Santos/Petronas/Bidjara/Karingbal People GLNG Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) |
| Date: | 16 November 2010 | |
| Sub Category: | Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) (Native Title Act) |
| Place: | West of Expedition National Park |
| State/Country: | Queensland, Australia |
| The area covered by this Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) comprises about 87 square kilometres, and is situated to the west of the Expedition National Park and to the east of the Carnarvon National Park in the state of Queensland. The ILUA area is located approximately 70 kilometres north of Injune, and falls within the jurisdiction of the Central Highlands Regional Council. |
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| Legal Status: | Registered with the National Native Title Tribunal on the Register of Indigenous Land Use Agreements on 16 November 2010. This is an authorised Area Agreement under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). | |
| Legal Reference: | National Native Title Tribunal File No. QI2010/016 | |
| Subject Matter: | Land Use | Oil and Gas |
| URL: | http://www.nntt.gov.au/Indigenous-Land-Use-Agreements/Search-Registered-ILUAs/ILUA%20Register/2010/QI2010.016/ILUARegisterExport.pdf | |
| Summary Information: | |
| This Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) was agreed between Santos GLNG Pty Ltd, Petronas Australia Pty Limited, Mark Albury and others on their own behalf and on behalf of the Karingbal Native Title Claim Group, and Patricia Fraser and others on their own behalf and on behalf of the Bidjara Native Title Claim Group. The purpose of this ILUA is to provide consent for a range of acts by Santos and Petronas in relation to a 435 kilometre gas transmission pipeline that forms part of their joint venture Gladstone Liquefied Natural Gas (GLNG) project. |
| Detailed Information: | |
| The GLNG project that this ILUA is intended to facilitate consists of the construction and operation of a 435 kilometre gas transmission pipeline from upstream coal seam gas fields in central Queensland, and the establishment of a proposed natural gas liquefaction and export facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone. The project also involves the establishment of all other infrastructure necessary for both the pipeline and the gas facility.
Pursuant to this ILUA, the Bidjara and Karingbal Native Title Applicants and the Bidjara and Karingbal Native Title Claim Groups give their consent to the grant of all relevant approvals and the undertaking of a number of activities in relation to the Santos-Petronas GLNG project - whether or not they constitute future acts. More specifically, the activities to which consent has been given include the following:
Access and entry to the pipeline land;
The construction, operation, use, maintenance, repair, further development, decommissioning and rehabilitation of the pipeline on the pipeline land; and
Any other activities to be conducted within the ILUA area pursuant to the Pipeline License or any other project-related approval.
Right to negotiate
The parties agree that the right to negotiate provisions in Subdivision P, Division 3, Part 2 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) will not apply to any of the future acts to which consent has been granted under this ILUA.
Non-extinguishment principle
The parties also agree that the non-extinguishment principle in s 238 of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) will apply to the future acts to which consent has been granted under this ILUA. This means that acts that would ordinarily result in the extinguishment of native title will not have this effect. Instead, any native title rights and interests will merely be suspended for the duration of these acts.
Background to this ILUA
The Bidjara People native title claim over land that includes the ILUA area was filed with the Federal Court of Australia on 23 July 2008 as proceeding QUD 216 of 2008. The claim was filed to replace the Bidjara 3 (QUD6156/98) and Bidjara 4 (QUD6169/98) claims. It was accepted for registration on 12 September 2008.
The Bidjara People's claim extends over approximately 116,010 square kilometres of land and waters in south-western Queensland. It overlaps with the Karingbal #2 native title claim (discussed below), among others. It is the only active claim being advanced by the Bidjara People, all their other claims having been withdrawn, discontinued or dismissed.
The Karingbal #2 native title claim over land that includes the ILUA area was filed with the Federal Court of Australia on 20 January 2006 as proceeding QUD 23 of 2006. The application was accepted for registration on 24 March 2006. The claim covers approximately 7,110 square kilometres of land and waters in and around Carnarvon. The claim has not yet been resolved, with the Claimant Application Summary published by the National Native Title Tribunal stating that it is now in mediation.
This ILUA is one of 42 agreements entered into by Santos Ltd and Petronas Australia Pty Limited with Aboriginal peoples for the purposes of their joint venture, the GLNG project. These agreements form the largest body of agreements to be signed with Aboriginal groups in the history of Australia's resources industry. According to a media release by Santos GLNG Pty Ltd, these agreements will lead to new employment, training and enterprise opportunities for the Aboriginal communities involved. | |
Santos & Petronas - Bidjara & Karingbal People GLNG Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) Map - (