The Northern Land Council says Traditional Owners of land set aside for a failed prawn farm venture in the Northern Territory will still benefit from the project.
Seafarms Group Limited announced to the ASX that it is suspending works on Legune Station, near the NT and WA border, pending completion of a pilot project.
Gadjerrong Traditional Owners were hoping to secure jobs via a ranger program and infrastructure upgrades on outstations and communities as part of Native Title negotiations.
The Northern Land Council has been negotiating on behalf of Traditional Owners since 2016 and says they will benefit from the smaller-scale project.
“Native title holders are as invested in this project as any major shareholder,” said NLC CEO Joe Martin-Jard.
Legune Station was the proposed site of the prawn farm. Source: Supplied: Northern Land Council
“While the news of the set-back is disappointing, the NLC will not be leaving native title holders in the lurch. We have already had productive discussions with Seafarms and are working hard to ensure native title holders benefit as much as they possibly can from this situation.
“The NLC and Seafarms are committed to ensuring that key initiatives – including the Gadjerrong ranger program and the various planned community projects – are implemented. Delays in project finance will mean that the NLC and Gadjerrong native title holders will need to adapt and rethink how these projects are supported, but we will not be throwing in the towel.
“We appreciate the recent transparency from Seafarms, although we wish this could have come sooner. Traditional owners and native title holders are straight talkers. They don’t want to be sold pipe-dreams."
