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An historic agreement, paving the way for Ord Stage II, was scheduled to go ahead in Kununurra today.
The agreement between Aboriginal claimants and the State Government brings to an end Australia's longest-running native title claim.
It is estimated to deliver benefits of about $50 million for East Kimberley Aboriginal people.
However, the Kimberley Land Council (KLC) is swift to point out that the money will not go to individual recipients, instead it will be used for projects and schemes aimed at improving the lot of Aboriginal people.
The State Government and Miriuwung Gajerrong people were scheduled to sign off on the land associated with Ord Stage II.
The signing was scheduled to take place at Lakeside Resort at midday.
A spokesperson for the KLC assured the Kimberley Echo that the agreement also dealt with Aboriginal Heritage Act concerns and meant that the agricultural land it released would require no further clearances.
The agreement was expected to give development approval for about 65,000 hectares of agricultural land and national parks to the north and east of Kununurra.
The area made available for broadacre farming is about 33,000 hectares.
The area will still need infrastructure in the form of roads, irrigation channels and power before it can go into use.
To get it to the stage where sugar cane could be effectively grown would then take four to five years according to some growers.
However, the agreement triples the existing area under cultivation, resulting from Ord Stage I, which began in the early 1960s.
In an interview with The Australian, KLC executive director Wayne Bergmann said the agreement had taken two years to reach and he described the process as 'exhausting and at times very tense'.
"The land will be free of native title encumbrances, so from that perspective it's now attractive for a developer," he said.
The main recipients of the agreement will be about 1000 Miriuwung Gajerrong people.
The package is believed to include funding for Aboriginal input into the future growth of Kununurra, joint management of National Parks, with significant cultural areas being made into freehold title for Aboriginal people.
They will also be given a share in the project with the allocation of 800 hectares of agricultural land for leasing to prospective farmers.
Acting Premier Eric Ripper was quoted in The Australian as saying the agreement was the most comprehensive native title settlement reached by any Australian government.
"There was no compensation to the Miriuwung Gajerrong people for the flooding of the land from Ord stage one - they have had very little benefit from the Ord to date," Mr Ripper said.
"It's also an area of high social disadvantage and high unemployment.
"It's one of those regions which is not doing as well as the rest of the State.
"It will pave the way for significant economic development in the region.
"It shows what can be achieved through negotiation."
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