Image: Tanya Plibersek. Photo: Tanya Plibersek/Facebook.
By ABHA HAVAL
First Nations activists and supporters protested outside Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s office on Monday to halt the development project of Defence Housing Australia (DHA) near Darwin.
The Indigenous community has called on the Minister to protect land with Aboriginal cultural heritage at Lee Point – also known as Binybara.
Uprising of the People (UP) organised the rally on behalf of the Batcho family. More than 50 people showed up in support, chanting, “when Aboriginal land is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”
Descendant of the traditional custodians of the Danggalaba clan, Mililma May said, “Lee Point is a significant site for the Danggalaba clan which is at risk of being bulldozed to make way for the DHA.”
“It is a place for hunting and gathering. There are trees that are more than 400 years old which are home to several species of birds.”
The land under scrutiny contains a large portion of Casuarina Coastal Reserve, which attracts over one million visits per year thanks to its natural beauty and rich biodiversity. The development of the site poses a significant environmental threat.
May said, “the temperature of the land has increased. Darwin is overheating. The land has become unliveable due to the development and the biodiversity is being destroyed.”
“There was a fresh water source with two long corridors on site. One got destroyed, and now we’re trying to protect the other,” she said.
Although, the traditional custodians negotiated with the government to acquire that land, it still remains crown land until built and will become a part of DHA.
A spokesperson for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water weighed in on the selection of land for the development saying, “the development permit for the Lee Point site was issued by the Northern Territory government under State Environment law.”
“Approval under the EPBC Act is only required for actions that will have or are likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance.”
Minister Plibersek approved the development of the project in spite of the harmful impact on the endangered Gouldian Finch.
Saving Lee Point has been a long-running campaign for the Indigenous community, with several rallies taking place including a 9-day campout at the site. 10 protesters were arrested on site last week, trying to stop a bulldozer from clearing land.
An emergency application was made under Section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984, to halt the clearing of land. It was lodged by Environmental Justice Australia on behalf of the Batcho family.
The DHA has agreed to stop work until 17 July in light of the application made to Plibersek.
No representatives from the Minister’s office addressed or engaged with the protestors.
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