Land dispute sends Jemena Northern Gas Pipeline back to negotiating table
By the National Reporting Team's
Jane Bardon
Posted 7 Mar 2017, 3:53pm
A major gas pipeline project between the Northern Territory and Queensland has been delayed because of a bitter dispute between traditional owners and Indigenous land councils.
The $800 million Jemena Northern Gas Pipeline project aims to lay 620 kilometres of pipe from Tennant Creek to Mount Isa to bring gas to the east coast.
Jemena
announced last Friday it was delaying the project because it did not yet have agreement to access traditional owners' land.
That was after the Northern and Central Land Councils told the company traditional owners from the Warumungu and Wakaya Land Trusts near Tennant Creek had given their consent, so land clearing could start.
Warumungu traditional owner Diane Stokes said she was very angry with both land councils.
"We don't want them to sign on behalf of us. If they're going to push it without us, that's not right," she said.
"That makes me feel like it's a sneaky job. We're the traditional owners. We're the ones who are considering giving our land for that pipeline."
She said traditional owners were not made aware that the pipeline could contain fracked gas if the NT Government lifted its moratorium on fracking.
"The main concern that we have is about fracking," Ms Stokes said.
"We don't want any fracking anywhere to get gas to go through that pipeline that's going through our country."
Photo: The NLC told Jemena the deal was finalised and reported the news in its monthly newspaper. (Supplied: NLC)
Land councils say they had permission
Both land councils have denied misrepresenting traditional owners.
The Northern Land Council's (NLC) Joe Morrison said traditional owners had agreed to the project.
"The issue of fracking in this pipeline was presented to traditional owners who attended meetings in Tennant Creek ... and it was in fact on that basis that they instructed both the NLC and CLC to negotiate with the company to build the pipeline."
The Central Land Council's (CLC) chief executive, David Ross, said: "The package that's been finalised has been agreed to by lawyers representing those individuals".
Ms Stokes said neither she nor her lawyer signed any agreement.
She said instead of the land councils negotiating on her land trust's behalf, she wanted Jemena to negotiate with her directly.
"We want them to start listening to us about the fracking. We want them not to take the agreement through without our signatures and without us saying yes," she said.
Photo: Traditional owners Diane Stokes and Ross Williams have concerns about the pipeline. (ABC News)
Fears project will encourage fracking
Another Warumungu traditional owner, Ross Williams, said he had also told the land councils to stay out of negotiations for his group's land trust.
"I've spoken to them and said we've got an independent lawyer, we don't need you to speak to us regarding an agreement," he said.
He said he did not want the project to encourage fracking anywhere.
"It's not about the employment or the money, it's about the environment, and to make sure that the water systems are kept fully clean for the next generation and the generation after that," he said.
Mr Williams said he was hopeful a deal could still be struck between his land trust and Jemena.
"We need to see it as a group so we can work through it, to see if we need any changes on it. We can do that as a whole group," he said.
The members of the Wakaya Land Trust are also still negotiating with Jemena.
They have also expressed concerns over the prospect of the pipeline carrying fracked gas, and the financial deal, but did not want to comment further until they got more independent legal advice.
Both the Central and Northern Land Councils are sticking to their positions that all traditional owners along the pipeline route were properly consulted and had agreed to the project.
Jemena said it remained "fully committed to building and operating the Northern Gas Pipeline project, and confident the outstanding approvals [would] be finalised over the coming weeks".
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-...as-pipeline-back-to-negotiating-table/8331776
Northern Gas Pipeline
Jemena is proud to have been selected by the Northern Territory Government to build, own and operate the Northern Gas Pipeline (NGP).
The 622km pipeline will link Tennant Creek in the Territory with Mount Isa in Queensland, unlocking the next phase of economic growth for the Northern Territory and help build a stronger Northern Australia.
Construction of the $800 million Project began in July 2017. The first gas is scheduled to flow in late 2018.
http://jemena.com.au/industry/pipelines/northern-gas-pipeline
https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/environmental-assessments/projects-completed
From the negotiating table in March to construction in July! This project covers much much more land then Peake's mine tenement and the concerns were far more serious ie. Fracking!!
