Activists’ green tape misuse erodes cultural authenticity

The problem of activists misusing red and green tape to stymie economic development at the cost of the productive economy and driving down living standards has rarely been clearer than in a case revealed in The Australian on Wednesday. Court documents from a failed legal push by the taxpayer-funded Environmental Defenders Office to scuttle a $5.8bn gas field near the Tiwi Islands, 270km north of Darwin, show academic University of Western Australia marine geoscientist Michael O’Leary and legal activists colluded to manipulate a map to artificially boost the argument against drilling on the basis of a rainbow serpent and crocodile man songline. The dishonest manipulation was carried out without extensive input from Tiwi Islands Indigenous leaders.

Federal Court documents obtained by The Australian reveal the supposedly independent cultural experts exchanged emails and text messages coaching each other on how to use the Ampiji (mother serpent) and Jirakupai (crocodile man) to block Santos’ Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea. The revelations, Geoff Chambers and Paul Garvey report, come ahead of an imminent Federal Court decision that is expected to order the EDO to pay Santos’ court costs. In January, the court rejected the case brought by the EDO on behalf of a group of Tiwi Islanders. That judgment, in part, said: “The cultural mapping exercise and the related opinions expressed about it are so lacking in integrity that no weight can be placed on them.”

The documents include an exchange between Dr O’Leary and Antonia Burke, spokeswoman for the Stop Barossa Gas campaign. In an email dated July 8 last year, Dr O’Leary provided a map to be used for the pipeline cultural impact assessment, noting that “rather than use lines and circles to indicate the location of spiritual or ancestral places (like in the report) I used some imagery instead. Just wanted to make sure it would be culturally appropriate.” In response, on the same date, Ms Burke stated that “ampiji needs to look more like the actual Serpent”. Dr O’Leary also mentioned that he should “try and reproduce an authentic looking crocodile from a Tiwi artist”.

The documents confirmed “the murky and dishonest world of activist lawfare enveloping the university sector”, opposition resources spokeswoman Susan McDonald told The Australian. The attitudes and conduct detailed are reminiscent of claims about a blue-banded bee, depicted in a mural, used by a small group of activists, but not the Orange Local Aboriginal Land Council, to help sway federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to intervene at the last minute to block the $1bn McPhillamys goldmine project in NSW. In doing so, she overturned earlier environmental approval processes and cost the local region income and jobs.

Indigenous culture and heritage deserve protection. But abusing processes to manipulate an outcome is counter-productive, weakening the credibility of processes that must be competent and fair. Nothing could be more disrespectful to Indigenous Australians than “taking them for a ride and fabricating and misrepresenting their cultural history”, Senator McDonald said. “This is not about identifying and respecting cultural heritage. It is now about inventing cultural heritage to achieve a political outcome, and to stymie economic development and jobs in Australia’s resources sector.” That modus operandi works against remote communities where jobs in the productive economy are scarce. Peter Dutton has pledged to defund the EDO if he wins the election. In the meantime, an audit of its conduct and financial backing is warranted, as Senator McDonald says.