The Fighting Wangkumarra

Wangkumarra land is at the juncture of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Since 2001, Wangkumarra people have received an annual payment of $60,000 (well, not received – it is held in trust of course) in compensation for Santos’ destructive mining and exploration activity on their land. This is a pretty good deal for Santos, who rip half a billion dollars worth of oil and gas out of the land every year.

Massive pipelines over 6,500km in length now deface Wangkumarra land. Santos uses a mining exploration technique called “seismic lines” involving bulldozing a massive area flat and sending shockwaves into the land with seismic charges.

The usual promises of community development, employment and education were given when the Wangkumarra first signed the agreement in 2001. These were later discovered to be lies when the traditional owners were blocked from setting up agribusiness on their own land. The reason given was that they were considered incapable of managing such properties. Today, Wangkumarra people still live in poverty, even though their land holds the richest oil and petroleum deposits on the continent.

It gets worse. In 2005 Santos unearthed an Aboriginal burial ground on the mining site. They covered it up and when they were caught in this act of sacrelige, still refused to disclose details of that and other sites they were alleged to have unearthed.

The traditional owners are known as “The Fighting Wangkumarra”, and are still fighting today to save their country and communities.