Securing the future for Jabiru
Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) (Rio Tinto: 68.4 per cent) is helping draw up a plan for the long term sustainability of Jabiru, the town serving the mine and the base for visitors to the World Heritage Listed Kakadu National Park in northern Australia.
Jabiru, population 1,164, was established principally as a mining town, but accommodates many other people, organisations and businesses. It is home to many Aboriginal families, an important regional service centre for remote communities in the Kakadu-West Arnhem region, and the location of much of Kakadu's tourist accommodation.
ERA is the world's third largest uranium producing company, operating the nearby Ranger mine. The Ranger operations as well as Jabiru township are surrounded by the Kakadu National Park. Australia's Director of National Parks owns the land on which Jabiru is located. The lease that permits Ranger to mine uranium there pre-dates the creation of the park. The land on which ERA operates comes under the jurisdiction of the national government's Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act of 1976. The agreements which meet the requirements of the Act are administered by the Northern Land Council, on behalf of the relevant Aboriginal traditional owners, in this case the Mirarr Gundjeihmi people.
Jabiru township is currently subject to a native title claim by the Mirarr traditional owners. ERA supports an outcome that recognises Aboriginal ownership while providing security of tenure for the existing businesses and services.
Over the next few years some important decisions need to be made about Jabiru. The Ranger operation currently has plans to finalise mining in 2008, with milling operations set to finish in 2011 or 2012. ERA's other uranium lease in the region, Jabiluka, is on long term care and maintenance with the company stating it will not go ahead without the support of the local traditional owners, many of who have opposed the development in the past.
In 2004, ERA supported the development of a long term community development strategy for the Kakadu region. This was an initiative of the Jabiru Region Sustainability Project (JRSP), which ERA helped establish in 2003. The JRSP meets regularly with members including representatives of the Northern Territory Government, the Commonwealth National Parks service, the Northern Land Council, ERA and the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation.
The strategy lays out "positive pathways" for sustainable development involving the whole community. A four step approach was identified which included: making property, governance and service delivery systems simpler; collecting and maintaining key information about the region; developing a shared vision and community action plan; and undertaking some basic community development initiatives.
The community development initiatives identified in the plan include: improving governance by building local capacity; increasing the involvement of local people in the jobs market; providing intensive support for local enterprises; and developing a youth strategy.
The group agreed to establish a dedicated service, Kakadu Community Development, to help implement the four step policy. Other key focus points of the strategy were to make regional information and research accessible to the entire community. During the course of developing the strategy and establishing Kakadu Community Development, the parties involved recognised that the very process of working together had resulted in historical conflict being replaced with open communication, and that common ground had been found on most issues.
Back to top