Local councils in the Yorke Peninsula region of South Australia have struck an agreement with traditional owners, the Narungga people, which has been a triumph for common sense, according to one Local Government leader.
Robert Schulze, a farmer and Mayor of the District Council of Yorke Peninsula, said the indigenous land use agreement (ILUA) reached with four local Councils, the State Government and the Narungga was the best way to protect heritage and culture while still allowing development to go ahead.
He said it was clear to the local authorities their alternative was to face the prospect of individual legal battles over infrastructure development in the years to come.
“It made much better sense to approach the Narungga people and come to a voluntary agreement,” he said. “The Narungga people showed a lot of conciliation and the various Councillors are now very aware and learned quite a deal about the Aboriginal situation.”
National Native Title Tribunal Member, Dan O’Dea, facilitated the negotiations for the ILUA, which was signed in December and is now in a period of notification before it is officially registered. The agreement is unique because it was the first in South Australia to establish a process for the Native Title Act and the Aboriginal Heritage Act to work together.
Dan O’Dea said the Councils and other parties – including Wakefield Regional Council, District Council of Copper Coast, District Council of Barunga West, Narungga Nations Aboriginal Corporation and the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement – showed a tremendous degree of effort to work together for 20 months establishing the ILUA.
Mayor Schulze said that the Councils had started working to the terms of the agreement, even though it was not fully registered.
“We have agreed to it and we will stick to it, no Council will move away from that,” he said.
Much of the Narungga peoples’ land includes areas of the coast which are particularly significant as they incorporate burial grounds and traditional trade and fishing areas. Under the terms of the agreement a Narungga representative will be working in the Council offices to guide planning and development projects.
Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, Native Title Unit Executive Officer, Parry Agius, said the agreement process had allowed the Narungga people to fully participate, something which was beneficial to all involved.
“Having Narungga people at the negotiation table allowed the other parties to get to properly know and understand the Narungga issues which led to good relationships being developed,” Parry Agius said.
“It also allowed the Narungga people to learn more about the issues which will have a direct impact on their lives, and importantly to have a real say about those issues. A mutual respect for the parties has been developed and that is what will make the agreement work on the ground. No amount of words on paper will make any difference at all to peoples lives unless there are good, strong relationships and that’s what this ILUA has achieved.”
