Money from Cape York mining deal struck by Larry Joe Woosup was spent on accommodation, food and cars, court hears

Money from an allegedly secret Cape York mining deal was supposed to be spent on country for the benefit of the community, but instead it was frittered away on accommodation, food, and cars, a court has heard.

WEDNESDAY: Money from a royalty deal with a bauxite mining company allegedly kept secret from a Cape York community was supposed to be spent on country, but instead it was frittered away on accommodation, food, and cars, a court has heard.

Traditional owner Larry Joe Woosup pleaded not guilty to two counts of dishonestly obtaining a benefit of more than $30,000at the start of his trial in the Cairns Supreme Court last Tuesday.

In court on Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Claudia Georgouras finished summing up the prosecution case.

Ms Georgouras told the jury they would be satisfied that when Mr Woosup negotiated a 20-year royalty deal with mining company Gulf Alumina in 2013, he did so without the authorisation of his community – and had therefore acted dishonestly.

The court had earlier heard Mr Woosup said he was acting for the Ankamuthi people, which he described as the descendants of the five apical families from a 1998 native title application.

The Federal Court eventually found in 2017 there were 10 apical ancestors, the trial heard.

“You would not accept his evidence he thought he only needed to speak to particular people or to his own family members. The witnesses have told you there are 10 apical ancestors. Larry is the only one who says there were five,” Ms Georgouras said.

Ms Georgouras also described to the jury how Mr Woosup set up a Commonwealth Bank trust account of which he was the only signatory, set up an overdraft, and then withdrew $110,000 in cash and deposited it in his own bank account.

The money was then spent on things like accommodation at the Mareeba Lodge, noodles at Noodle Paradise in Mackay, a tyre shop, a withdrawal from a Westpac ATM at Dunwoody’s Tavern in Cairns, a $30,000 Land Cruiser from a car dealer, and more, the court heard.

Ms Georgouras said when a $95,000 cheque arrived from Gulf Alumina, Mr Woosup opened a new trust account and withdrew thatmoney too.

She also pointed to the evidence of Tracey Ludwick as evidence of Mr Woosup’s dishonesty. Ms Ludwick said she had asked Mr Woosup about the negotiations with Gulf Alumina.

“He said: ‘I wouldn’t do that to my family. That’s not true’,” Ms Ludwick recalled.

“What that demonstrates is that he was hiding it from them, his family, because he knew that it was wrong,” Ms Georgouras said.

The jury will resume deliberations on Thursday morning.

Bauxite ore being fed into crushers. Picture: Peter Carruthers

TUESDAY: A traditional owner on trial for fraud may have acted stupidly, unreasonably, or even negligently – but that does not make him dishonest, his defence counsel has told a jury.

Larry Joe Woosup pleaded not guilty to two counts of dishonestly obtaining an advantage greater than $30,000 at the start of his trial in the Cairns District Court last Tuesday.

The crown case, advanced by prosecutor Claudia Georgouras, is that Mr Woosup negotiated a mining royalty deal with company Gulf Alumina behind the back of his community, then opened two trust accounts of which he was the sole signatory and withdrew more than $200,000.

Summing up Mr Woosup’s case, defence barrister Kelly Goodwin said it was his client’s testimony there were two different native title groups – the Ankamuthi and the Angkamuthi.

The Angkamuthi were not recognised as native title applicants until around 2014 when they commenced their claim, Mr Goodwin said, as opposed to the original Ankamuthi native title application which was lodged in 1998 and of which Mr Woosup was an applicant.

The Ankamuthi claim was finalised in 2017 and recognised the descendants of 10 apical ancestors, the court heard.

“Central to these matters, Larry testified he believed he acted for the Ankamuthi people which were the descendants of the five apical families from the 1998 native title application,” Mr Goodwin said.

Mr Goodwin told the court that at the time Mr Woosup signed the trust deed, engaged in negotiations with Gulf Alumina and entered into the mining royalty agreement, he was acting for the descendants of those five families.

Summing up the prosecution case, Ms Georgouras said Mr Woosup knew he owed a duty to the Ankamuthi people – “and that’s not just the Ankamuthi people in the five family groups that he now says he recognises”.

Ankamuthi traditional owner Larry Woosup. PHOTO: BRENDAN RADKE.

“That is the Ankamuthi people who are the descendants of the 10 apical ancestors that you’ve heard about and that he ultimately did accept in cross examination are the Ankamuthi people – with a k, not a g.”

Ms Georgouras told the jury Mr Woosup had held himself out in negotiations with the mining company as though he were representing the wider Ankamuthi people.

The jury also heard from Ms Georgouras that Mr Woosup was provided with advice throughout the negotiating period that he was acting on behalf of the wider group.

“It doesn’t matter whether he wants to hear it or not, it doesn’t matter whether he disagrees with it. What matters is what he knew because this is what people were telling him: that he was acting on behalf of the Ankamuthi community, the wider group.”

Ms Georgouras will finish her summing up of the prosecution case on Wednesday morning.

Originally published as Money from Cape York mining deal struck by Larry Joe Woosup was spent on accommodation, food and cars, court hears