‘It’s our home’: Traditional Owners lodge emergency application to halt Lee Point development
Traditional Owners have lodged an emergency application with the Environment Minister calling for a halt to Lee Point works after bulldozers began land clearing on Thursday.
Northern Territory
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Traditional Owners have made an emergency application to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek calling for an immediate stop to works at the Lee Point Defence Housing Australia development.
It comes as 11 people were arrested on Thursday attempting to halt bulldozers as they begun clearing land, marking a significant step forward in the controversial project.
Environmental Justice Australia has now applied for an emergency halt to land clearing under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act on behalf of TOs from the Kulumbirigin Danggalaba clan.
The emergency provisions of the Act can be applied if the Environment Minister believes a significant Aboriginal area is under threat of injury or desecration.
Larrakia Danggalaba Elder Tibby Quall, 74, said the land at Binburra (Lee Point) was “a sacred place”.
“Our people have been living off this land since time immemorial,” he said.
“It’s our home, it’s our library, it’s our science, it’s our food source, it’s part of us and we’re part of the land.
“It’s all part of the Dreaming and our culture and heritage connects us to the land but they don’t understand or respect Aboriginal culture.”
Environment Centre NT co-director Kirsty Howey said the wider Australian and international community “would be outraged to know the government is destroying sacred Aboriginal sites”.
“The fact that this destruction is happening during NAIDOC week just adds insult to injury,” she said.
“It’s been heartbreaking to see the bulldozers roll into Lee Point but this legal action gives us hope that the minister will do the right thing and begin genuine consultation with Traditional Owners.”
A Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water Department spokeswoman confirmed the application to the halt works had been received and a decision would be made by an authorised officer.
Planning Minister Eva Lawler said she respected the right of Territorians to peacefully protest.
“The Defence Housing Australia development at Lee Point has been thoroughly scrutinised and was guided by both the Darwin Regional Land Use Plan and the Lee Point Area Plan that were developed following extensive consultation with the community,” she said.
“This has included oversight by the independent bodies of the NT Environment Protection Authority and the then Commonwealth Department of Environment and Energy.”
Eleven arrested as bulldozers begin works
Northern Territory Police confirmed 11 people had been arrested at an emotional protest at the Lee Point development on Thursday, after bulldozers arrived at about 10.30am to begin works on Stage 2 of the project.
Six men and two women were charged with trespassing, and a man and a woman were issued infringement notices for disorderly behaviour.
The eight facing trespass charges are expected to face the Darwin Local Court at a later date.
Ian Redmond, a member of community group Friends of Lee Point, said watching the bulldozers begin works was “devastating”.
“They’re knocking down old-growth trees, these trees are hundreds of years old, you can’t replace them,” he said.
“It’s just awful, it’s a sad day for democracy in the NT, a lot of people are very upset and angry, none of the politicians are answering their phones.”
Earlier in the week three people were arrested and fined after about 50 protesters blocked building machinery attempting to enter the former CRU2 Defence facility at 577 Lee Point Rd on Tuesday.
Residential development at the site has been in the works since 2015 but community opposition to the 800-home build across 131ha of bushland has been growing in recent years.
An increase in the number of endangered Gouldian finches in the area early last year galvanised protester’s concerns about the environmental impact of the development.
It also led to Ms Plibersek blindsiding the Territory government in September by announcing a review of her predecessor’s 2019 decision to approve the project.
Ms Plibersek signed off on an amended plan for Lee Point last month.
Speaking at the time Ms Plibersek said it was clear “the project in its original form would have an unacceptable impact on threatened species in the area, including the Gouldian finch”.
“Defence Housing Australia have agreed to redesign the plan to incorporate a 50m buffer around nearby Gouldian finch habitat,” she said.
“This will allow the recently spotted Gouldian finch to roost and forage and should create a precious wildlife corridor for the benefit of the new and existing residents of the area.”
Opponents say the changes will fail to protect the habitat and will destroy a crucial wildlife link between Lee Point and the Casuarina coastal reserve.
Environmental planner and scientist Ann Grattidge was at the protest and described the Lee Point approval as “death by a thousand cuts”.
“It won’t do enough, there’s no overarching plan to ensure that any development can protect any of the threatened species in the Darwin area — they look at individual projects, not the whole,” she said.
“The federal government’s changes are very tokenistic, they’ve offered a 50m buffer around a dam, but all of the habitat finches use for sheltering in hollows, feeding on grass and breeding – that’s all going to be destroyed.
“The species just won’t be sustainable.”
Uprising of the People chief executive Mililma May wrote an open letter to Ms Plibersek and “the Australian people” on July 4 saying “I can’t sleep while the bulldozers sit on Binburra”.
“The colony and your people call this place Lee Point, Darwin,” the letter reads.
“We understand you want to build houses for community, however we know there are plenty of other places to build these homes that are closer to schools, hospitals and shops.
“We think you can make a better decision. The current proposal simply will not do.
“Before the bulldozers do the unthinkable, please come and talk to us, in person.
“Let us show you Binburra. Let me show you the nagandji nagandji (Brahminy kite sea eagle) and the Gouldian finches and the century old trees.”
Mr Plibersek, DHA and NT Environment Minister Lauren Moss have been contacted for comment.
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