Thursday, 24 May, 2007

by Andrew Trounson and Ashleigh Wilson
The Australian

JABILUKA'S Aboriginal owners in the Northern Territory yesterday slapped down mining giant Rio Tinto's optimism for restarting uranium mining at the site by reaffirming their opposition to the project.

Comments by Rio head of energy Preston Chiaro in London this week that there had been a "breakthrough" in relations with traditional owners the Mirarr people have backfired. The Mirarr are now saying Mr Chiaro misrepresented them and put "the prospect of future engagement into jeopardy".

An embarrassed Rio was forced to reassure the Mirarr the company was not trying to pressure them to agree to a development and reiterated its 2005 commitment not to pursue mining at Jabiluka without their consent.

"Rio Tinto didn't mean to place the traditional owners of Jabiluka under any pressure and clearly understand the traditional owners' opposition to the development remains unchanged," Rio spokesman Ian Head told The Australian.

The Mirarr's representative body, the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, said its opposition was unchanged and that its ultimate goal was for the traditional lands to be absorbed into the surrounding heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. "The community is extremely distressed at the interpretation Rio has placed on the relationship," the GAC said.

"Such comments are injurious to that relationship and immediately throw the prospect of future engagement into jeopardy ... the Mirarr concerns and opposition to that development remain completely unchanged."

On Monday, Mr Chiaro suggested Mirarr leader Yvonne Margarula's long opposition to mining might be softening, given that she had agreed to attend cross-cultural awareness programs for new employees at Rio's neighbouring Ranger uranium mine. "That's an extremely erroneous assumption for Preston Chiaro to have made," GAC executive director Graham Dewar said.

Mr Chiaro's comments have embarrassed project owners the Rio-controlled Energy Resources of Australia, which had been taking a careful and slow approach to rebuilding relations.

Mr Dewar confirmed that the Mirarr had a positive working relationship with ERA, which is 68 per cent owned by London-headquartered Rio.

In 1996, the scrapping of Labor's ban on new uranium mines by the new Howard Government sparked a national campaign by the Mirarr and environmentalists against any mine development at Jabiluka.