Traditional owners say connection to country ignored under flawed legislation

A traditional owner group in Western Australia says a historic agreement between the state government and the Noongar Nation of the South West has allowed smaller dialect groups to be ignored on their own country.

The South West Native Title Settlement, which commenced in 2021, was spruiked as the most comprehensive native title agreement negotiated in Australian history, recognising the traditional owners of the South West region.

However, it has come under fire by the Njaki Njaki people from the Wheatbelt, who say they are being shut out from consultations on major projects on their traditional land.

Traditional owners say connection to country ignored under flawed legislation

By Brianna Melville

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt

Topic:Indigenous Australians

Fri 10 Jul

Friday 10 July

Three men stand talking to each other on a large rocky surface high above bushland under a cloudy, sunny sky.

Njaki Njaki people want government intervention to ensure their cultural authority is recognised. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Brianna Melville)

In short:

 The Njaki Njaki people say their cultural authority is being ignored by their representative body, the Ballardong Aboriginal Corporation (BAC).

The group says the South West Native Title Settlement has enabled regional Aboriginal corporations to be dominated by one of the multiple groups they each represent.

What's next? 

BAC says it is taking the Njaki Njaki people's concerns seriously and will include them in negotiations with proponents of projects on their traditional land.

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A traditional owner group in Western Australia says a historic agreement between the state government and the Noongar Nation of the South West has allowed smaller dialect groups to be ignored on their own country.

The South West Native Title Settlement, which commenced in 2021, was spruiked as the most comprehensive native title agreement negotiated in Australian history, recognising the traditional owners of the South West region.

However, it has come under fire by the Njaki Njaki people from the Wheatbelt, who say they are being shut out from consultations on major projects on their traditional land.

Three men are walking away from the camera in the distance, with pools of water on rocky surface in foreground. 

Njaki Njaki people say their rights and interests have been dismissed by their regional Aboriginal corporation. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Brianna Melville)

Njaki Njaki ignored

As hundreds of millions of dollars are pumped into new and ongoing projects in the eastern Wheatbelt, the Njaki Njaki people say their responsibilities and cultural authority as the traditional owners are being ignored.

Projects in the area include the Collgar wind farm, upgrades to the Goldfields Pipeline, the Merredin Big Battery and the Kondinin wind farm.

The Njaki Njaki group said it had ancestral connections to a large portion of the land use agreement area that was legally represented by the Ballardong Aboriginal Corporation (BAC).

However, Njaki Njaki Noongar man Michael Hayden said that when project proponents went to the BAC about cultural heritage on Njaki Njaki land, the corporation failed to involve the Njaki Njaki people.

"We've been denied, we've been disrespected, our rights and interests have been dismissed and just pushed aside," Mr Hayden said.

"You've got people speaking on other people's country."

"As Aboriginal people, under our customs and protocols, you never go into someone else's country speaking on their heritage."

Mr Hayden said the Njaki Njaki group, numbering in the hundreds, was being denied financial benefits and opportunities in training and employment that were meant to flow to traditional owners from the developments.

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