Andrew Forrest's Fortescue has been ordered to hand over the largest native title compensation payout in Australian history. But some say it falls painfully short of what is owed.
Commentators have criticised the Federal Court's decision to award $150 million to Yindjibarndi traditional owners, saying the amount is too little. Mining magnate Andrew Forrest's Fortescue was ordered to pay Australia's biggest-ever native title compensation payment for mining Yindjibarndi lands without the traditional owners' permission.
Australia's biggest native title payout is based on a flawed formula and should be appealed, experts have said, after traditional owners in Western Australia's north were awarded more than $150.1 million in compensation.followed a decades-long battle between the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation and one of the nation's richest men, Andrew Forrest, whose company built four giant iron ore mines on their land without permission. Fortescue's Solomon Hub mines began operation in 2013 and extract millions of tonnes of ore every year, helping cement Mr Forrest's stake as one of Australia's richest people with an estimated personal wealth of more than $33 billion.
Justice Stephen Burley's judgment was largely based on cultural loss, including the destruction of about 140 spiritually linked sites, for which he awarded $150 million. He awarded about $100,000 for economic loss, based on the land's freehold value, rather than what a resources company might extract. National Native Title Council chair Kado Muir questioned how the court calculated the economic gains withheld from Yindjibarndi people.
"When you dig down deeper the economic loss, $100,000 wouldn't buy you a front porch," he said. Solomon Hub, which covers around 135 square kilometres of Yindjibarndi land, has generated an estimated $80 billion in revenue since breaking ground. It is set to produce tens of billions of dollars more by the time its 36 tenements lapse in the mid-2040s. Mr Muir said it highlighted structural problems emerging with compensation claims under native title law.
"The Federal Court is handing the keys to the bulldozer and allowing mining companies to go ahead, drill, dig, bulldoze and the consequences will not be that bad. "Speaking after the decision, YNAC CEO Michael Woodley said the record payment fell short of expectations. Lawyers for YNAC had argued traditional owners were owed $1.8 billion. The court's ruling awards less than a tenth of that number.
"In some ways it takes back a couple of steps to what Eddie Mabo achieved in the Mabo decision," Mr Woodley said. Eddie Mabo 'took on the government' and won. His victory changed Australia As Eddie Mabo sketched out his plans to shake the foundations of Australian law, he told his daughter his prophecy: "One day, all of Australia will know my name.
" He was right. "This is a watershed case which will be followed certainly in Western Australia, Queensland, and other places where there's significant mining activity," he said. Mr McIntyre said it could take on a similar significance to the Mabo decision, which helped launch native title law, for traditional owners seeking damages.
"This illustrates that native title is more than just the real estate value which non-Indigenous people place on it," he said. "It has a specific value which is related to the spiritual connection with which native title holders have to the land. "Yindjibarndi elder Jane Cheedy, who watched the proceedings from a live-stream event in Roebourne, said she hoped the fight would inspire others.
"Everyone was looking at the Yindjibarndi people, saying it's going to be a big fight against the mining giant," she said. "Yindjibarndi people, we're just a little group, you know? But I'm glad we had strong elders. Strong elders who fought all the way until their time of passing.
"Resources journalist Paul Cleary, the author of Title Fight, which chronicles the long-running legal dispute, encouraged the YNAC to appeal against the decision. " the amount of compensation should be in the order of $100,000 … is just extraordinary and obviously inherently unfair," he said. Cleary said the state should also be accountable for approving mining licences for companies that did not have agreements in place with native title holders.
Under the WA Mining Act, compensation liability is passed to the tenement holder when approved by the state government. Justice Burley affirmed this in his decision, absolving the state government of any financial consequence. WA Premier Roger Cook said the government would deeply examine the judgment before making any further comments.
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