Noongar people on brink of $1.3bn deal

A sweeping land and cash deal with the Noongar people of Western Australia has reached its final legal hurdle.

West Australian Aboriginal Affairs minister Ben Wyatt with Jeanice Krakouer, chair of the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, who sees the massive Noongar land deal as an opportunity for her people. Picture: Colin Murty

A sweeping land and cash deal with the Noongar people of Western Australia, described by Warren Mundine in 2016 as a virtual treaty, has reached its final legal hurdle after two decades of negotiations and court battles.

WA Treasurer and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt yesterday welcomed the decision of the National Native Title Tribunal to register what he considers the most significant native title settlement in Australia. Like Mr Mundine, Mr Wyatt believes the deal is a treaty in all but name.

The package is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion and comprises $720 million in cash over 12 years and 320,000ha of land across the lower third of the state where the Noongar people are traditional owners. A portion of the money — $120m — will be distributed to six regional Aboriginal corporations at a rate of $10m a year for 12 years to pay for administration and economic development projects associated with the land in the deal.

The government expects the corporations could enter partnerships with real estate developers to create housing estates.

The largest portion of the cash — $600m — will be deposited at a rate of $50m a year into a perpetual trust. The principal sum will grow in line with the CPI and can never be touched but after 12 years, the six regional Aboriginal corporations are expected to run themselves and their programs using money the trust generates.

Mr Wyatt said there was enormous potential for Noongar people to create jobs and industry as a result of the deal, as indigenous people in Canada and North America had done after striking deals that allowed them to become corporate caterers and players in the oil and gas sector.

“The Noongar community has been waiting a long time and has worked incredibly hard to see this agreement progress,” he said.

“The benefits of this agreement will flow to Noongar people for generations to come.”

Mr Wyatt acknowledged there could be a legal objection to the National Native Title Tribunal’s decision yesterday, but said: “The settlement is for all Noongar people, and I would urge everyone to get behind the settlement to ensure that the flow of benefits to the Noongar community can commence as soon as possible.”