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Amid many speeches, hand shaking, back patting and signing last Thursday, the last native title hurdles were overcome for Ord Stage II.
An agreement has been reached between the State Government, the Kimberley Land Council (KLC), the Office of Native Title and the Miriwoong Gajerrong Aboriginal people.
In return for extinguishing title over 65,000 hectares (30,000 for irrigation) for Ord Stage II and 154,000 hectares for conservation parks, the Aboriginal people will get a $57 million package.
They have also given Aboriginal Heritage Act clearance for the area, with some sites set aside.
The scope of the agreement is historic in its magnitude, comparable only with the largesse of Rio Tinto in its aboriginal agreement over the Argyle Diamond Mine.
Will this mean that Stage II will proceed immediately?
Acting Premier Eric Ripper was asked whether the government would now tip in some money for infrastructure such as roads, irrigation channels and power distribution.
His answer was that it was a lot more complex than that and there were still plenty of hurdles to cross.
The agreement covers land for farmland at Green Swamp; the M2 development area and environmental buffer; irrigation farmland at Ord East Bank and West Bank; land for farming, tourism and rural residential at Mantinea; land for government purposes around Kununurra townsite; new conservation areas in and around the Ord Valley; new farmland on Packsaddle; Aboriginal community use and living areas; residential and industrial expansion areas around Kununurra and some land held within the borders of Carlton Hill and Ivanhoe stations.
The major parts of the package are: $24 million over 10 years to establish and operate the new Miriwoong Gajerrong Corporation including an economic development unit and an investment trust; $15 million worth of land to be transferred to the corporation including 50,000 hectares (known as Yardungarri, stretching along the WA/NT Border from the Keep National Park down nearly as far as Lake Argyle and reaching back nearly as far as Kununurra) and 19 community living areas; $11 million for the Ord Enhancement Scheme, which will provide enhanced social services; $6 million to Conservation and Land Management for conservation reserve joint management arrangements; $820,000 for freehold establishment costs; $381,000 to establish the Miriwoong Gajerrong Corporation and $120,000 to the Water and Rivers Commission for joint management.
National Party leader Brendon Grylls applauded the agreement but said the State Government needed to go further with more vision.
He said the government should focus fresh resources into building major regional centres in the north.
Mr Grylls said the Gallop Government's investment in its proposed new Amarillo development, between Rockingham and Mandurah, to house up to 60,000 people and feature about 20 new schools, should be redirected to the northwest.
"The Amarillo plan simply promotes the Perth urban sprawl and does nothing to encourage people to settle outside the metropolitan area," he said.
"Why would you clear land for a housing development of Amarillo's size in the Peel region, when the Pilbara and Kimberley are crying out for new infrastructure?"
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