LAW AND CULTURE GUIDE YINDJIBARNDI IN FMG LEGAL BATTLE
BY ELIZA KLOSER
Michael Woodley. Credit: Supplied.
The final stage of the 13-year legal battle between Fortescue Metals Group and the Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation is set to begin this month.
The upcoming court hearings will determine how much compensation Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) owes the Yindjibarndi people for mining the Solomon Hub on their country.
Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation (YAC) CEO Michael Woodley said the Yindjibarndi law of Yingaardt had guided the Yindjibarndi nation throughout this court case.
“We’ve always operated on the basis of what we call Yingaardt, that we care for everything and we share everything,” he said. "Yingaardt starts with first and foremost everybody having an equal representation and equal rights to the benefits of our country.”
The mining company recorded its latest half-yearly Net income of $3.5 billion as the ‘world’s lowest cost iron ore producer.’
In a statement, FMG said it is ready to settle this dispute by paying compensation, but the 10 per cent royalty that YAC is requesting exceeds any other agreement FMG are aware of “including the highest royalties payable to the State Government.”
Mr Woodley said the Yindjibarndi principles of sharing mean everyone should benefit from the riches of the land, and the First Nations community has been left behind.
He said industry and mining had a negative impact on country and community without “bringing the same level of benefits and the improvements of our lives.”
“We can’t have a community with all sorts of issues and challenges. Especially with First Nations people, life expectancy is dropping to 50 or 45 and that’s just simply not acceptable in this day and age,” he said.
Mr Woodley indicated it is difficult to determine a value for the Yindjibarndi country that’s been destroyed, when cultural connection to land has no price tag.
“In the case of First Nations people, how long is a piece of string when it comes to calculate the value of our land?” he said.
The land has not been the only thing that the mining company has impacted on and the court hearings will be a chance to tell that story, according to Mr. Woodley.
“Our Native Title Rights have been abused, our country has been abused, our community has been abused, and we have every right to tell our story,” he said.
“The key for us is to tell our story, and go back and decide what that story is worth. There is a worth obviously in terms of what First Nations people have been fighting for over 200 years in this country.”
Mr Woodley said In Yindjibarndi culture the land is taken care of and belongs to the next generation.
“We must conduct the way we manage our land in the same way our grandfathers did and their grandfathers did to make sure that the air is clean, the water is fresh, there is plentiful flora and fauna on the country,” he said.
“More importantly it is a generational entitlement as well, it doesn’t belong to us today the same way it didn’t belong to our grandfathers yesterday, it always belongs to the future of our people and the next generation coming.”
Mr. Woodley is confident that YAC will receive a good outcome from the court proceedings that will begin on country in Roebourne next week, and he is hopeful that the compensation will aid the Yindjibarndi nation to participate more in society.
“In terms of giving us a fair go and giving us an opportunity, making sure that there is appropriate compensation so that we can look after our people and partake in other things, this is the society that we live in now,” he said.