A group of First Nations people who have applied for native title of the Pilliga area have fought against Santos’ development for years on cultural and environmental grounds, and say they will appeal against the decision.
The National Native Title Tribunal has ruled in favour of a $3 billion gas development in northern NSW that will allow Santos to drill more than 850 coal seam gas wells in the native Pilliga Forest over the next 25 years, but local Indigenous Australians say they will appeal against the decision.
Pilliga Forest spans more than 500,000 hectares in northern NSW and is recognised as one of the most important areas for biodiversity in eastern Australia. It is home to at least 300 native animal species and more than 900 plant species, and is the largest remaining area of native forest west of the Great Divide.
The gas project is subject to one condition: that Santos “take all necessary steps” to implement all provisions identified in the scheme’s Aboriginal cultural heritage management plan before the next phase of the project. The company is required to publish modelling of management plans for groundwater, biodiversity and other environmental impacts.
“The upshot of the decision is to say that the profits of large fossil fuel companies [are] more important than the Gomeroi cultural heritage values. It shows us how little they think of Aboriginal people, unless it is an advertising campaign for tourist dollars.”continue to engage constructively with the Gomeroi people and work closely with them to ensure their heritage is protected and they benefit from the project development in a range of ways”.
The gas field is expected to contribute almost 130 million tonnes to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the project, according to the Climate Council.
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