Tiwi Island and Larrakia Traditional Owners recently launched international legal action against the multi-billion dollar Barossa Gas project in the Timor Sea hundreds of kilometres north of Darwin.
The legal bid was lodged on behalf of Jikilaruwu Tiwi Island clan leaders, Francisco Babui and Daniel Munkara in a South Korean court to stop that country’s government from pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the project
The leaders said their people were not properly consulted on the Barossa gas project and have accused the project’s current owner Santos and its previous owner ConocoPhillips of misleading them.
The $4.7 billion dollar project includes a pipeline from the Barossa field to Darwin, which the Tiwi islanders said threatens pristine coastal habitats, especially turtles, which play a central role in Tiwi culture, ceremonies and the local ecotourism industry.
“Santos did not fully explain their plans to build a gas pipeline along our coast. Santos did not explain any of the risks,” said senior Tiwi Traditional Owner Daniel Munkara.
“We were told briefly about the pipeline in 2018 by previous owners ConocoPhillips and we said ‘No’ to the project.”
The Tiwi Islands contain some of the most pristine natural environments in the world. Source: Supplied
The legal action was an injunction in the Seoul Central District Court under the Korean Civil Execution Act, against KEXIM and K-SURE, export credit agencies for the South Korean Government.
Documents released by the Northern Territory Environment Centre NT who helped bring the court action indicate the injunction was successful.
Obtained under an information request from National Assembly Member Jang Hye Young, the document shows the Credit Expansion Committee had put on hold a loan for around $230 million dollars.
A decision that’s been welcomed by Traditional Owner Marie Munkara.
“It’s such a wonderful thing I mean, we have people that are listening to us from overseas," she said.
"It's hard enough to be listened to in our own country but to have international support for this, and I know the decision is not final at the moment, even to have this is wonderful.
"A lot of Tiwi people will be very happy about this decision."
Ms Munkara urged South Korean Authorities to decline future loan applications for the project.
Marie Munkara says the Tiwi Islands' people are very happy about the decision. Source: Supplied
“Well, I'd like them to consider what would happen if it was them. If this was happening to them on their land?
“Would they be so free and easy, you know, lending money if it was their people that were going to be impacted? “
If further court action is successful it could prevent the South Korean Government from lending more than $964 million to the Barossa gas project, putting the financial viability of the project at risk.
The Environment Centre NT condemned the Barossa project as a carbon factory that would produce more carbon than LNG.
Santos said “as is the case for all of our projects, we undertake consultation with all key stakeholders where they receive detailed information about the project.”
The company has previously stated it planned to investigate options for carbon-neutral LNG production through processes such as carbon capture and storage and carbon credits.
