Pipeline allowed: Aborigines lose to oil company Santos

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The company won a legal battle on Monday against a group of Aboriginal people from the region’s Tiwi Islands who filed a lawsuit against the project, the ABC broadcaster reported, citing the court responsible.

Some Tiwi Islander elders had called on Santos to revise plans to avoid potential risks to indigenous sacred underwater sites. The company was therefore initially forced to interrupt work on the pipeline in November after the group filed summary proceedings.

The plaintiffs argued that Santos had not adequately considered whether the 263-mile pipeline would harm underwater cultural heritage and sacred Dreamtime sites. The pipeline as part of the massive Barossa gas project runs a few kilometers west of the Tiwi Islands.

The Aboriginals are convinced that ‘songlines’ (dream paths) run through the waters – a kind of mythical-cultural map of the indigenous population. Spiritual beings from the dreamtime live there, such as Mother Ampiji, also known as the Rainbow Serpent. The term ‘Dreamtime’ represents the complex mythology of the indigenous people who have inhabited the country for about 60,000 years.

The responsible judge now ruled that there is only “a negligible chance that objects of archaeological value could be found in the vicinity of the pipeline route”. Santos welcomed the verdict. “In accordance with the ruling and in accordance with the environmental plan applicable to the project, Santos will continue to construct pipelines for the Barossa gas project,” the company said in a statement. (SDA)

Source: Blick