Beyond Juukan Gorge: how First Nations people are taking charge of clean energy projects on their land
Many of the big wind and solar farms planned to help Australia achieve net zero emissions by 2050 will be built on the lands and waters of First Nations peoples.
- Many of the big wind and solar farms planned to help Australia achieve net zero emissions by 2050 will be built on the lands and waters of First Nations peoples.
- More than half of the projects that will extract critical minerals to drive the global clean energy transition overlap with Indigenous-held lands.
- Australia’s Pilbara and Kimberley regions have high rates of Indigenous land tenure, while hosting some of world’s best co-located solar and wind energy resources.
The long but hopeful journey back from Juukan Gorge
- First, the furore and subsequent parliamentary inquiry following the Juukan Gorge incident forced the resignation of Rio Tinto boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques.
- Companies were put on notice that they can no longer run roughshod over First Nations communities.
- Third, there is a question whether the Native Title Act allows large-scale clean energy developments to go ahead without native title holders’ permission.
- Because these agreements are voluntary, native title holders can refuse to allow large wind and solar farms on their Country.
Promising partnerships on the road to net zero
- Many significant proposed projects announced in the last few years show huge promise in terms of First Nations ownership and control.
- Still, much more needs to happen to provide Indigenous communities with proper consent and control.
- And much needed reforms to cultural heritage laws in WA were scrapped following a backlash from farmers.
Why free, prior and informed consent is crucial
- So long as governments can compulsorily acquire native title to expedite a renewable energy project and miners are allowed to mine critical minerals (or any mineral) without native title holders’ consent, the net zero transition will transgress this internationally recognised right.
- Communities must decide the forms participation takes – full or part ownership, leasing and so on – after they have properly assessed their options.
- Rapid electrification through wind and solar developments cannot come at the expense of land clearing and loss of biodiversity.
Ganur Maynard was formerly a member of the steering committee of the First Nations Clean Energy Network. Brad Riley, Janet Hunt, and Lily O'Neill do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.