NORTHERN cattle producers have accused environmental lobbyists of weaponising indigenous sacred site regulations in an attempt to shut down legal pastoral development.
They say 'fly-in greenies' from East Coast cities are co-opting land councils in central Australia.
Their claims are backed by Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, herself a traditional landowner, who is seeking to initiate an inquiry into the governance of land councils, saying greater accountability is needed.
"Land councils are now a part of a bureaucratic welfare structure dependent on both royalties and federal government funding. We need a reassessment of their role," Ms Price said.
"Traditional owners need more control over their own land and the opportunity to determine what they want to do without environmental activists getting involved.
"They have no place whatsoever flying in from places like Melbourne and telling Aboriginal people how to suck eggs."
Ms Price spoke about her intentions to push for such an inquiry at the recent Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association conference in Darwin, where beef industry leaders outlined their issues with the way sacred site claims were being made.
The conference attracted 800 delegates and Ms Price received strong applause for her comments.
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NTCA president David Connolly said there were "too many laws in this land that fall to pastoralists to enact without the luxury of protection by the government when our livelihoods are threatened."
The protection of sacred sites in the NT by pastoralists was evidence of this, he said.
"There would not be a producer here today who could not tell you where sacred sites occur on their land and how they protect them," Mr Connolly said.
"It has always been understood the protection of sacred sites allowed for a balance to exist between us and traditional owners.
"There is a power to these places that must be respected.
"However, the goal posts have shifted recently and there are now new players coming onto the field.
"The environmental lobby have co-opted others as a means of stopping development, not as a means of protecting indigenous culture and heritage.
"It is a cynical practice."
Claims were being made on swathes of land and waterways that had never been declared or documented as sacred sites before, Mr Connolly said.
"There is no ability for pastoralists to argue about the existence of a sacred site," he said.
"Environmental activists are using cultural sites to block development and the end result is many pastoralists now live in fear of being labelled a destroyer of heritage or a desecrator of culture simply for conducting pastoral activities as we always have.
"The sacred sites act was established to afford a practical balance. It was never intended to be used to stifle economic development."
Land councils were contacted but declined to comment, with some saying the claims were too vague.
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
