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Islanders win court case to revoke license for Australian company US$3.6B gas project
– told court they were not properly consulted, project posed a risk to sacred sites
Kaieteur News – The Munupi Clan of Tiwi Islands, located on the northern territory of Australia, are celebrating a huge victory after a federal court ruled in their favour to revoke the license for a US$3.6 billion gas project.
Members of the Munupi Clan
The Barossa gas field in the Timor Sea
The Australia Federal Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of the indigenous group who challenged the drilling permit that was granted by the industry regulator, National Offshore Petroleum and Safety Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to Santos Ltd’s (STO.AX) for the US$3.6 billion Barossa gas development project.
The approval for the project was granted in February 2022, and Santos was on track to start producing gas by 2025 for its Darwin liquified natural gas (LNG) plant. The Barossa project and Tiwi Islands are located in the Timor Sea, which is north of Darwin, a city in Australia.
As such, in June, the traditional landowners of the Tiwi Islands led by Dennis Tipakalippa, an Elder, approached the court seeking to overturn the drilling approval for the Barossa project.
Lawyers for Tipakalippa told the court that the gas company had not consulted with the Munupi clan and gave the Tiwi Land Council (TLC) insufficient information about the project. They also told the court of their concerns about the project’s possible impacts on cultural and spiritual values as well as food sources and the marine environment.
COURT RULING
On Wednesday, Judge Mordecai Bromberg said in his ruling that Tipakalippa has established that NOPSEMA failed, in accordance with the Regulations, to assess whether the drilling environment plan (Drilling EP) demonstrated that Santos consulted with each person that it was required by the Regulations to consult with as by law.
As such the judge said that the acceptance and permission given by NOPSEMA was legally invalid – therefore the regulator decision to accept the Drilling EP must be set aside.
A HUGE VICTORY
According to ABC News (Australia) the Environment Defenders Office Special Counsel Alina Leikin said the ruling was a “huge victory for the Munupi Clan and a testament to their strength and dedication in the face of one of the biggest mining companies in the country.”
Leikin also said, “It will have national and global implications for consultation with First Nations peoples on mining projects.”
She stated too that, “Today’s decision puts oil and gas companies on notice” and adding “It sets a new standard about the consultation that companies are required to conduct with First Nations peoples before drilling in the sea.”
SANTOS
The Barossa project is Santos biggest project and the company has since indicated their intention to appeal the federal court’s decision.
In a statement, the company said the decision was disappointing and damaging for investor confidence in Australia.
“As a result of the decision, the drilling activities will be suspended pending a favorable appeal outcome or the approval of a fresh Environment Plan,” the statement read.
It was also stated that “Given the significance of this decision to us, our international joint venture partners and customers, and the industry more broadly, we consider that it should be reviewed by the Full Federal Court on appeal.”
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