Aboriginal group seeks $1.1bn in damages over Australia mining project
Al Jazeera2 days ago
Aboriginal Group Seeks $1.15B From Western Australia
Above: Fortescue Metals Group's Solomon Hub mining operations in the Pilbara region, Australia. Image copyright: Brendon Thorne/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Facts
The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC) has filed a A$1.8B ($1.15B) compensation claim against Western Australia's state government for allowing Fortescue Metals Group to mine on their ancestral land without a land use agreement.
The claim includes A$1B ($637M) for cultural damage and A$678M ($431M) for economic losses stemming from Fortescue's Solomon mining hub operations, which began in 2012 without the traditional owners' agreement.
The mining operations have reportedly damaged over 285 significant archaeological sites and six Dreaming tracks, which the YNAC claims are essential to Aboriginal cultural heritage dating back 40K-45K years.
The Spin
Narrative A
The mining operations have caused existential damage to the Yindjibarndi people by destroying pristine land and cultural heritage sites, effectively extinguishing native title rights, and creating irreparable harm that no rehabilitation can restore. The government must pay the damages for authorizing an iron ore project on its ancestral land without a land use deal.
Narrative B
Fortescue accepts that the Yindjibarndi people are entitled to compensation. However, fair compensation should reflect what the Australian community would consider reasonable. The claim shouldn't be treated as a renewal or rehash of the claim for the determination of native title rights, as their evidence extends beyond representing the loss caused by the grant of the mining tenements.