not ‘within the development area’.

Protesters at the site of Defence Housing Australia’s Lee Point development as bulldozers moved in last week. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The statutory authority responsible for guarding Aboriginal sacred sites has revealed registered sacred sites at Lee Point protected by NT law are not “within the development area”.

A spokeswoman for the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority said the regulator had issued an authority certificate for the development in 2018, after consulting traditional owners, which remained valid and in force.

“Authority certificates, following consultation with traditional custodians, set out the conditions under which development can proceed while protecting sacred sites,” she said.

“While the certificate shows that there are no sacred sites within the development area, there are two registered sacred sites in the vicinity of the development.”

On Sunday, Larrakia Development Corporation chief executive and AAPA board member, Nigel Browne revealed one of those sites was “linked to Dariba Nungalinya (Old Man Rock)”.

Protesters were picketing the Lee Point Defence Housing Australia Development as bulldozers moved in last week. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Mr Brown said it was unclear whether developer Defence Housing Australia were aware of the site and he was “unaware of who DHA are actually being advised by in relation to Larrakia matters”.

The AAPA spokeswoman said the development’s authority certificate “noted an area of cultural significance within the development area and recommended Defence Housing Australia work with Larrakia people to preserve this place”.

“The Authority has encouraged Defence Housing Australia to consult with the Larrakia people about the wider cultural heritage of the development area,” she said.

DHA has said it “voluntarily” paused work at the site until July 17 after TOs represented by Environmental Justice Australia made an emergency application to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek.

DHA has refused to answer questions about what consultation, if any, it has done with Traditional Owners or whether it is reconsidering the controversial development.

EJA senior specialist lawyer Bruce Lindsay said his client, Larrakia TO Tibby Quall, was concerned the works would “desecrate or harm Aboriginal cultural heritage particularly significant to him and his family in accordance with their Aboriginal traditions”.

“Halting works, as the proponent has now done, is appropriate to allow the Federal Minister and her department to consider our application, to marshal the necessary information and to undertake consultation that the Minister is required to do under the (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984),” he said.

“Commonwealth Aboriginal cultural heritage laws are an important and powerful mechanism for protecting First Nations cultural heritage for generations to come.”

Deputy Chief Minister Nicole Mansion said there had been “many years of rigorous assessment” on the federal government project.

“There has been a huge amount of environmental assessment and very long standing assessment processes that have gone through but people have a right in the Northern Territory to voice their concerns,” she said.

“We look forward to understanding where that will land.”

Potential ‘significant’ roadblock for Lee Point development revealed

Developers have halted work at a controversial housing project at Lee Point for another week after it emerged the area is home to a registered sacred site protected under NT legislation.

Defence Housing Australia has agreed to pause work at the site until July 17 following a dispute with Larrakia Traditional Owners who say they were not adequately consulted.

Meanwhile, Larrakia Development Corporation chief executive Nigel Browne — who is also an Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority board member — said the LDC had “not been consulted in relation to any aspect of the development” and TO’s concern was “obvious on cultural and environmental grounds”.

“Earlier this year I had the privilege of observing the registration of a sacred site at Lee Point that is linked to Dariba Nungalinya (Old Man Rock),” he said.

“This site is now protected by the Sacred Sites Act.”

Mr Browne said it was unclear whether DHA were aware of the site’s existence.

“We are unaware of who DHA are actually being advised by in relation to Larrakia matters,” he said.

“Larrakia knowledge holders who are recognised for their cultural and contemporary expertise do not appear to have been properly engaged in any transparent or meaningful manner.”

The TOs made an emergency application to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek last week to stop work at the site, also known as Binybara, after the heavy machinery moved in on Thursday.

Both DHA and lawyers with Environmental Justice Australia, who are representing the TOs, were unavailable for comment on Sunday.

But Environment Centre NT executive director Kirsty Howey confirmed an agreement between DHA and Ms Plibersek to press pause on the works had been reached.

Dr Howey said the agreement followed an “11th-hour” application “even though there had been significant bulldozing already” and meant the development works would cease until July 17.

The Environment Centre’s Kirsty Howey says the application is ‘a very significant intervention’. Picture: Glenn Campbell

She said the EJA lawyers would spend the week gathering evidence to support the application which would be handed to Ms Plibersek for consideration.

“Their claims are essentially that there has been inadequate or no consultation with Larrakia people about that site, even though there has been pre-existing approvals given, that Larrakia have not been involved in,” she said.

“They’ve lived there at Lee Point for millennia and the impacts have not been assessed with their participation.”

Dr Howey said the application was “a very significant intervention” and while it was “hard to tell what the consequences will be”, it was not without precedent in the NT.

“Recently there was a similar application made by Traditional Owners of Auvergne Station (near Katherine) in relation to (land) clearing,” she said.

“In that case the proponent was going to start clearing imminently and the (Northern Land Council) applied to Tanya Plibersek to step in and in that case, even though a declaration wasn’t made, a decision was made by the proponent to revoke the land clearing permit.”

Larrakia Elder Tibby Quall said his family had been using the Lee Point site since “time immemorial” and had not been consulted about the development.

Larrakia TO Tibby Quall says his family has been using the site since ‘time immemorial’.

“It’s our country, it’s our livelihood that’s passed on from old people,” he said.

“Old people was here years and years and years before we were born and this is a special place, it connects us to country and it connects us to our tribal families, north and south.”

In a statement issued on Friday, a DHA spokeswoman confirmed the developer had “voluntarily stopped work at Lee Point while the minister considers the application”.

“No clearing works will be undertaken while this takes place,” she said.

“DHA’s contractor will remain on site and may need to utilise machinery to reinstate fencing should it be damaged to maintain site safety and compliance with workplace health and safety requirements.

“DHA will make no further comment regarding Lee Point at this time.”

Dariba Nungalinya, off the coast of the Casuarina Coastal Reserve, is said to represent the final resting place of the first Larrakia man and is one of the nation’s most important sacred sites.