Fears Australia will destroy cultural site for multi-million dollar waterfront housing
A development company owned by the Commonwealth has declined to disclose whether it will move ahead with plans to bulldoze an ancient forest and build 800 waterside homes at Lee Point. The central Darwin site provides habitat for several endangered species and holds cultural significance to the city’s Larrakia people, but developing it could result in a multi-million dollar windfall for Defence Housing Australia (DHA) which owns the site.
Images on DHA’s Lee Point sales website, show smiling young families walking along beaches and enjoying wine and food inside bright new homes. It describes the 138 hectare site as “premium real estate”.
The development is contentious because the environment it is set to replace has been in continuous use by the Larrakia people for thousands of years and is abundant with 400 year-old trees which were slated to be felled.
Destruction at Lee Point began in 2023, but DHA paused works amid ongoing community protest and an intervention from the government. But last month, in a decision that surprised conservationists, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek rejected an emergency application to stop the project. After considering an application by Traditional Owners she said she was “not satisfied” there was a “significant Aboriginal area” at the site, although she noted the wider peninsula is culturally important. Many Larrakia disagree with her assessment.
Traditional Owner recalls visiting Lee Point and witnessing ceremonies
Larrakia man Tibby Quall told Yahoo News on Tuesday he has memories of going to Lee Point as a boy. “We spent a lot of time there with my grannies, dad and mum, brothers and sisters. We mainly went there to catch up with old people who did ceremonies, and we want to keep that going as our culture today,” he said.
Following Plibersek’s decision, work at Lee Point is now free to resume. But if DHA was to proceed with plans to bulldoze it, Quall warned court action could follow. Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) has urged DHA to extend its pause on works while traditional Traditional Owners consider legal options.
“Our client is yet to receive the minister’s reasons for refusing his application for cultural heritage protection. All land clearing works should be paused to allow our client to understand the basis for the minister’s decision and consider his options,” EJA co-CEO Nicola Rivers said on Monday.
Asked by Yahoo News whether it would extend the pause on development at Lee Point, DHA issued a statement.
“DHA will determine the next steps for this development in due course, after considering the outcome of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water’s decision,” it said.
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