Jabiluka uranium mine to become part of Kakadu National Park in historic win for Mirarr traditional owners

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will end three decades of uncertainty over the Northern Territory’s Jabiluka mining lease by absorbing the controversial uranium site into Kakadu National Park.

In a major win for the Mirarr traditional owners that shields them from any future expanded uranium mining under the Coalition’s nuclear power policy, Mr Albanese will tell the NSW Labor state conference in Sydney on Saturday that the federal government will begin the process of permanently protecting the site.

Portraying the decision to block renewal of the Jabiluka lease, which was due to expire on August 11, as a final tribute to outgoing Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney, Mr Albanese says it “means there will never be mining at Jabiluka”.

“This beautiful part of Australia is home to some of the oldest rock art in the world,” he will tell delegates at the conference.

“And it was here, in 2017, that archaeologists discovered axes and sharpening tools dating back tens of thousands of years.

“Proof of the extraordinary and enduring connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have had with our land.

“A reminder of the extraordinary privilege all of us have, to share this continent with the world’s oldest continuous culture.”

The NT government said on Friday that it had taken federal government advice and rejected an application for a 10-year renewal of the mineral lease for the Jabiluka site, which has never been mined or developed by its holder, the majority Rio Tinto-owned Energy Resources Australia (ERA).

At one point in the late 1990s subject to a blockade by the Mirarr traditional owners alongside rock band Midnight Oil, the fight over the uranium mine has been a long-running saga.

“In 1991, despite pressure from within his own cabinet, Bob Hawke acted to stop uranium mining in Kakadu National Park,” Mr Albanese will say.

“In 2013, the Gillard government, acting on the express wishes of traditional owner Jeffrey Lee from the Djok clan, legislated to protect his people’s land by adding [nearby] Koongarra to the national park.

“Today, I am proud to announce that our government will be working with the traditional owners to make Jabiluka part of Kakadu National Park, once and for all.

“The Mirarr people have loved and cared for their land for more than 60,000 years. Our government will work with them to keep it safe for all time.”

Mirarr traditional owner Corben Mudjandi told the ABC early this month he was worried the federal Coalition’s plan to open nuclear power plants if it won the next election could stoke demand for Jabiluka’s uranium.

ERA, which is 86.3 per cent owned by Rio Tinto, has argued that extending the Jabiluka lease, which is subject to veto by traditional owners, would not result in uranium mining unless the custodians changed their minds.

The Northern Territory government in June declared the area covered by the lease would switch to “general reserved land” when the lease expires next month, a move campaigners took as a sign the lease would be blocked.

Mr Albanese has met with the Mirarr people over the past 18 months.

“When Yvonne Margarula, the senior traditional owner of Mirarr country, wrote to me, she spoke of the chance ‘to be finally free of the threat of further uranium mining at Kakadu’,” Mr Albanese will say.

ERA has for 42 years held a lease over the Jabiluka site — one of the world’s largest and richest uranium deposits.

The lease has long been a contentious proposal, staunchly opposed by the Mirarr as well as environmental groups.

In March, ERA applied for a 10-year extension of the lease.

On Friday, NT Mining Minister Mark Monaghan said the decision to reject the lease was based on advice from Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King that the Mirarr people did not want the mine lease to be extended.

“The advice came back very clearly from Minister King to refuse the application,” he said.

Mr Monaghan said he did not have a view on whether or not the lease should have been extended and that he was acting only on ministerial advice.

“One of the most clear aspects of all the stakeholder feedback was that the Mirarr position was the most important from everyone, including ERA,” he said.

Traditional owners celebrate historic win

Mr Mudjandi said the denial of the lease extension was a long and hard-fought victory.

“This day will go down in history as the day the Mirarr finally stopped Jabiluka. It is a great day for the Mirarr people, for Kakadu, the Northern Territory and for Australia,” he said.

Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear-free campaigner Dave Sweeney said he was stunned by the decision.

“It was a genuine and welcome surprise and it was really a positive piece of news to hear,” he said.

Mr Sweeney wants to see ERA now focus on its rehabilitation of the massive Ranger Uranium Mine at Jabiru after concluding production in January 2021.

“It’s a sensible, prudent, responsible decision and it does offer the ability now for ERA and for all agencies and actors in this area to concentrate on the core business that needs to happen now, which is the comprehensive clean-up of the former Ranger mine,” he said.

CEO of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation Thalia van den Boogard said the rehab project was crucial.

“It is up to the mining company and the Commonwealth government to ensure that site is fully rehabilitated so it can be safely returned to the Mirarr and included in the national park,” she said.

ERA and parent company split over lease decision

While some of ERA’s minor shareholders had sought to extend the mining lease, it did not have the backing of Rio Tinto.

The disagreement is now resolved with the lease being rejected.

A Rio Tinto spokesperson acknowledged the announcement, and told the ABC the company “is pleased that the wishes of the Mirarr People … have been respected”.

The land will be released from the mining lease on August 11 this year, one day before voting begins in the Northern Territory election.