Saturday, 10 March, 2007

by Nigel Adlam
NT News

TRADITIONAL owners have been offered $9 million every five years for 100 years to allow a nuclear waste facility to be built on their land.

The Federal Government money would go to the Northern Land Council for distribution among the 395 owners of Muckaty Station, north of Tennant Creek.

The offer was put by the land council at a meeting on Muckaty Station.

The meeting became heated as supporters and opponents of the plan clashed.

The Northern Territory News was told some of the opponents -- dubbed ''dissidents" by the land council -- were threatened with violence.

But the alleged victims said yesterday they had been told not to reveal what happened at the meeting

or they would not be paid their share of the Federal Government royalties.

One traditional owner said: "Those in favour were screaming at the 'dissidents'. It got very ugly. Many people were shocked at the anger and threats of violence."

Land council chairman John Daly, who addressed the meeting, could not be contacted last night.

Nobody lives permanently at Muckaty.

Most of the traditional owners live at Tennant Creek. The rest live at Elliott.

They go to Muckaty only for business meetings, ceremonies and hunting.

The Federal Government will carry out an environmental assessment at Muckaty if traditional owners support the nuclear waste facility.

The land council has been asked by some traditional owners to put forward a second site -- near Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula.

Land council chief executive Norm Fry said in a written statement: "Privacy and confidentiality requirements mean that the NLC is not prepared to comment regarding matters discussed at the meeting."