As a US gas company eyes the potential in the shallows around Maningrida, the traditional owners have vowed to protect their ancestral land and theyre prepared to go to the high court
The first Alice Eather knew of Paltar Petroleums plans for her ancestral land was when she read a square-inch notice buried in the back pages of the NT News. The August 2012 announcement detailed an application by the US giant for a license for exploratory oil and gas drilling. If successful, it planned to carry out hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, around the coastline of Maningrida in West Arnhem Land.
It was the most horrible day of my life, says 24-year-old Eather. No one was told a thing. There had been no consultation and the ad said we would be given two months to object.
This is one of Australias pristine wildernesses and much of it remains undocumented, culturally and geographically. There is no real understanding of the heritage or biodiversity, but exploration licences give a carte blanche across vast areas.
Blackfellas have always felt like they are kept in the dark, that it is the ballandar [white people] who have all the law and all the knowledge. We can make a big change to that.