Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

Chapter 2.8: Importance of Free, Prior and Informed Consent
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The plight of the Burrup Peninsula and the rock art gained intense
international interest, which put great pressure on the Australian
government to proceed with the listing. A listing will not stop the major
gas processing project that has already been approved, and perhaps for
that reason, the State Government of Western Australia has gone on the
record to say that it would welcome putting the rock art on the National
Heritage List.
The State Government of Western Australia negotiated a special
agreement with the people with native title claim to the area in
January 2003 (the Burrup and Maitland Industrial Estates Agreement
Implementation Deed). It was only a “claim.” but with the claim came the
right to negotiate under the Native Title Act. The agreement provides that
in exchange for the peoples’ consenting to the surrender and permanent
extinguishment of native title to the area, they would receive a number of
substantial benefits, which included:
• The grant of freehold title to non-industrial land, which would then be
leased back to the state government for 99 years;
• Development of a Management Plan for the area, to be jointly
managed by the people and the government, including funding;
• A Visitors/Cultural/Management Centre on the land, worth Aus$5.5
million;
• A Financial compensation package, which includes Aus$5.8 million
in up-front payments and then further ongoing annual payments
thereafter;
• The state government also agreed to pay a local Employment
Service Provider to assist with finding employment for indigenous
peoples and identify contracting opportunities.
Of particular interest is that while the benefits the people have achieved
were very significant, they were only obtained after they agreed to forfeit
completely their lawful rights to native title over their traditional lands. It
was a very high price that they had to pay.
Argyle Diamond
The Argyle Diamond Mine in the remote far-north Kimberley Region
of Western Australia is an example of a company that has currently
developed excellent relations with the indigenous community on whose
land this mine sits. Argyle Diamonds is a member of the Rio Tinto
Diamonds Product group, the world’s largest supplier of diamonds. It