Traditional owners of the Tiwi Islands have won a federal court challenge against Santos’ $4.7 billion Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea north of Darwin.
Key Points:
- Santos must maintain a pause in work on the project that began after the court challenge
- Traditional owners told the court they were concerned about the project’s potential damage to culturally significant sites
- The court ruled that the regulator failed to assess whether Santos’ application for approval showed it had consulted with all relevant parties
Environmental lawyers representing Munupi clan elder Dennis Tipakalippa argued the group was not properly consulted before the federal regulator granted approval for the project in February.
After a five-day hearing, including a special session in the country where traditional songs and dances were performed as evidence of the case, Federal Court Judge Mordecai Bromberg ruled that the project’s approval was invalid.
The ruling means that the gas giant must maintain a pause in the work on the project that began after the legal challenge.
The Environmental Defenders Office had argued that the approval granted by the National Offshore Oil and Safety Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) was illegal.
Santos has invested billions in the Barossa gas field in the Timor Sea. (Provided by: ConocoPhillips)
Mr Tipakalippa’s lawyers said Santos had not consulted with the Munupi clan and gave the Tiwi Land Council (TLC) insufficient information about the project.
Elders, including Tipakalippa and rangers from the Tiwi Islands, told the court their concerns about the project’s potential impacts on cultural and spiritual values, as well as food sources and the marine environment.
Members of the Munupi clan attended a court hearing in the Tiwi Islands earlier this year. (ABC News: Tristan Hooft)
The court ruled that the regulator failed to assess whether the company’s application for approval showed it had consulted with all relevant parties, as required by law.
He also said that NOPSEMA did not consider some material in the application that it had to evaluate.
‘A great victory’
Office of Environmental Defenders 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 largest mining companies of the country”.
“It will have national and global implications for consultation with First Nations peoples on mining projects,” he said.
“Today’s decision puts oil and gas companies on notice.
“It sets a new standard on the consultation that companies must conduct with First Nations peoples before drilling offshore.”
Santos has been contacted for comment.