Appendix L – Ammaroo project draft economic and social impact assessment
AMMAROO PROJECT
DRAFT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
July 2017
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DOCUMENT and VERSION CONTROL
Document number 3
Project manager Jane Munday
Author Jane Munday Mary Chiang of GHD contributed to the economic and demographic sections Economic modelling by Econsearch
Approved by
Approval date
DOCUMENT HISTORY
Version Issue date Brief description Reviewer Approver
1 26 May 2017 Draft Economic and Social Elena Madden Elena Madden Impact Assessment
2 31 July 2017 Draft2 Elena Madden Elena Madden
3 17 October Draft 3 Elena Madden Elena Madden 2017
Recipients are responsible for eliminating all superseded documents in their possession
True North Strategic Communication ABN 43 108 153 199
GPO Box 1261 Darwin NT 0801 Email: [email protected] Website: www.truenorthcomm.com.au
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LIMITATIONS
This Economic and Social Impact Assessment is based on desk research, the findings of a multi-disciplinary risk assessment, client input, background documents, community and stakeholder consultation and dedicated social impact assessment interviews. All requested reports were provided in a timely way and the consultant received good cooperation from the proponent in accessing information required for this report.
Similarly, all organisations contacted were cooperative and there were no impediments to gathering data however there is a high level of uncertainty in sourcing and analysing both quantitative and qualitative data for a remote location with a small population and economy.
While True North Strategic Communication has applied its best efforts to produce a reliable and accurate study based on ethical research methodology, some of the limitations of this ESIA include:
• the subjective and variable nature of many social impacts, which makes it difficult to assess and predict the level of risks and opportunities with accuracy; • using professional judgement to determine the appropriate level of time and resources, given an initial assessment of likely risk; • difficulties accessing up-to-date and relevant data on some issues, for example aggregated Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data which may be outdated or fail to capture more localised variations and trends on issues such as unemployment and participation, as well as generally recognised methodological issues in gathering data on small, mobile and dispersed communities (for example, ABS data from the 2016 Census was released after this report was written, creating a reliance on 2011 data); • a linked issue of discrepant collection methods and boundaries between various government authorities; • difficulties getting direct feedback from some impacted stakeholders, due to availability at the time of interviews, language barriers and the remoteness of the area under study; • limitations on culturally appropriate engagement for the ESIA, recognising the separate and statutory role of the Central Land Council in acting on behalf of native title holders (a scheduled ‘on country’ meeting with native title holders has been deferred until after the writing of this report so, apart from a two-day visit to Ampilatwatja and Arlparra, attitudes and perceptions of native title holders has been assessed through third party feedback); • the confidential nature of some material, particularly where it relates to commercial transactions and agreements with traditional owners; • the limited experience of some stakeholders with the environmental approvals process and social impact assessment.
The consultant has applied her best professional judgement to focus on likely key issues and generate sound analysis and prediction of likely beneficial and detrimental economic and social impacts at different stages of the project. However, ongoing engagement by the proponent is recommended to capture any emerging issues and provide continued input to decision-making by those stakeholders impacted by the project. This is covered in the project’s Social Impact Management Plan.
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Contents 1. Executive summary ...... 13 1.1 Summary of findings ...... 14 2. Introduction ...... 21 2.1 Background ...... 22 2.2 Purpose of an economic and social impact assessment ...... 25 2.3 Objectives ...... 26 2.4 Scope ...... 27 2.5 Standards ...... 29 3. Methodology ...... 30 3.1 Methodology ...... 30 3.2 Issues identification ...... 34 4. Consultation and communication ...... 36 4.1 Requirement to Consult ...... 36 4.2 Structure of this report ...... 37 5. People and communities ...... 38 5.1 Overview ...... 38 5.2 Key events or activities ...... 38 5.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 38 5.4 The project area ...... 39 5.5 Impacts of colonial settlement on Alyawarre and Warumungu people...... 41 5.6 Pastoral history ...... 43 5.7 Mining in the region ...... 43 5.8 Key communities ...... 44 5.8.1 Ampilatwatja ...... 45 5.8.2 Arlparra/Utopia ...... 46 5.8.3 Ali Curung ...... 47 5.8.4 Imangara (Murray Downs) ...... 47 5.8.5 Wutunugurra (Epenarra) ...... 47 5.8.6 Imperrenth (Elkedra) Outstation ...... 48 5.8.7 Tara (Neutral Junction) ...... 48 5.8.8. Other homelands ...... 48
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5.8.9 Tennant Creek ...... 48 5.8.10 Ti Tree ...... 49 5.8.11 Barrow Creek ...... 49 5.8.12 Wycliffe Well ...... 49 5.8.13 Wauchope ...... 49 5.8.14 Mount Isa ...... 49 5.8.15 Alice Springs ...... 50 5.9 Key pastoral properties ...... 50 5.9.1 Ammaroo Station ...... 50 5.9.2 Murray Downs Station ...... 50 5.9.3. Elkedra Station ...... 51 5.9.4 Neutral Junction Station ...... 51 5.9.5 Ooratippra Station ...... 51 5.10 Governance and institutions ...... 52 5.10.1 Central Land Council ...... 52 5.10.2 Northern Territory Government ...... 52 5.10.3 Barkly Regional Council ...... 52 5.10.4 Australian Government ...... 53 5.11 Demography ...... 54 5.11.1 Aboriginal population ...... 55 5.11.2 Age profile ...... 57 5.11.3 Population growth projection ...... 58 5.11.4 Social economic indexes for areas – SEIFA ...... 61 5.11.5 Community cohesion and resilience ...... 62 5.12 Impact assessment for people and communities ...... 64 5.12.1 Demographic change reduces community cohesion ...... 65 5.12.2 Reduced community cohesion through distribution of benefits ...... 65 5.12.3 Reduced community cohesion from alcohol and low-level crime...... 65 5.12.4 Reduced volunteering and participation in sporting events ...... 65 5.13 Mitigation and management ...... 66 6. Economies ...... 67 6.1 Overview ...... 67
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6.2 Key events or activities causing economic impacts ...... 67 6.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 67 6.4 Regional economic sectors ...... 68 6.4.1 Pastoral industry ...... 68 6.4.2 Mining ...... 68 6.4.3 Horticulture ...... 69 6.4.4 Tourism ...... 69 6.5 Employment by industry ...... 70 6.6 Income profile ...... 70 6.7 Business Counts ...... 71 6.8 Assessment of economic risks and opportunities ...... 72 6.8.1 Successful local procurement meets expectations ...... 72 6.8.2 Payments to contractors and workers stimulates the regional economy and GSP ...... 72 6.8.3 Families move to the region, stimulating the economy ...... 73 6.8.4 Reduced pastoral productivity because of traffic, dust, noise, weeds, erosion ...... 73 6.8.5 Reduced pastoral productivity because of impacts on ground water ...... 74 6.8.6 Reduced productivity because of loss of staff to the project ...... 75 6.8.7 Increased pastoral productivity due to upgraded infrastructure ...... 75 6.8.8 Displacement of other economic sectors ...... 76 6.8.9 Inflationary pressures ...... 76 6.8.10 Local content expectations not met ...... 76 6.8.11 ‘Boom bust’ effect ...... 77 6.9 Mitigation and management ...... 77 7. Employment and education ...... 79 7.1 Overview ...... 79 7.2 Key events or activities causing impacts ...... 79 7.3 Key risks and opportunities for employment and education ...... 80 7.4 Educational outcomes ...... 80 7.5 VET training and Employment Pathways ...... 83 7.6 Labour market ...... 83 7.7 Unemployment profile ...... 87 7.8 Employment providers ...... 88
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7.9 Assessment of economic risks and opportunities ...... 90 7.9.1 Opportunities for local jobs ...... 90 7.9.2 Opportunities for jobs that draw on traditional knowledge ...... 91 7.9.3 Failure to meet local job targets ...... 91 7.10 Mitigation and management ...... 92 8. Infrastructure and social services ...... 93 8.1 Overview ...... 93 8.2 Key events or activities causing impacts ...... 93 8.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 93 8.4 Key social infrastructure and services in the region ...... 94 8.5 Transport ...... 94 8.6 Education facilities ...... 97 8.7 Health services ...... 98 8.8 Police and emergency services ...... 99 8.9 Housing ...... 100 8.10 Other social services in the region ...... 102 8.11 Assessment of infrastructure and services risks and opportunities ...... 103 8.11.1 Legacy infrastructure that benefits the community ...... 103 8.11.2 Community infrastructure as a result of benefit agreements or sponsorship ...... 103 8.11.3 Pressure on social infrastructure ...... 103 8.11.4 Pressure on housing ...... 104 8.11.5 Pressure on transport infrastructure ...... 104 8.11.6 Pressure on policing ...... 105 8.11.7 Pressure on emergency response capabilities ...... 105 8.12 Mitigation and management ...... 105 9 Health, wellbeing and safety ...... 106 9.1 Overview ...... 106 9.2 Key events or activities causing impacts ...... 106 9.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 106 9.4 Health ...... 107 9.5 Crime ...... 108 9.6 Substance abuse ...... 109
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9.7 Assessment of health, safety and wellbeing risks and opportunities ...... 110 9.7.1 Improved health outcomes ...... 110 9.7.2 Road safety risks to the public ...... 110 9.7.3 Road safety risks to workers ...... 110 9.7.4 Crime and antisocial behaviour ...... 110 9.7.5 Thefts and vandalism of project equipment ...... 111 9.7.6 Mental health issues for FIFO workers ...... 112 9.7.7 Sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies ...... 112 9.7.8 Fears and negative perceptions, eg chemical spills and contamination ...... 112 9.7.9 Amenity issues ...... 113 9.8 Mitigation and management ...... 113 10. Culture and heritage ...... 114 10.1 Overview ...... 114 10.2 Key events or activities causing impacts ...... 114 10.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 114 10.4 Alyawarre culture ...... 115 10.5 Assessment of risks and opportunities to culture ...... 116 10.5.1 Strengthened culture from community investment ...... 116 10.5.2 Loss of sacred or cultural sites ...... 116 10.5.3 Reduced access to traditional activities that maintain culture ...... 116 10.6 Mitigation and management ...... 117 11. Environment ...... 118 11.1 Overview ...... 118 11.2 Key events of activities leading to impacts ...... 118 11.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 118 11.4 Description ...... 118 11.5 Assessment of risks and opportunities ...... 119 11.5.1 Negative perceptions about use of water ...... 119 11.5.2 Reduced connections to place and recreational activities ...... 119 11.6 Mitigation and management ...... 119 12. Human rights ...... 120 12.1 Overview ...... 120
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12.2 Key events or activities causing impacts ...... 120 12.3 Key risks and opportunities ...... 120 12.4 Assessment of risks and opportunities to the environment ...... 120 12.4.1 Human rights breaches ...... 120 12.5 Mitigation and management ...... 121 13. Cumulative ...... 122 14. Summary ...... 124 15. Economic and Social Impact Management Plan ...... 126 16. Qualifications of the consultant ...... 126 17. Bibliography ...... 127
Tables and figures
Table 1-1: Summary of findings against Terms of Reference ...... 14 Fig 2-1: Map of the project area ...... 21 Fig 2-2: Map showing project footprint and planned rerouting of the Murray Downs Road ...... 24 Fig 2-3: IAIA definition of social impact assessment ...... 26 Table 3-1: Risk rating assessment: categorisation of likelihood and consequence levels to assess impacts for study (ISO 2009) ...... 30 Table 3-2: Risk response table ...... 30 Fig 3-1: Outline of methodology ...... 33 Fig 4-1: IAP2 Core Values ...... 36 Table 5-1: Summary of potential positive and negative impacts for people and communities ...... 38 Fig 5-1: Map of area under study (source Verdant Minerals) ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 5-2: Demographic profile summary of key communities, 2011 ...... 44 Table 5.3 - A summary of characteristics (discussed in further detail below): ...... 54 Table 5-4: Language group profiles at a local level, based on 2011 Census data on languages other than English spoken at home (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012) ...... 55 Table 5-5: Demographic composition at a regional level, based on 2011 ABS data (Source: ABS 2012) ...... 56 Table 5-6: Age distribution trends from 2010 to 2014 (source ABS community profile) ...... 57 Fig 5-2: Barkly Region population 2016 ...... 58 Table 5-7: Northern Territory Population Projections ...... 59 Fig 5-3: Population projection, Barkly region, 2016-2026 ...... 60 Fig 5-4: Population growth trend, 2011-2041 ...... 61 Fig 5-5: Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage ...... 61 Table 6-1: Key potential positive and negative economic impacts ...... 67 Fig 6-1: Gross regional product in Northern Territory, 2001-2015 ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Fig 6-2: Gross regional product in Barkly Regional Council, 2001-20156.4.1 ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.
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Fig 6-3: Gross value added by industry for Barkly region, 2010/11 – 2014/15 ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Fig 6-4: Comparison of gross value added by industry, 2014/15 ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Fig 6-5: Historical employment by industry, 2011 ...... 70 Fig 6-6: Historical median income in Barkly region ...... 71 Fig 6-7: Business counts by sector in Barkly region, 2015 ...... 71 Table 6-5 Summary of economic impact of the Ammaroo Phosphate Project, construction phase . Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 6-6 Summary of economic impact of the Ammaroo Phosphate Project, operating phase .. Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 6-7 GRP impact of the Ammaroo Phosphate Project, Barkly and Alice Springs region, construction phase ...... Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 7-1: Key risks and opportunities with employment and education ...... 80 Table 7-2: Indigenous student attendance rates for Years 1 to 10 combined ...... 81 Table 7-4: Comparison of educational outcomes ...... 83 Table 7-5: Employment rates for the Territory, Queensland and Western Australia ...... 84 Fig 7-1: Unemployment rate and not in labour force rate, 2001-2011 ...... 88 Table 8-1: Potential risks and opportunities for infrastructure and social services ...... 93 Table 8-2: Education facilities ...... 97 Table 8-3: Health services in the region ...... 98 Table 8-4: Police and emergency services ...... 99 Table 8-5: Home ownership in Tennant Creek ...... 100 Table 8-6: Dwellings ...... 101 Table 8-7: Other social and community services ...... 102 Table 9-1: Key risks and opportunities for health, wellbeing and safety ...... 106 Table 10-1: Potential risks and opportunities for culture and heritage ...... 114 Table 11-1: Key social risks and opportunities for Environment ...... 118 Table 12-1: Key risks and opportunities for human rights ...... 120 Table 13-1: Cumulative impacts ...... 122
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Acronyms and abbreviations
AAPA Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority
ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
ALRA Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Commonwealth)
CAGR Compound annual growth rate
CLC Central Land Council
DENR Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NT)
DPIR Department of Primary Industry and Resources (NT)
EA Act Environmental Assessment Act (NT)
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EPA Environment Protection Authority (NT)
EPBC Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)
ERP Estimated Residential Population
ESIA Economic and Social Impact Assessment
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GSP Gross State Product
IAIA International Association for Impact Assessment
IAP2 International Association for Public Participation
ICSEA Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage
ILOC Indigenous location
ILUA Indigenous Land Use Agreement
IPP Industry Participation Plan
ISO International Organisation of Standardisation
JORC Joint Ore Reserves Committee (Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves)
LGA Local Government Area (ABS statistical area)
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MCA Minerals Council of Australia
MLA Minerals Licence Application
MNES Matters of National Environmental Significance
Mtpa Million tonnes per annum
NT Northern Territory
NTA Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth)
NTEPA Northern Territory EPA (see above)
NTNTA Northern Territory Native Title Act (1976)
REDC Regional Economic Development Committee
SEIFA Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas
SIA Social Impact Assessment
SIMP Social Impact Management Plan
SSC Sacred Sites Certificate
ToR Terms of Reference (issued by the NTEPA)
VET Vocational Education and Training
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1. Executive summary
Verdant Minerals Resources is an ASX-listed, Darwin-headquartered company developing phosphate, potash and silica deposits in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. Its flagship Ammaroo Phosphate Project is in the Georgina Basin, or Sandover Region, of Central Australia, which is both Alyawarre country and part of the Ammaroo pastoral lease, about 100 kilometres (km) from the Stuart Highway and between the regional centres of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
The first phase of the project, covered by this Economic and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), covers construction of the mine, plant and supporting infrastructure, then the extraction, beneficiation and export of a phosphate concentrate to Asia. The initial project contemplates a 25-year mine life producing up to 2 million tonnes a year of phosphate rock concentrate at a market standard grade of about 32%. It includes initial transport of construction materials and equipment along the Murray Downs Road, a workers’ accommodation village near the proposed mine, a 105-kilometre railway spur line to the Adelaide to Darwin Railway and associated mine buildings and infrastructure.
The ESIA was prepared after baseline research and consultation between March and June of 2017, both specifically for the ESIA and more generally for the Environmental Impact Study (EIS).
In general, the first phase of the Ammaroo project is assessed as being of a smaller scale than many other regional resource projects given that it will use strip-mining techniques and a relatively small workforce. However, the significant phosphate resource, combined with the Northern Territory’s gas resources, could enable a regionally significant fertiliser industry in the future.
The ESIA identifies that the key opportunities from the project will arise from procurement of local services and supplies (which should provide a good match with local capabilities), and jobs for local Aboriginal people (as long as expectations remain realistic about the likely take-up rates).
Key negative risks arise from increased industrial traffic on poor local roads (albeit for a limited period during construction), which may have some implications for pastoral productivity, other road users and road safety for both mine workers and the public. On the other hand, any upgrading of local infrastructure such as roads will deliver social and economic benefits.
This assessment finds a total of eight opportunities of significance and 27 potentially negative risks (this does not include pressure on road transport and road safety risks which are covered under Transport and Human Health and Safety).
The four opportunities with a HIGH rating were:
• benefits from local businesses winning work • jobs for local people • jobs drawing on traditional knowledge • legacy infrastructure.
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Of the negative potential risks, there were none with an overall HIGH or EXTREME rating, eight attracted a MEDIUM significance risk rating and 19 were assessed as LOW.
The eight medium ratings were:
• local content targets not met due to lack of capacity or skills (#40) • increased pressure on emergency services, particularly from road trauma (#43) • not meeting expectations of local Aboriginal jobs (#44) • mental health issues for workers living away from home (#49) • reduced community cohesion and tensions over distribution of royalties and benefits, including from rumours (#52) • increased crime, vandalism and thefts from company facilities or in the region as a result of project mobilisation (#57) • destruction of sacred sites or special cultural areas leading to reduced spiritual or cultural connections (#77) • pressure on transport infrastructure during construction (#118).
The Central Land Council, as the prescribed representative body for native title holders, is responsible for ensuring that native title holders have provided free, prior and informed consent in relation to this project. This is a separate process from consultation for preparation of this ESIA. Traditional owners have been engaged in exploration jobs, surveys for EIS studies, Aboriginal Protection Authority sacred site clearances and several ‘on country meetings’ and the company believes they have been kept well- informed.
1.1 Summary of findings Table 1-1: Summary of findings against Terms of Reference Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA 3.1.12 Workforce and See project description. Project accommodation description
4.4 Indigenous and cultural Covered in Cultural and Heritage Report Cultural and heritage heritage report 5.5 Human health and safety Primarily discussed in the human health and safety section, Traffic risks the ESIA discusses some aspects such as health of workers Management and road safety risks. Plan SIA at sections 7.2.2 and 3 5.6 Socio-economic Economic value of the project, Local content opportunities and risks are discussed in ESIA Chapter 6 including project feasibility, Chapter 6 of the ESIA. company’s financial capacity, opportunities for region centres, projected availability of goods and services.
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Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA Economic and Social Impact This is attached to the ESIA ESIMP Management Plan Information on stakeholders The consultation report attached to the ESIA outlines Consultation and consultation consultation for the EIS conducted between March and report June of 2017, specific interviews, methodology, materials used, stakeholders and the key issues raised. Section 4 of Key issues included the condition of local roads and their ESIA capacity to take extra traffic, expectations of local content and jobs and the potential impact on public housing in Ampilatwatja if Alyawarre families move back for jobs or to share in benefits.
Economic and social risks and opportunities in EPA’s Guidelines for the preparation of an economic and social impact assessment Contribution to GSP and GDP, Outlined in a separate economic report. Economic tax, capital expenditure, report. revenue, regional economy Opportunities available to There are high expectations from regional centres such as ESIA Section 6 regional centres based on the Tennant Creek and Alice Springs of contracts from this activity generated by the project, as well as smaller businesses, pastoralists and Project heavy equipment operators. Apart from specialised supplies, the ESIA finds these expectations are likely to be met given Verdant’s track record of using local suppliers, the relatively small scale of the project and the probable fit with the capabilities of local suppliers. Given their respective timeframes, it may be that some suppliers will transition from project work with Jemena’s Northern Gas Pipeline to the Ammaroo Project. Verdant will work with the ICN, Chamber of Commerce, Regional Economic Committees and Northern Territory Government to maximise local content and ensure companies understand and can met Verdant’s standards.
Estimated workforce and See Project description, which estimates a peak of 300 Project contractor numbers by direct jobs during construction and 90 during the first phase description occupational classification of operations, rising to about 165 as the project expands to higher levels of production. During construction, many of these jobs will be plant operators for the civil works and trades needed for construction. Overall employment and The ESIA discusses the likely sources of workers and ESIA Section 7 training proposed during concludes that up to 20% of construction and operational commencement, construction workers may be sourced from Alyawarre communities in and operations, including the Barkly and Sandover regions and Tennant Creek and Aboriginal training. another 25% from Alice Springs. It discusses barriers and solutions to Aboriginal employment based on high levels of disadvantage, structural and cultural barriers, such as unwillingness to move away from family to work long shifts at a construction project and a mine.
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Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA Verdant will work with employment and training providers such as MyPathway in Ampilatwatja and Arlparra, JobActive providers in regional centres and the Northern Territory and Australian Governments to maximise local jobs, provide advance notice of positions likely to be available and support work-readiness and on-the-job training. Verdant will collaborate with the Department of Education to link with VET training in local schools. While the prospect of jobs is the key opportunity arising from the project, it will be challenging to achieve and may be affected by situational factors, including other projects. Expected level of overseas Given the nature of the project, no overseas recruitment is n/a recruitment expected. Availability of goods and As above: It is likely that most goods and services can be ESIA Section 6 services sourced locally, apart from specialised equipment and infrastructure. Impacts on existing The ESIA finds that there will be minimal impacts on ESIA Section 8 government services (health, services such as health, education and police apart from education, police) as a result responding to any road trauma. However, there could be of the Project impacts on public housing in Ampilatwatja should Alyawarre families move back in expectation of jobs and benefits. This is largely out of Verdant’s control and will require coordination with the Department of Housing, given there is no freehold land and a baseline condition of already overcrowded public housing. Community and economic The key residual benefits of the project would be improved ESIA Section 8 value of any residual telecommunications in the local area and potentially infrastructure, such as roads, upgraded roads providing social and economic benefits for after the life of the project pastoralists, communities, tourism and service providers. The proposed railway spur line may provide common user infrastructure, particularly for the growing horticultural activities nearby, although it is likely that cattle and freight for the Aherrenge Store at Ampilatwatja will continue to be delivered by road. There may be some residual community infrastructure as part of the community benefits package to be negotiated in an Indigenous Land Use Agreement and smaller sponsorships (for example upgrading the football oval in Ampilatwatja). Other contributions to local The ILUA is the subject of a confidential agreement to be ESIA Section 5 communities, including negotiated with traditional owners through the Central traditional owners Land Council. Verdant has a preference for community benefits rather than cash payments. Verdant is keen to sponsor local activities such as football and netball, scholarships for promising school students and also to support smaller cottage industries that might provide services to the project. Social Assessment to be based Consultation for the project was based on an assessment of Consultation on consultation with and the likely level of opportunities and risks, scoping of key Report
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Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA involvement with the issues and identification of key stakeholders, in line with community. To be IAP2 methodology. It was coordinated by an independent Summary in independent of proponent consultant who has completed Advanced Community ESIA at Section and based on IAP2 spectrum Engagement training with IAP2. 4 of public participation. 6.1 Document to include Contained in population and communities section of ESIA. ESIA – Section 5 description of the local and regional social environment., including: • population density and Section 5 of the ESIA has a detailed description of ESIA Section 5 distribution, communities, demography, population density and demography and social characteristics. It finds high levels of disadvantage, a characteristics remote and sparsely populated region where most residents are Alyawarre people. It finds a declining proportion of non-Aboriginal residents of working age and an increasing cohort of younger Aboriginal people as well as more older Aboriginal people living in Tennant Creek, reflecting reduced mortality rates. As outlined in Section 5, there is considerable mobility of non-Aboriginal people to and from interstate destinations and considerable mobility of Aboriginal people within the region. A growing proportion of people in Tennant Creek were born overseas, with a likely undercount (based on anecdotal accounts of many overseas-born FIFO workers commuting from interstate destinations due to a drop off in backpacker labour) and challenges recruiting to government, local government, NGO and private sector positions. • native title holder/ Traditional owners for the area of influence are primarily ESIA Section 5 traditional owner groups Alyawarre, but the project footprint and broader area Cultural and influenced by the project include the traditional country of Heritage Study the Kaytetj and Anmatjere people. • other landholders Section 5 provides an outline of local pastoral properties, Section 5 of who constitute the key landholders in the region, with an ESIA emerging horticultural sector. • local government Section 5 outlines the role and presence of the Barkly Section 5 of Regional Council, municipal services provided to local ESIA communities, as well as the role of the Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation in Arlparra. • towns and residential All local communities, homelands and regional towns are Section 5 of communities described in the ESIA. ESIA • transience (eg tourist Tourism and residential transience of towns like Tennant Sections 5 and 6 numbers and Creek are described in Sections 5 and 6 of the ESIA. Tourism of ESIA. distribution) is suffering in the region, with the Barkly Regional Tourist Association trying to encourage more of the drive market segment to spend an extra night in the region. • major industries, The study concludes that government services, mining and Section 6 of the sources of income and construction are the main economic sectors of the study ESIA employment area but there are high levels of unemployment and disengagement from the regional labour force.
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Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA • community Existing social and community infrastructure for the local Section 8 of the infrastructure and communities and regional town of Tennant Creek is ESIA services described under Services and Infrastructure. • housing availability and Little impact is predicted on regional towns such as Alice Section 8 affordability Springs and Tennant Creek, however there could be an impact on public housing in Ampilatwatja if the community experiences an in-migration of Alyawarre people seeking work or other benefits at the mine. • community cohesion Section 5 of the ESIA outlines the communities under study, Section 5 and inclusion, including a decline in community infrastructure and involvement in patterns of social Tennant Creek by non-Aboriginal people and some sources interaction and social of tension amongst families in the Sandover Region during foci the period of study. Some disruption to the social fabric of key communities may occur should there be significant interaction between FIFO workers and local people (but this will be strictly controlled by the company). There are also potential threats to community cohesion from the presence of a large, young, male workforce and from family conflict over the distribution of jobs and benefits. Additional wages and royalties could add to community friction, particularly if it increases alcohol consumption and levels of domestic violence. Overall, however, the communities in the project footprint are assessed as relatively cohesive. • places appreciated/used The key impact on places used for cultural purposes would Sections 10 and for cultural, recreational be any disturbance of sacred sites, which is covered in the 11 of ESIA and aesthetic reasons Cultural and Heritage Assessment and Section 10 of the ESIA. This will be addressed by applying for the appropriate AAPA clearance certificates, working closely with AAPA and the CLC to engage traditional owners in clearance surveys, ongoing liaison with traditional owners before any ground- disturbing works, having appropriate protocols in place and provisions for cross-cultural training and Codes of Behaviour for workers. Pastoralists would be concerned should project workers stray onto local properties after work or on days off (note workers will not have days off while on site). There are important cultural and recreational sites in the Davenport Ranges to the north of the project. The main impact on these would be impacts on four-wheel drive tourism traffic interacting with project traffic on the Murray Downs Road, which is not predicted to be a substantial issue, particularly if roads are upgraded. • attitudes to the project As outlined in the consultation report, attitudes towards Community held by various socio- the project were supportive with no concerns raised about Consultation economic groups the project as a whole. Concerns about some potential Report aspects of the project are addressed in the consultation report and sections of the ESIA. 6.2 Development proposal – The project description outlines the likely workforce, which Sections 7 and 8 to document: is relatively small for a mining project, and how workers will of ESIA
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Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA • recruitment policy be transported and accommodated. A proportion are likely • likely additions to the to be local, with the remainder comprising workers from population Tennant Creek, Sandover or Alice Springs regions or slightly • demographic further afield such as Mount Isa and Darwin. External characteristics of the workers will be flown or bussed to site, with care taken to additional population avoid negative interactions with local communities and • accommodation displacement of other economic sectors. arrangements for the The mine site and accommodation village will provide their additional population own services, including power, water, waste disposal and • services to be provided to health, with minimal impact expected on government or the additional population local government services. by the proponent 6.3 Potential Social Impacts – The risk and opportunity matrix at includes a Risk and using standard risk comprehensive assessment of socio-economic risks and Opportunity assessment. opportunities based on a multidisciplinary risk workshop matrix that drew on an initial issues-based scoping for the ESIA study. ESIA assessment is based on the opportunities and risks identified as well as issues raised during scoping, literature on key issues and community and stakeholder consultation. Economic and Social Impact An Economic and Social Impact Management Plan is ESIMP Management Plan attached to the ESIA. It outlines: To include: • findings on likely key risks and opportunities • an overall summary of the • measures to enhance opportunities and mitigate ESIMP risks • stakeholder engagement • commitments for ongoing consultation strategies now and for the • indicators by which to measure and report on life of the project existing and emerging issues. • prioritisation of predicted impacts • mitigation and management strategies for identified risks, including register of agreed activities and commitments • monitoring, reporting and review mechanisms • mechanisms to resolve new and emerging issues as they transpire and amend the ESIMP • a communication strategy Qualifications of the SIA The consultant is an experienced and qualified community Section 16 of consultant engagement and social impact assessment practitioner. the ESIA Additional Health, wellbeing and safety There is some overlap with traffic and human health and Section 9 of safety sections. The ESIA concludes that the risk to worker ESIA wellbeing from living away from families is hard to predict
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Requested in TOR Key findings Where addressed in EIS and SIA as it will be influenced by many factors external to the Traffic workplace, but should be managed with good human Management resource practices. Plan Road safety risks are discussed in the traffic management plan as well as sections of the SIA relating to health, wellbeing and safety. The ESIA (sections 9.7.2 and 9.7.3) concludes that the standard of local roads and interaction between project and community traffic poses significant road safety risks for both workers and the public during construction. Additional risk are that of cattle on the Stuart Highway and worker transportation. These would be ameliorated by not allowing workers to drive their own vehicles, restrictions on driving at night, working with Government to upgrade local roads and road safety education campaigns (for example targeting pedestrians from Ali Curung).
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2. Introduction
Fig. 2-1: Map of the project area
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2.1 Background
Verdant Minerals is an ASX-listed, Darwin-headquartered company exploring phosphate, potash and silica deposits in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. Its flagship Ammaroo Phosphate Project covers a large phosphate deposit on a pastoral lease in the Georgina Basin about 220 kilometres (km) south-east of Tennant Creek. Verdant also has exploration licences on nearby Elkedra and Derry Downs pastoral leases, with the Ammaroo Project offering both a long mine life and potential for later expansion and downstream production
Recovery of the rich phosphate deposit is expected to be relatively low cost, due to shallow ore which can be extracted by progressive mining, without the need for drilling and blasting. The $300 million first stage of the project is expected to produce 1 million tonnes a year (Mtpa) of phosphate rock concentrate, gradually increasing to 2 Mtpa that will be processed at a beneficiation plant on site then railed to Darwin for export.
The closest communities are Ampilatwatja (25 km away), Arlparra (service centre for the Utopia Homelands about 94 km away), Ali Curung (100 km away), Ti Tree, Barrow Creek, Wauchope, Wycliffe Well and the regional service centre of Tennant Creek (220 km away). Ammaroo homestead is about 45 km from the project, two kilometres south of the Sandover Highway. Murray Downs homestead and Imangara community are 60 km away, just north of the Murray Downs Road that will used as an access road during the construction stages of the project
Access from Alice Springs to the south is along the Stuart Highway, then the Plenty and Sandover Highways, or by Taylors Road south of Ali Curung. From the north, traffic would take the Murray Downs Road from Tennant Creek, with eventual plans for a 105-kilometre railway spur line across Murray Downs Station to the Adelaide to Darwin Railway. Two or three trains a week would take the rock phosphate concentrate to East Arm Port in Darwin for shipping to Asia.
It is proposed to access an aquifer in the Georgina Basin at a depth of about 60 metres, which is mostly below the shallow pits.
Verdant Minerals:
• 2013 – lodged a Notice of Intent with the Northern Territory Government • 2014 – was issued with Terms of Reference for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIS) • 2015 – completed a prefeasibility study • 2016 – appointed Worley Parsons to start a bankable feasibility study • 2016 – appointed GHD to lead the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) • 2017 – plans to lodge its EIS with the Northern Territory Government in late 2017 • 2018 – plans to start construction, subject to the results of the bankable feasibility study, capital- raising, environmental approvals and a final investment decision by its Board.
The project plan is to beneficiate the ore on site using flotation technology and transport a concentrate overseas. It may later be in a position to invest in a more capital intensive ammonium phosphate fertiliser
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plant to supply the Australian and Asian markets once the project has established a cash flow (which would be subject to a separate EIS).
There is high demand for fertilisers in Asia, including for grain, oils and seeds, while Australia is a net importer of phosphate. There is a growing demand for fertilisers to support horticultural development in the Northern Territory, including the nearby Ti Tree horticultural area.
In March 2012, Verdant Minerals Resources lodged a Mineral Lease Application (MLA). A native title claim by Alyawarre traditional owners was finalised in 2014. Lodging the MLA triggered the start of a negotiation process with native title owners through the Central Land Council (CLC) to determine a benefits package, likely to be in the form of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA). On country meetings with traditional owners have been held annually since 2011 (with another meeting scheduled for late 2017 to provide an update on the project in line with the submission of the EIS).
Key aspects of the project are:
• a JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) compliant resource of 1.141 billion tonnes of phosphate; • initial production of 1 Mtpa (million tonnes a year), increasing to 2 Mtpa in three to five years; • the resource was discovered through drilling in 2010; • construction due to start in late 2018, subject to approvals, finance and final investment decision; • initial 25-year mine life; • 17.5 square kilometre project footprint (representing 20% of the resource area), but Verdant plans to target the shallower, high grade ore at the north-west of the deposit; • ore body an average of seven metres thick; • about 90% of the deposit is less than 40 metres below the surface, with a maximum depth of 60 metres; • a shallow pit that will be strip-mined and progressively rehabilitated; • the ore will be extracted by excavators and dump trucks, with no need for drilling or blasting; • a beneficiation plant using flotation technology to separate phosphate, to include tailings, waste rock and storage facilities (with most tailings and waste rock progressively buried as land is rehabilitated); • administration and maintenance buildings; • an access corridor containing: o 105-km railway spur line to the Adelaide to Darwin Railway at Neutral Junction o 137-km low pressure natural gas supply pipeline from the Amadeus gas pipeline near Barrow Creek to a gas-fired power station on site; • a 12 km pipeline from a borefield south-west of the mine to provide drinking and processing water; • a workers’ accommodation village with a ‘wet’ mess; • likely peak of 300 workers during construction, with first priority to nearby communities, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek and possibly fly in fly out (FIFO) staff from further afield such as Mount Isa, Darwin and interstate, depending on the success of local recruitment;
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• about 165 jobs during full-scale operations, covering mining, beneficiation, administration, management, accommodation services and rehabilitation; • about 4 GL/pa water use, with good access to water in a deeper aquifer (it is intended to recycle as much process water as possible to reduce overall use of ground water); • about 3.2 PJ/year of natural gas for a power station, to generate electricity for site infrastructure and gas-fired driers to remove moisture from beneficiated rock; • diverting the Murray Downs Road, which runs through the centre of the proposed footprint, to be planned in consultation with pastoralists and traditional owners.
Fig 2-2: Map showing project footprint and planned rerouting of the Murray Downs Road: source GHD
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2.2 Purpose of an economic and social impact assessment The purpose of an economic and social impact assessment (ESIA) is to:
I. describe the communities and current socioeconomic environment in the project’s area of influence II. understand the likely change processes triggered by the project III. analyse and predict the consequent positive and negative impacts, both direct and indirect, intended and unintended IV. outline how negative impacts will be avoided, mitigated or managed and how beneficial impacts, such as employment and economic opportunities, will be enhanced.
Analysis is based on both qualitative and quantitative baseline data gleaned from sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and literature that provides insights into the area’s history, its peoples, their lifestyles, values and perceptions, land use, key economic sectors and potential cumulative impacts from other projects.
Desk research and early consultation informed initial scoping for the spatial and temporal boundaries of the study; key peoples, communities and land uses; and likely key issues from the community’s perspective.
The objectives of a consultation strategy (see Section 4) for the project were to provide insights into how people are likely to experience change from the project, their fears and aspirations, expectations and local knowledge that may enhance technical studies for the EIS.
A communication strategy was prepared to guide the provision of timely, relevant and culturally appropriate information to stakeholders prior to seeking feedback.
The style of consultation was adapted to the needs of various stakeholders, prioritising those most likely to be impacted by the project (pastoralists and nearby communities) and making a particular effort to reach people who may be disadvantaged by remoteness, marginalisation or cultural and literacy issues. (However, it should be noted that the Central Land Council has a statutory responsibility for identifying native title holders, protecting their right to negotiate and ensuring their free, prior and informed consent.)
The consultation and ESIA reports should give the regulators confidence that the proponent understands key issues from the community’s perspective and has incorporated findings in a Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP), while providing guidance to Verdant Minerals on its ongoing community relations or social performance.
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2.3 Objectives The objectives of this economic and social impact assessment are to:
• describe the current socioeconomic environment in Social Impact Assessment the project’s area of influence; • outline likely change processes from project “A Social Impact Assessment includes activities; the process of analysing, monitoring • analyse and predict positive and negative impacts and managing the intended and on people’s lives, livelihoods and lifestyles arising unintended social consequences, from these interventions; both positive and negative, of • assess the significance of these impacts as planned interventions (policies, experienced by stakeholders and their likely extent programs plans, projects) and any and duration before and after mitigation or change processes invoked by those enhancement; interventions. Its primary purpose is • incorporate good community consultation practice to bring about a more sustainable to capture qualitative insights; and equitable biophysical and human • produce concise and relevant reports that give environment.” regulators confidence that Verdant Resources has a (International Association for Impact has a comprehensive understanding of the Assessment, 2003) socioeconomic environment in which it will be operating; and Fig 2-3: IAIA definition of social impact • produce a Economic and Social Impact assessment Management Plan (ESIMP) that outlines company commitments and measures to alleviate or manage potentially negative impacts, enhance beneficial impacts, such as opportunities for jobs and economic development, during various project stages and capture and respond to emerging issues throughout the life of the project.
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2.4 Scope The scope of this study covers the communities and people most likely to experience change and positive and negative socioeconomic impacts from the project. These impacts will be experienced in different ways, depending on context such as where people live, how they experience impacts, their resilience to change, the stage of the project and situational factors such as cumulative impacts from other projects.
The scope of the study is:
• Temporal: covering all stages of the project, including, planning, exploration, construction, operations, closure and beyond. • Spatial (area of influence): the key areas that may be directly or indirectly impacted and the people, communities, institutions and social structures close to the project area or access routes: o the closest communities (including taking account of the mobility of families), such as Ampilatwatja, Arlparra/Utopia Homelands, Murray Downs (Imangara), Imperrenthe, Ali Curung and other Alyawarre outstations as well as pastoral properties, in particular Ammaroo, Murray Downs, Elkedra and Neutral Junction; o the broader Barkly Region and Sandover regions, incorporating pastoral and other land uses and livelihoods (traditional, pastoral, horticultural, resource exploitation, tourism) impacted by project infrastructure, logistics, recruitment, services and supplies; o the Central Australian and Barkly regional centres of Alice Springs and Tennant Creek respectively and the Queensland town of Mount Isa which may be a source of labour, services and supplies beyond the immediate project footprint; o the broader Northern Territory, mainly in relation to industry and economic benefits. • People: people, families and communities in the project’s area of influence include Alyawarre native title holders, pastoralists, service providers and regional residents who live in the immediately impacted area, who may have connections to the land or who may experience impacts; • Economic: direct and indirect economic benefits for the Barkly Region and Central Australian regions, the Northern Territory and Australia.
Note: In terms of geographic boundaries:
• the project and key communities under study (Tennant Creek, Ali Curung, Ampilatwajta, Arlparra) lie in the Barkly Local Government Area (LGA); • however, due to different statistical boundaries, the project and communities of Ampilatwatja and Arlparra/Utopia Homelands, like just outside the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) SA3 Barkly Region, the statistical region that extends from Tennant Creek to the Queensland border; • the project site, Ampilatwajta and Arlparra lie just south of the Northern Territory Barkly Electorate, in the electorate of Namatjira; • government department boundaries are also inconsistent; • there is substantial mobility (traditional and current) of Alyawarre people between communities and outstations within a region bounded by Tennant Creek and Ali Curung to the north-west, the northern Utopia Homelands in the South, Arlpurrulam (Lake Nash) on the Queensland border to
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the east, as well as communities between Ammaroo and the Western Davenport Ranges to the north.
This creates confusion in drawing on available statistics as baseline data. Furthermore, the key communities under study lie equidistant from Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, which are both potential sources of supplies and services. This makes it necessary to draw from different statistical regions to provide a complete demographic picture of the area under study.
For the purposes of this report:
• ‘local’ means Ampilatwatja and nearby homelands and pastoral properties • ‘regional’ covers the Barkly region, the Sandover Plenty SA2 sub-region of the Alice Springs SA3 (which includes Apilatwatja, Arlparra and most of the homelands under study), and Alice Springs or the Central Australian region as a likely key source of services and people.
Fig 2-3: Map showing differences between Council boundaries (dotted line) and statistical boundaries (colours). Source: GHD.
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2.5 Standards Key industry standards have guided this study and community consultation:
• International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), Social Impact Assessment Principles (Vanclay, 2003) • IAIA’s Social Impact Assessment: Guidance for assessing and managing the social impacts of projects (Vanclay et al., 2015) • International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Core Values, Spectrum of Participation and Quality Assurance Standard (2015) that are the industry standard for effective public participation (or community and stakeholder engagement) (see www.iap2.org.au) • Enduring Value: The Australian Minerals Industry Framework for Sustainable Development, Minerals Council of Australia, 2005 (which suggests investments in mining projects should be financially profitable, technically appropriate, environmentally sound and socially responsible). • Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner, 2011 • Guidelines for the Preparation of an Economic and Social Impact Assessment, Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority, November 2013 • Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Guidelines, Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, March 2007 • Equator Principles (2013) • International Finance Corporation (IFC) 2006 performance standards • World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (2017) • AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management – Principles and Guidelines.
The concept of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) is considered particularly important for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, recognising an unequal power relationship:
• free: no coercion, harassment or retribution • prior: before any activity starts • informed: full disclosure • consent: that communities have a real choice (Vanclay et al. 2015).
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3. Methodology 3.1 Methodology Scoping for the project was based on an initial desktop study to identify key issues likely to be relevant to this socioeconomic impact assessment. The scoping exercise contributed to a multidisciplinary risk assessment workshop run by GHD in line with the AS/NZS 120 31000:2009 risk management –principles and guidelines (Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, 2009). Significance ratings took account of the predicted extent and duration of impacts and subjective judgement of likely community perceptions. Some risk ratings assume an amplified significance given the project will operate in a remote area where the order of magnitude of change is greater than in a large city or industrialised area and there is significant uncertainty about actual versus predicted impacts.
Consequence Level
1 2 3 4 5
Likelihood Descriptor Insignificant Minor Moderate Major Extreme
A Almost certain A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
B Likely B1 B2 B3 B4 B5
C Possible C1 C2 C3 C4 C5
D Unlikely D1 D2 D3 D4 D5
E Rare E1 E2 E3 E4 E5
Table 3-1: Risk rating assessment: categorisation of likelihood and consequence levels to assess impacts for study (ISO 2009) Extreme Intolerable – risk reduction is mandatory wherever practicable. Residual risk can be accepted only if endorse by senior management.
High Intolerable or tolerable if managed to as low as reasonably practicable – Senior Management accountability
Medium Intolerable or tolerable if managed to as low as reasonably practicable – management responsibility
Low Tolerable – maintain systematic controls and monitor
Table 3-2: Risk response table
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Consequence descriptors used for negative socioeconomic impacts (source GHD)
Insignificant – Local, small-scale, easily reversible change on social characteristics or values of the communities of interest or communities can easily adapt or cope with change.
Minor – Short-term recoverable changes to social characteristics and values of the communities of interest or community has substantial capacity to adapt and cope with change.
Moderate – Medium-term recoverable changes to social characteristics and values of the communities of interest or community has capacity to adapt and cope with change.
Major – Long-term recoverable changes to social characteristics and values of the communities of interest or community has limited capacity to adapt and cope with change.
Catastrophic – Irreversible changes to social characteristics and values of the communities of interest or community has no capacity to adapt and cope with change.
Consequence descriptors for beneficial impacts
Insignificant – Local small-scale opportunities emanating from the project that the community can readily pursue and capitalise on.
Minor – Short-term opportunities emanating from the project.
Moderate – Medium-term opportunities emanating from the project.
Major – Long-term opportunities emanating from the project.
Likelihood descriptors
Almost certain – The event is expected to occur in most circumstances; could occur at least once during a project of this nature; 91-100% chance of occurring during the project.
Likely – The event will probably occur in most circumstances; this event could occur up to once during a project of this nature; 51-90% chance of occurring during the project.
Possible – The event could occur but not expected; this event could occur up to once every 10 projects of this nature; 11-50% chance of occurring during the project.
Unlikely – The event could occur but is improbable; this event could occur every 10-100 projects of this nature; 1-10% chance of occurring during the project.
Rare – The event may occur only in exceptional circumstances; this event is not expected to occur except under exceptional circumstances (up to once every 100 projects of this nature); less than 1% chance of occurring during the project.
It should be noted that risk assessment considers risk as events that might ‘create, enhance, prevent, degrade, accelerate or delay the achievement of objective’ or ‘the effect of uncertainty on objectives’ of
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projects (AS/NSZ guidelines) whereas impact assessment considers how impacts are felt, experienced or perceived by people and communities. While there is a likely correlation between the two, the grouping of impacts for this assessment was based on International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), Social Impact Assessment Principles (Vanclay 2003) and Social Impact Assessment: Guidance for assessing and managing the social impacts of projects (Vanclay et al. 2015) which consider social impacts as those on people’s lives, lifestyles and livelihoods. This informed the grouping of impacts as follows:
• population and communities • economies • employment and education • health and wellbeing • services and infrastructure • natural resources and the environment • culture and way of life • human rights.
The scoping phase was followed by a literature review of the history and social context of the region, its peoples and institutions, then a compilation of baseline socioeconomic data to provide an initial characterisation of the area under study. This baseline data was tested in more detailed research and interviews that provided local context and people’s perspectives of potential impacts and community aspirations and expectations.
The assessment component of the ESIA analyses each of the identified risks and opportunities and draws on research and feedback from interviews to outline relevant change that has already occurred, describe predicted change, analyse and predict how this translates to socioeconomic impacts and discuss ways of avoiding or managing negative impacts and optimising beneficial impacts.
Finally, an Economic and Social Impact Management Plan (ESIMP) summarises the socioeconomic findings and residual risk ratings, outlines measures to enhance beneficial impacts and avoid, mitigate or manage negative impacts. It establishes quantitative and qualitative indicators to provide ongoing measurement and reporting. This ESIMP outlines recommended management plans and policies and gives a list of commitments for which Verdant Resources will be accountable to both regulators and communities.
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Fig 3-1: Outline of methodology
•Scope area of study, people, communities, likely issues and temporal and spatial factors Scope •Prepare consultation plan and materials
•Literature review •Profile communities under study, including social context, history, economies, institutions, peoples, land uses Profile
•Risk and opportunity assessment to determine triggers of change, change pathways and likely significance of potential impacts and opportunities •Determine key indicators and sources of data •Gather baseline data, with a focus on key risk and opportunities areas or areas of uncertainty or sensitivity Baseline •Conduct interviews to gather qualitative insights from the perspective of communities and people
•Draw on quantitative and qualitative data from baseline studies, interviews and desk research to analyse and predict Assess impacts and how they might be avoided, managed and measured
•Economic Social Impact Management Plan, including summary of key residual risk and opportunity ratings •Outline of ongoing monitoring and reporting mechanisms, including ongoing communication and community input. Manage
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3.2 Issues identification The scoping phase identified the following potential issues for the project, which informed both risk and opportunity assessment as well as a consultation and communication strategy. Note that many of these may not be actual issues, particularly with mitigation measures in place:
• opportunities for jobs and training, including directly on the project, land management, administration and throughout the supply chain; • opportunities for local businesses, including Aboriginal enterprises; • potential changes to the quality and availability of bore water and the amount to be used for the project impacting on community and pastoral needs; • indirect impacts on community cohesion and resilience from higher disposable incomes, distribution of royalties and any conflict over aspects of the project (including who gets benefits); • impact on sacred sites or cultural sites of significance in the project footprint, including mining, associated facilities and transport corridors (includes impacts on cultural obligations, spiritual connections and access for traditional activities such as hunting and bush foods); • road safety issues arising from the construction and operational traffic sharing local roads such as the Murray Downs Road and the Sandover Highway, and sealed roads to Ali Curung and the Stuart Highway, including risks to pedestrians; • impacts on pastoral productivity, landcare and amenity, including disruption to cattle grazing, mustering, water, noise, dust, weeds, erosion and loss of staff to the project; • potential benefits to stations, communities and homelands from regional economic development and improved infrastructure, such as roads, bore water, telecommunications; • implications for government services (positive and negative), in particular public housing, education, health and transport; • increased demand for police services arising from interactions between workers and the local community (the company doesn’t expect there to be any) and any increase in crime and antisocial behaviour, including thefts, vandalism and petrol-sniffing; • implications for municipal services through any increases in population or loss of workers to the project; • the capacity of local emergency services to respond to increased road trauma, chemical spills or bushfires; • changes to local social infrastructure, community safety and wellbeing and other economic sectors from external workers; • potential impacts on tourism, such as pressure on local flights and accommodation; • inappropriate behaviour on days off (workers will not spend days off in the local area), and from the presence of a workers’ accommodation village such as interaction with nearby communities;
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• concerns about the impacts of mining, such as waste management, tailings and use of groundwater; • cumulative impacts from other resource or agricultural projects in the region.
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4. Consultation and communication
Consultation is an important element in gaining qualitative insights and inputs to the project’s Economic and Social Impact Assessment and providing longer-term guidance to the company’s community relations and social performance.
Consultation for this project was guided by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Core Values and included broad community consultation as well as interviews specifically for this ESIA. IAP2 Core Values for the practice of public 4.1 Requirement to Consult participation Section 7.3 of the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Ammaroo Project issued by 1. The public should have a say in decisions about actions that could affect their lives. the Northern Territory Environment 2. Public participation includes the promise that Protection Authority (NTEPA) in the public’s contribution will influence the December 2014 includes requirements decision. to: 3. Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognising and communicating • report on consultation for the the needs and interests of all participants, project including decision makers. • who was consulted 4. Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or • any documented responses to interested in a decision. stakeholders as a result of 5. Public participation seeks input from consultation participants in designing how they participate. • proposed consultation about 6. Public participation provides participants with project impacts the information they need to participate in a • identification of affected meaningful way. 7. Public participation communicates to parties and communities and participants how their input affected the description of their views decision. • inform the public about the project and document how International Association for Public Participation public concerns were identified (www.iap2.org.au) • show how these concerns will influence the design and Fig 4-1: IAP2 Core Values delivery of the project.
Consultation was conducted mainly in March and May of 2017, with some additional meetings in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs at the end of June and several interviews by phone. Several key meetings were cancelled, which was beyond the control of the consultant. For example, a proposed ‘on country’ meeting with native title holders was deferred and a planned presentation to the Barkly
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Regional Council was deferred at short notice. A presentation to the Ampilatwajta Local Authority did not proceed due to a last-minute community meeting but Verdant and the consultant continued with community meetings in Ampilatwatja and Arlparra and spoke to many groups and individuals. A Regional Economic Development Committee (REDC) meeting in Tennant Creek was moved, however the consultant spoke to several individual business members and submitted a list of questions that the REDC responded to.
A full report of stakeholders spoken to, issues raised, and where these are addressed in the ESIA is contained in the Community Consultation report at Appendix F.
4.2 Structure of this report Section 1 of this report is the executive summary. Section 2 provided a brief project description. Section 3 covers ESIA methodology. Section 4 covers consultation methodology. Sections 5 onwards categorises socioeconomic impacts, with each section covering first a description of the existing socioeconomic environment then analysis and prediction of likely positive and negative impacts on:
• communities and demography • economic • employment and education • health, wellbeing and safety • services and infrastructure • natural resources and the environment • culture and way of life • human rights.
Each section concludes with a summary of suggested mitigation and management strategies that are developed in greater detail in the ESIMP.
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5. People and communities 5.1 Overview The first part of this section provides an outline of the Barkly and Sandover regions, its recent history, and key communities and pastoral stations and institutions in the project’s area of influence. It then covers key demographic features and baseline data for the local communities and region. Section 5.12 then provides an assessment and prediction of likely change from the project and consequent socioeconomic impacts.
5.2 Key events or activities Key events or activities creating change processes that may lead to positive or negative impacts to communities:
• mobilisation of workforce creating changes to demographic composition (likely to include an in-migration of mostly young, male workers) • potential return of local people to work on the project, perhaps taking up accommodation or expecting to live with family • native title agreements and distribution of benefits (perhaps creating expectations or tensions) • announcements or rumours about the project (perhaps causing rumours, tension or anxiety).
5.3 Key risks and opportunities Table 5-1: Summary of potential positive and negative impacts for people and communities Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Improved community vitality in towns such Reduced community cohesion and resilience due to as Tennant Creek due to increased changed demographic composition, tensions over population and spending. who gets benefits, rumours about the project and any increase in crime and antisocial behaviour.
Local people working on rosters with the project and away from home, reducing community and emergency volunteers and participation in sporting activities.
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5.4 The project area The Ammaroo project lies in the Georgina Basin or Sandover River region on a dry, rocky plain surrounded by creeks running from the Davenport Ranges to the North and the Bundey and Sandover Rivers in the south that have supported Alyawarre and Kaytetye people for thousands of years. Together with the surrounding Barkly and Sandover Regions, this is remote, arid and sparsely populated country, characterised by many small Aboriginal communities and homelands and large pastoral leases. The local area under study includes the Alyawarre communities of Ampilatwatja, near Honeymoon Bore, and Arlparra, service centre for the Utopia Homelands. These are serviced by local Aboriginal corporations and directly or through outreach services of the Alice Springs and Tennant Creek regional offices of the Australian and Northern Territory Governments, Barkly Regional Council and non-government organisations. Ali Curung is on Kaytetye land off the Stuart Highway.
Access from Tennant Creek is 77 kilometres (km) via the Stuart Highway, 21 km of the sealed Kinurra Road to Ali Curung, then along the unsealed Murray Downs Road through Ammaroo to Ampilatwatja and the Sandover Highway. Access from the south is off the Stuart Highway, with a turn-off 68 km north of Alice Springs, 27 km along the sealed Plenty Highway, crossing the AustralAsia Railway then taking the unsealed Sandover Highway another 216 km to Ammaroo Homestead. The Sandover passes by Arlparra, 64 km before Ammaroo Homestead and the turn-off to Ampilatwatja, which is 8 km up the Murray Downs Road. About 16 km past Ampilatwatja, the road forks, going to Elkedra homestead on the Elkedra River 62 km to the north-east and to Murray Downs Station, about 130 km to the north-west. The Ammaroo project is off the Murray Downs Road, about 25 km north of Ampilatwatja.
The Barkly region’s key economic activity, apart from government administration, is the pastoral industry with some of the Northern Territory’s largest and most productive cattle stations operating on the Barkly Tablelands between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa, just across the border in Queensland. Early pastoral settlement (see below) was followed by the gold rush days of the 1930s, which brought a wave of European settlement to the Overland Telegraph town of Tennant Creek.
More recently the Barkly has emerged as a potential horticultural province and attracted the keen interest of overseas investors in an area still challenged by tenuous logistics routes, labour shortages and climatic extremes. While the Sandover River Basin was not part of gold rushes to the north (around Tennant Creek) and south (Arltunga), there was a history of wolfram mining and a small settlement at Hatches Creek and mica mining near Harts Range. Recent years have seen exploration by companies looking for phosphate, uranium and oil and gas.
See Fig. 5-1 for detail of the area under study.
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Fig 5-1: Map showing key communities in the area under study: Source GH
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5.5 Impacts of colonial settlement on Alyawarre and Warumungu people Compared with other groups on the Barkly Tablelands, contact with white settlers came late to the Alyawarre people, whose ground was separated from the prime grasslands of the Barkly Tablelands by the Wakaya desert and from John McDouall Stuart’s journeys in the 1860s and the advancing Overland Telegraph Line in the 1870s by the Davenport Ranges. The traditional country of the Alyawarre centred on what are now Ammaroo and Elkedra stations:
“Centred on the middle and upper reaches of the Sandover River, with its tributaries the Bundy River and Ooratippra Creek, the traditional country of the Alyawarre encompassed entirely what are now Ammaroo and Elkedra stations. Its northern boundary extended to the southern Davenport Ranges, notably Hatches Creek and the Upper Frew River. The eastern boundary took in most of what is today Argadargada station, the southern reached into McDonald Downs and the western extended to Utopia” (Lyon & Parsons, 1989, p 8).
The harbinger of European settlement was surveyor Charles Winnecke, who travelled along the Bundey River in 1878. European occupation of the Sandover region followed in the early 1880s in the southern Davenport Ranges, then on the Elkedra and Bundey Rivers. Most of these fledgling settlements were abandoned by 1895 because of drought and conflict with Aboriginal inhabitants over access to waterholes and spearing of cattle. So, while groups to the west and east were displaced by settlers from Queensland and Southern Australia seeking grazing land and permanent water, the Alyawarre continued to hunt and forage on their country, enjoying a rich ceremonial life until the early 1920s (Lyon & Parsons, 1989). People ate rabbits, bush honey, goannas, grass and acacia seeds, living around creeks and soakages (Moore, 2005).
The next wave of settlement followed attempts by the South Australian Government about 1910 to establish cattle stations on Alyawarre land in order to bring white settlers and development to Central Australia. Leases around Ampilatwatja, including Elkedra, Frew River, Huckitta and Ammaroo, was taken up in the 1920s. However, the arrival of these settlers seeking grazing land led to ‘dispersal’ (the euphemism of the time for mass killings) and disruption. According to Lyon and Parsons (1989), the Alyawarre recall this as “the cowboy time” or “wild time”: a period when Aboriginal people were randomly shot at or treated cruelly by pastoralists. In the 1920s many Alyawarre fled ‘cheeky white men’ (Lyon & Parsons, p. 17) and moved across Wakaya country to Lake Nash near the Queensland, where settlers from Queensland in the 1880s had pushed Bularnu people from their traditional country near the Georgina River west into Queensland.
In 1921 a Mr CO Chalmers, his wife Cora and four young children set out to drive sheep from New South Wales to the Northern Territory, taking up MacDonald Downs in 1924 (Powell, 2016). He was described by Alyawarre people as a “good man” who “gave rations to everyone” (Moore, 2005) and MacDonald Downs became a safe refuge for many Alyawarre people fleeing harsher treatment on surrounding properties (Powell, 2016). Derry Downs was taken up in in 1926 by Jack Weir, who married Jean Chalmers from MacDonald Downs in 1937. Jack died in 1946 and the property was
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taken over first by his wife Jean then in 1960 by his son David, who took up Ammaroo in 1986 (personal communication).
Most Sandover properties changed hands many times, with the Driver family taking up Elkedra in 1948. Land on what is now described as the Utopia homelands was settled later, with a pastoral lease taken up in 1940 by the Chalmers family (Barkly Regional Council; Lyon & Parsons, 1989; Moyle, 1986). By the 1950s, most of the Alyawarre land along the Sandover River had been taken by as pastoral leases.
In the early days of settlement, Aboriginal people worked as stockmen, drovers, butchers and gardeners across the Barkly, while women did domestic work in the station homesteads. Payments were generally in the form of rations such as tea, sugar, flour and blankets, and conditions were poor (Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, n.d.). In the mid-1960s, the Pastoral Award and advent of equal wages saw ‘walk offs’ by many Aboriginal stockmen, including Alyawarre people like Banjo Morton at Lake Nash. Many moved from pastoral work to welfare, living in fringe camps or excisions on pastoral properties before the era of land rights saw many Alyawarre returning to their country in the west.
Tennant Creek is the traditional land of the Warumungu people, whose lives were disrupted by settlers from the south following in the footsteps of explorer John McDouall Stuart. Stuart led six expeditions to the interior between 1858 and 1862 in his ultimately successful bid to cross the continent to Chambers Bay on the Australian north coast. The Warumungu people clashed with Stuart’s party at Attack Creek in 1860 (Bailey, 2007).
Stuart’s journey paved the way for well-diggers and teamsters in 1871 to support construction of the Overseas Telegraph Line at Tennant Creek. This began a period of conflict between telegraph staff and Aboriginal groups, culminating in a Kaytetye attack on Barrow Creek Telegraph Station that killed two people. The ensuing punitive expedition led to the indiscriminate killing of Warumungu, Kaytetye, Anmatyerre, Alyawarre and Warlpiri people (Alford, 2006)
As land was taken up around Tennant Creek, the Warumungu were moved to make way for pastoralism and mining. They lived on reserves and town camps that often lacked water and traditional hunting grounds.
In 1973, Justice Woodward’s Aboriginal Lands Rights Commission issued the first of its findings on the recognition of Aboriginal rights to land, which ultimately led to the establishment of the Native Title Act, Aboriginal Land Commissioner, and native title representative bodies such as the Central Land Council. The Alyawarre made claims for a living area on Lake Nash and to areas on their traditional country, such as Honeymoon Bore on Ammaroo Station (Lyon & Parsons 1989), claims which were opposed by the Northern Territory Government and pastoralists. A settlement was established in 1984 at what is now known as Alpurrurulam on Lake Nash. In October 2014, Alyawarre and Kaytetye claimants won Native Title to traditional lands in the Sandover region, including Ampilatwatja.
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The Warumungu Land Claim to the land in and around Tennant Creek was lodged by the Central Land Council in 1978 and not resolved until 1994.
5.6 Pastoral history Pastoral expansion into the Barkly began from Queensland with a journey by explorer Williams Landsborough searching for the ill-fated Burke and Wills in 1861. He described the Tablelands as having nutritious Flinders and Mitchell grass, suitable for sheep, but limited by a scarcity of natural water. A wave of sheep farmers in the 1860s was forced off the land around Lake Nash by drought, floods and isolation from markets. Movement into the Barkly resumed in the 1880s when the South Australian Government auctioned leases along the Georgina and around the new town of Camooweal (Lyon & Parsons, 1989).
Southern settlers followed John McDouall Stuart’s 1862 epic journey from Adelaide to Chambers Bay on the north coast of the Territory. Settlement gathered pace after South Australia granted pastoral leases under the NT Lands Act 1872, allowing people to apply for land outside settled areas, often sight unseen. The first pastoral property near Tennant Creek was Banka Banka, established by Tom Nugent in 1885 (Alford, 2006).
In 1888 wealthy South Australian pastoralist JM Angas sent 1800 cattle to stock Frew River and Elkedra, while the Barrow Creek Pastoral company formed Murray Downs, later bought out by Angas. The stations were abandoned in the 1880s due to spearing of cattle, drought and depression. As described above, the next wave of pastoral settlement in the Sandover began in the 1920s, with the industry struggling due to low prices, high costs, stock diseases and drought (Powell, 2016).
Water bores sunk in the 1920s opened up new stock routes and pastoral properties in the Barkly and Central Australia. The extension of a railway to Alice Springs in 1929 reduced the need to drove cattle to the former railhead of Oodnadatta in northern South Australia. As a result of the military presence in the Northern Territory during World War II (1939 to 1945), new bitumen roads opened up pastoral properties and provided access to railheads at Mount Isa and Alice Springs.
The pastoral industry is now thriving across the Barkly and Sandover regions and is a major contributor to the local economy and employment, supplying both domestic and export markets. Pastoralists in the Sandover have strong connections to their properties, with generations of families living and working in the region and a cohesive pastoral industry, although this is starting to change as international investors purchase Central Australia properties (for example nearby stations such as Murray Downs, Epenarra, Kurundi and Singleton).
5.7 Mining in the region Along with the lure of grazing land came the allure of precious metals, such as gold and garnets. The first gold rush at Arltunga in Central Australia in 1888 was followed by exploration around the Granites (in the Tanami) and Tennant Creek in the 1930s (Alford, 2006), with a number of high- grade but generally short-lived gold and copper mines creating a flourishing town. Peko Mines was
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established in 1949. Tennant Creek’s population reached 700 three years later (Tuxworth, 1978). The Warrego gold mine operated from the late 1950s to 1975, with processing continuing until 1989.
A number of small mines have operated in the Sandover Region, such as the historic Hatches Creek Mine in the Davenport Ranges, where wolfram leases were taken out in 1913. Mining at Hatches Creek declined until just before World War II when wolfram was needed to produce ammunition. Indentured Chinese labourers evacuated from Nauru helped work mines at Hatches Creek and Wauchope. The Pioneer mine at Hatches Creek operated until 1970 (NT Police Museum & Historical Society, n.d.).
Today’s operating mines are relatively small: Bootu Creek manganese mine to the north of Tennant Creek and Emmerson’s recently reopened Edna Beryl gold mine. However the region remains a significant mining province with several explorers reporting promising finds of gold, copper, bismuth and silver (Northern Territory Government, 2017). The Northern Territory Government’s vision is that Tennant Creek will become a mining services hub, with plans to unlock the potential of some of the smaller gold deposits with a shared processing plant. Immediate attention is focussed on the construction by Jemena on the Northern Gas Pipeline between the Amadeus gas pipeline and Mount Isa, due for completion in 2018, and a feasibility study for a potential railway link from Tennant Creek to Mount Isa.
5.8 Key communities The following table profiles Aboriginal communities near the Ammaroo Project, including Ampilatwatja, Arlparra/Utopia Homelands and Ali Curung. Note that 2016 demographic figures are not available for Indigenous locations (ILOCs).
Table 5-2: Demographic profile summary of key communities, 2011
ABS Indigenous Indigenous Non-Indigenous Not stated2 Age profile3 Locations (ILOC)1 Total Male Female Male Female Male Female 0-14 15-64 65+
Ampilatwatja and 192 180 12 15 4 3 406 34% 61% 5% Outstations 224 262 28 19 0 3 536 33% 62% 5% Ali Curung
42 47 3 3 0 0 95 40% 55% 5% Imangara
Utopia - Arawerr - 225 256 16 10 6 4 517 32% 64% 4% Arlparra 2,224 2,250 1,168 919 0 0 6,561 26% 68% 6% Barkly (2011)5
2,342 2,359 1,212 980 0 0 6,893 26% 66% 8% Barkly (2016)
231,00 Northern Territory 34,000 34,000 87,000 75,000 0 0 23% 72% 6% 0 (2011)6
Northern Territory 37,000 37,000 96,000 84,000 0 0 253 22% 70% 7% (2016)6
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0.3M 0.3M 10.8M 10.9M 0.0 0.0 22.3 19% 67% 14% Australia (2011)7
0.4M 0.4M 11.7M 11.8M 0.0 0.0 24.2 19% 66% 15% Australia (2016)7
Notes: (1) Indigenous Locations (ILOC) are aggregates of one or more SA1s (Statistical Area Level 1). ILOCs generally represent small Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with a minimum population of 90 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander usual residents. An ILOC is an area designed to allow the production of census statistics relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a high level of spatial accuracy while maintaining the confidentiality of individuals. For the 2011 Census, 1116 ILOCs have been defined to cover the whole of geographic Australia. (2) ‘Indigenous status not stated’. (3) ‘Working age’ is typically defined as between 15-64 years of age (inclusive). (5) Numbers for the Barkly region refers to the Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) Barkly region. 2011 figures have been revised by NTG while 2016 figures are estimated figures by the NTG. Note that most of the communities covered above are not in the Barkly SA3 but the Alice Springs Sandover SA3, however the Barkly (which includes Tennant Creek) is used as a point of reference. (6) Northern Territory numbers have been rounded to the nearest thousand (‘000). 2011 figures have been revised by NTG while 2016 figures are estimated figures by the NTG. (7) Australia numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand and quoted in millions (‘000,000). 2011 figures have been revised by NTG while 2016 figures are estimated figures by the NTG.
Source: ABS, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c; NTG 2014; GHD Analysis. 5.8.1 Ampilatwatja Ampilatwatja and its homelands are just off the Sandover Highway, about 25 km south-east of the Ammaroo Project. The community had a population of 406 in the 2011 Census and is in the heart of Alyawarre, or Aherrenge country. Traditionally, Alyawarre people would travel between soaks across their country and had close ties to people living at Alpurrurulam, on the Georgina River. From the 1920s, many Alyawarre people travelled to Lake Nash to flee white settlers on their country and to collect rations of food and tobacco, gradually settling and working in a settlement on the pastoral lease (Lyon & Parsons, 1989, Moore, 2005). Senior Alyawarre man Banjo Morton was one of the Aboriginal stockmen who led a walk off from Lake Nash cattle station in 1949, seeking wages. In 2010, Mr Morton was one of a group of Alyawarre people, including Richard Downs, who ‘walked off’ Ampilatwatja to Honeymoon Bore (Mbulatwaty), three kilometres away, in protest at overcrowded conditions in the community and the Australian Government’s Intervention (Murdoch, 2010).
Ammaroo Station became a gathering place for Alyawarre people in the 1960s and 70s, where many returned to work as drovers and fencers. In 1976, Alyawarre families were granted a small plot of land at Honeymoon Bore, about 10 km from the station homestead. In the 1990s, the Alyawarre families were granted a small excision on the pastoral lease which allowed them to continue their life on the land. After Utopia was returned to traditional ownership in the 1990s, the Alyawarre people of Ampilatwatja made a claim for their traditional homelands. In 2014, the Alyawarre and Kaytetye people, won non-exclusive title under the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993 to land on the Ammaroo, Derry Downs, Elkedra and Murray Downs pastoral leases, covering 19 estate areas (Federal Court of Australia 2014, Barkly Regional Council website).
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“We never moved from this country. This is our father’s father’s country. We can’t leave it.” Mr Banjo Morton (Barkly Regional Council).
The prescribed body corporate under the Native Title Act is the Kaytetye Alyawarr Awenyerraperte Ingkerr-wenh Aboriginal Corporation (Federal Court of Australia, 2014). Director of the Central Land Council David Ross said after the 2014 ruling that traditional owners filed their application in 2001 in response to mining and horticultural development in the region as they “wanted to ensure they would be able to continue to protect their sacred sites and to have a say over exploration and development on their traditional country” (Central Land Council, 2014).
An Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) was also signed between the Northern Territory Government and Central Land Council in October 2014 covering 193 square kilometres. The Alyawarre traditional owners relinquished native title rights to a former stock route and reserve, which were incorporated into the Ammaroo lease.
The three main outstations are Irrultja (60 km away), Atnwengerrp (40 km away) and Welere (Derry Downs) (Remote Area Health Corps, 2009), with considerable mobility between Ampilatwatja, Arlparra and other outstations.
5.8.2 Arlparra/Utopia Arlparra, on the Utopia homelands, is a service centre to an estimated 483 (2011 Census) Alyawarre and Eastern Anmatjere people. It is about 260 km from Alice Springs and 234 km south-east of Tennant Creek on the southern side of the Sandover Highway.
At 94 km from the project, the Utopia Homelands are a potential source of workers. There is mobility between communities and the high school at Arlparra is keen to work with Verdant Resources to create pathways between education and jobs.
Utopia Station was named by German settlers in the 1920s and was a pastoral lease taken up by the Chalmers family about 1940. Many Alyawarre and Anmatjere people worked on the pastoral lease and lived close to the main homestead area, now known as Three Bores Homeland. The homelands movement began in the late 1960s and gained momentum through the 1970s and 80s when small groups – often families or other closely related people – moved onto their traditional land. This allowed them to gather traditional foods and be close to sacred sites, burial places and dreaming trails (Barkly Regional Council). In 1976, the Aboriginal Land Fund purchased the station lease, amalgamating Utopia Station and a tract of unalienated Crown land to the North, which became known as the Angarapa Aboriginal Land Trust. In 1979 the Alyawarre and Eastern Anmatjere people gained legal title to the leasehold and many families moved back. As of 2014, it was estimated that 1200 people were living on or affiliated with 18 homelands (Grey-Gardner & Young, 2014; Department of Education), although Urapuntja Corporation estimates about 600 in 2017 (interview).
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Urapuntja Council Aboriginal Corporation is the administrative body providing services to people on the Angarapa and Alyawarre Land Trusts, covering 16 outstations over more than 3000 square kilometres. The Corporation was established in 2008, after the Urapuntja Community Government Council (established in 1981) was subsumed into Barkly Regional Council as a result of local government reforms.
Many senior people on the Homelands want to be independent of Barkly Regional Council. The UAC’s administrator, Michael Gravener, has developed a business plan and strategic plan to take control of municipal and other services, such as Centrelink and post office services, and set up commercial enterprises to create greater financial independence.
There has been substantial Government expenditure on the Homelands in recent years, including a $10 million new police station, sealed airstrip, high school and a sealed 17 km road to the clinic. Current plans include $2 million to upgrade the 40-year old clinic and 12 new houses in Arlparra.
5.8.3 Ali Curung Ali Curung (or Alekerenge) in 2011 had an estimated population of 537. It is 151 km south of Tennant Creek by sealed road and 95 km north-west of the Ammaroo project. The community is on Kaytetye country (Alekerenge being a Kaytetye word meaning ‘country of the dogs’). Known as Warrabri until 1978, Aboriginal people were moved to the government-run settlement in 1956 from the Phillip Creek Native Settlement (including Warlpiri people who had fled their country after the 1928 Coniston massacre), along with Kaytetye people from Barrow Creek, Warlpiri people from Bullocky Creek and Alyawarre people from Murray Downs and Hatches Creek (Barkly Regional Council). The Australian Baptist Home Mission provided welfare services from 1957.
Kaytetye Native Title for the Warrabri Reserve, an area excised from Murray Downs Station, was recognised in 1978, when the community came under the Aboriginal Land Trust and became known as Ali Curung (or Alekerenge).
5.8.4 Imangara (Murray Downs) Imangara is a small community living area on an excision of Murray Downs Station. With a Alyawarre population of about 50, it is 205 km south of Tennant Creek. The community has a school and accesses the store on Murray Downs Station. It is part of the Barkly School Group, with several students boarding in Tennant Creek (as of mid-2017).
5.8.5 Wutunugurra (Epenarra) Wutunugurra is a community living area of 99 hectares excised from the Epenarra pastoral lease in the early 1980s. On the north-eastern edge of the Davenport Ranges, about 206 km south-east of Tennant Creek, it is named after a large waterhole next to the Epenarra homestead, two km away. It is included in this study because the population of 230 is mostly Alyawarre people who may be interested in jobs on the project.
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5.8.6 Imperrenth (Elkedra) Outstation About 70 km from Ali Curung off the Ammaroo Road, Imperrenth (also known as the Dinnie Excision) is a family outstation between Imangara and Ampilatwatja and relatively close to the project.
5.8.7 Tara (Neutral Junction) About 230 km south of Tennant Creek, 10 km off the Stuart Highway and two km past the Neutral Junction homestead, Tara has about 50 residents with an estimated 16 enrolments in the local school and two teachers. It is the closest community to the proposed railway siding for the project.
5.8.8. Other homelands Other smaller homelands and family outstations are Irrmarne, Indaringinya, Ngkwarlerlanem, Inkawenyerre, Atnwengerrp, Amengernterneah, Iylentye, Artekerr, Illeuwurru and Inkwelaya (Remote Area Health Corps, 2009).
5.8.9 Tennant Creek Tennant Creek is a likely key service centre for the project. The Territory’s fifth largest town is about 1000 km south of Darwin and 508 km north of Alice Springs. The Barkly town had a population of 3636 as at June 2016 (Department of Treasury and Finance, 2016) up slightly from 3619 in 2011 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012a). An estimated 52% of Tennant Creek residents in 2011 were Aboriginal (ABS, 2012a) (see demography section below for more detail), with reports of considerable mobility of Alyawarre people between communities and homelands in the Sandover and Barkly (interviews).
Tennant Creek is on Warumungu country, or land of the Patta estate group, and is the home of the spiky tailed goanna. The story of the Warumungu is told at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Cultural Centre in the main street.
As outlined above, the region is a key target for economic growth by the Northern Territory Government. In February, the Northern Territory Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR, 2017) released two reports identifying soils suitable for irrigated agriculture on 90,000 hectares of pastoral and Aboriginal land in the Tennant Creek and Ali Curung areas of the Western Davenport Ranges. The Northern Territory Government also flagged that it would be going out to consultation in March 2017 on a draft Western Davenport water allocation plan.
In a speech in February 2017 on the Government’s plans for the year ahead, Chief Minister Michael Gunner said his government’s priorities for Tennant Creek were (Gunner, 2017):
• working with Geoscience Australia to map a 550kmn seismic line for opportunities underground; • making all exploration records since 1901 public and easily accessible;
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• investing in the Northern Gas Pipeline, which will create more than 900 jobs during construction phase • revitalising the town with an up-scaled gallery as part of the Indigenous arts trail from Alice to Darwin.
Tennant Creek is also on the doorstep of many tourist attractions, including the old telegraph station, 11 km north of the town, the Battery Hill Mining Centre, Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles) 114 km south of the town and Kinjarra (The Pebbles), an outcrop of granite boulders north of the town as well as four-wheel drive tracks through the Davenport Ranges.
5.8.10 Ti Tree Ti Tree is a service town of about 143 people, 100 km south of Barrow Creek on Anmatjere country. It has a school, health clinic, roadhouse and other stores. Despite its relative proximity and size, it is probably outside the project’s area of influence, which is more likely to draw labour and supplies from Tennant Creek to the north.
5.8.11 Barrow Creek Barrow Creek is known mainly for its hotel and is 284 km north of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway. Named after the South Australian Treasurer John Henry Barrow by John McDouall Stuart in 1860, it was also the site of an Overland Telegraph station due to the presence of water. In 1874, two years after opening, two telegraph staff were killed in an attack by Aboriginal people, followed by reprisals at Skull Creek. The pub was built in 1926 by Joe Kilgariff.
5.8.12 Wycliffe Well Wycliffe Well is a hotel and roadhouse on the Stuart Highway, about 17 km north of the turn- off to Ali Curung and the closest source of takeaway alcohol for communities such as Ali Curung. Police report issues with drink-driving from Wycliffe Well and Wauchope and occasional problems with residents buying alcohol and ‘sneaking’ it back to Ali Curung, which is the target of frequent police operations.
5.8.13 Wauchope The Devils Marbles Hotel, previously called the Wauchope Hotel, provides tourist accommodation and includes a licensed takeaway. The hotel is 18 km north of Wycliffe Well on the Stuart Highway, half-way between Tennant Creek and Barrow Creek.
5.8.14 Mount Isa Mount Isa is outside the project footprint but may well be a source of labour, services and supplies depending on the success of Verdant’s local procurement and recruitment efforts. In mid-2017 Jemena started construction of the Northern Gas Pipeline between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa and is drawing on, and potentially building, the capacities of both towns.
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Mount Isa has a larger population and, given its long history as a mining town, would appear to have a larger pool of potential workers with experience of working in the mining and construction industries.
The Mount Isa Region covers an area of 43,310 square kilometres and has a population of about 22,717 (ABS, 2014). Located on the Barkly Highway, Mount Isa is the administrative, commercial and industrial centre for Queensland’s north-west region, with a population of 22,717 (ABS, 2014). According to the 2011 Census (ABS, 2012), about 15% of the population is Aboriginal and the town has a higher proportion of working age residents (aged 20 to 64), who comprise 63% of the population.
5.8.15 Alice Springs Alice Springs is a key regional service centre for Central Australia and the Sandover Region and headquarters for many Central Region government departments, Aboriginal organisations and non-government organisations. The population of the Alice Springs Local Government Area was 25,186 in 2011 and 28,667 in 2014. The proportion of Aboriginal residents in 2011 was 18.6%. Alice Springs is likely to be a key source of labour, services and supplies and potentially a transit point for fly-in, fly-out workers.
5.9 Key pastoral properties (Information compiled from a range of web sources and personal communication.)
5.9.1 Ammaroo Station The mine site is on Ammaroo Station, run by the Weir family, whose homestead is about 45 km from the project. The Weirs run about 25,000 head of cattle on five properties, including Santa Gertrudis for export to Vietnam and Indonesia and domestic markets to the east and south. Ammaroo and Derry Downs are breeding properties and Arapunya, Old MacDonald and Dneiper are for fattening steers. The family bought the station in 1986 the properties are run by David Weir’s son Stewart and his wife Anna.
5.9.2 Murray Downs Station The 5604 square kilometre Murray Downs Station will be traversed by the project’s infrastructure and services corridor.
From 1881 Murray Downs was held by the Musgrave Range and Northern Territory Pastoral Land Company, then was taken over by the Barrow Creek Pastoral Company in 1885. It was stocked as an outstation of Stirling Station and over the years passed through several hands. In 1956 part of the station was excised to establish the government community of Warrabri (now Ali Curung). In 1979, Murray Downs was purchased by Terry Leigh and George Summers. Ownership passed into the hands of the Leigh family in 1985. In 2015 Filipino developer Mr Romeo Roxas bought both Murray Downs and Epenarra Stations from the Leigh family. Mr Roxas’s company, Australian Green Properties, has large agricultural holdings interstate.
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The property runs between 30,000 and 50,000 head of cattle for export markets. Mr Roxas plans to diversify production to include pasture for animals, such as goats, donkeys, horses, pigs and free range chickens as well as horticultural development, including mangos and citrus. The station is also considering tourism development.
5.9.3. Elkedra Station Elkedra, owned since the 1940s by the Driver family, is next to the Erlpunda Waterhole, first recorded by Surveyor AH Stokes in 1916. The station homestead is accessed via the Murray Downs Road. The family also owns the neighbouring Annitowa Station.
Elkedra runs about 15,000 head of Santa Gertrudis and Droughtmaster cattle, which are sent to markets in Queensland and for export via the Murray Downs Road to either the Stuart Highway or the Barkly. Access for service and supplies is either the Sandover, from Alice Springs, or the Murray Downs Road.
Verdant has exploration tenements on Elkedra which has implications for future stages of the project. The station would also be affected by traffic on the Murray Downs Road.
5.9.4 Neutral Junction Station The proposed railway spur line will cross the south-east corner of Neutral Junction, which is owned by the Frith family, who run about 10,000 head of Droughtmaster cattle. The station is managed by John and Angela Frith and has about nine staff covering pastoral and horticultural activities.
Neutral Junction recently won approval to develop 90 hectares for cropping, with plans to grow digit and Rhodes grass for hay. Station owner Charlie Frith was granted a licence in February 2016 to use 1200 ML of water each year until 2019 under changes to the Pastoral Act that allow for non-pastoral use of properties (Coates, 2016). This development is on a north- west corner of the property on the western side of the Stuart Highway, well away from the Ammaroo Project.
Singleton Station, to the north of Neutral Junction, was recently bought by Chinese investors who are also planning a major horticultural investment (details are not yet public).
As well as the diversification of activities into horticulture, another emerging pastoral trend in Central Australia is the move to organic certification, which requires the chemical-free production of cattle and crops.
5.9.5 Ooratippra Station Ooratippra was taken up by the Hall family in 1948 (Powell, 2016). Regarded as a central part of Alyawarre country, the station was bought by the Indigenous Land Corporation in May 1999 after years of lobbying by native title holders, who wanted title and the ability to run their own cattle business on their own land (Central Land Council, 2011). A native title consent
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determination for exclusive possession of the lease was handed down by the Federal Court in 2011.
The 4292-square kilometre station is now owned by the Ooratippra Aboriginal Corporation, whose members are Alyawarre people from Alpurrurulam and Ampilatwatja. It includes the Irretety Community Living Area.
The station is leased to Bluegloss, which owns Mistake Creek near the West Australian border. The station runs about 4000 head of cattle and uses the Murray Downs Road to bring steers from Mistake Creek for fattening and to transport cattle out from the Sandover Highway.
The station relies heavily on the Murray Downs Road and Alyawarre people from Ampiltwatja have strong links to this country.
5.10 Governance and institutions 5.10.1 Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a Commonwealth statutory body operating under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 and the native title representative body under the Native Title Act 1993. It covers 780,000 kilometres and 15 language groups in Central Australia and is governed by a 90-member council, with elected members meeting three times a year in bush locations.
The CLC negotiates agreements with mining companies on behalf of traditional owners to “protect interests in Aboriginal land. Agreements, which can be in the form of an Indigenous Land Use Agreement, include compensation payments, employment, training, sacred site protection, environmental protection and cultural awareness” (Central Land Council, 2014). The land council has a policy of encouraging native title holders to invest royalties from mining projects in community development programs and has encouraged the growth of ranger groups, so Aboriginal people can get natural land management jobs on their own country.
5.10.2 Northern Territory Government The project is in the Northern Territory electorate of Namatjira, which extends to the west of Alice Springs, and south of the Barkly electorate, centred on the service town of Tennant Creek.
The Northern Territory’s Labor Government came to power in August 2016 in a landslide victory, including most of the Territory’s bush seats. The focus of the new government is devolving decision-making to local communities and regional economic development including jobs in tourism, horticulture and resource developments.
5.10.3 Barkly Regional Council Barkly Regional Council covers an area of 323,514 square kilometres between Tennant Creek and the Queensland Border. It was created in 2008 as part of an amalgamation of local government areas to form 10 ‘super shires’, making it the second largest local government
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area in Australia after the East Pilbara Shire in Western Australia. It is the same size as the United Kingdom or New Zealand and 42% larger than Victoria. After further local government reforms by the CLP Government, in 2014 it became the Barkly Regional Council.
Barkly Council covers the Sandover communities of Ampilatwatja and Arlparra, as well as diverse population centres such as Elliott, on the Stuart Highway, and the Aboriginal communities of Alpurrurulam and Ali Curung, all of which previously had their own community government or town councils. The council provides municipal services to several urban living areas and outstations and 49 pastoral properties.
Each of the Council’s four wards has a Regional Authority, established as part of reforms to devolve local decision-making. Tennant Creek is represented by the Patta Ward, named after the Aboriginal estate group for Tennant Creek. Ampilatwatja and Arlparra are in Alyawarre Ward.
The Council’s goals cover regional development, community capacity building, quality services and infrastructure, community engagement, community wellbeing and good governance.
Of council’s 231 staff as at 30 June, 2015, 159 - or 68.8% - were Aboriginal, a slight increase from 67.6% the previous financial year. Of these Aboriginal staff, 54 worked in municipal services, 35 in community care, 24 in night patrols, 14 in administration, 15 in sport and recreation, six as night patrol team leader, nine as supervisors and managers and two in animal care (Barkly Regional Council, 2015).
The Barkly Regional Council President is Steve Edgington, who was elected in the August 2017 municipal elections. There are elected members in four wards, including the Alyawarre Ward covering the area under study and the Patta Ward centred on Tennant Creek.
5.10.4 Australian Government The project lies in the Federal seat of Lingiari, which covers most of the Northern Territory except the area around Darwin, or 99.98% of the Territory’s land mass. It has been held by Labor Member of Parliament Warren Snowdon since 1987 (except for a short period between 1996 and 1998).
Key relevant issues for the Australian Government will be the project’s contribution to reducing socioeconomic disadvantage through jobs and training. The Government has introduced programs such as the Remote School Attendance Strategy and an Indigenous Procurement Policy to improve outcomes across Australia, in particular remote communities (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017). Key results from the 2017 Closing the Gap report are covered in the Employment, Education and Health and Wellbeing sections of this report.
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5.11 Demography The region under study covers two ABS statistical regions. The Barkly SA3 (includes Ali Curung) and Alice Springs-Sandover SA3 (see 2.4 for a note on statistical boundaries). A sub-region of the Alice Springs-Sandover SA3 is the Sandover-Plenty SA2 (includes Ampilatwatja and Arlparra).
Table 5.3 - A summary of characteristics (discussed in further detail below): Characteristic 2014 ABS data Sandover-Plenty SA2 Population 4497 local area Median Age 30.1 Aboriginal 87.9% Overseas born 3.1% Language other than English spoken at home 58.4% Barkly SA3 region (from Population 6795 Tennant Creek to Median age 29.7 Queensland border Aboriginal 64.3% Born overseas 13.7% Language other than English spoken at home 35.6% Net regional migration -121 Tennant Creek SA2 Population 3634 (town area) Aboriginal population in 2011 52% Overseas born 20.2% Spoke a language other than English at home 20% Post-school qualifications for those 15+ 58.2% Net regional migration -77
An analysis of ABS data by Yuhun & Taylor (2013) suggests that Tennant Creek grew relatively slowly from 2001 to 2011 (about 15%), although faster than the surrounding Barkly region (5%). Non- Aboriginal residents tend to migrate to and from interstate, while Aboriginal residents move between Darwin and the surrounding region. The overall population churn between 2006 and 2011 was 18.2% intra-Territory and 24.3% interstate (particularly Queensland).
The number of overseas born residents in Tennant Creek had reached 10% by 2011, with an increasing proportion arriving from the Philippines and a slight increase in the proportion of Indian- born migrants. The top sources of overseas migrants living in Tennant Creek in 2011 were, in order, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany and India.
However, this data may not tell the whole story. The author observed a many Asian workers in Tennant Creek. Interviewees explained that, due to labour shortages, many mining, administration and hospitality staff are FIFO workers from other Australian states, partly replacing a previous strong reliance on casual backpacker labour. Although the analysis by Yuhun & Taylor (2013) captures an increase in immigrant residents, the true workforce picture is probably not captured by Census data.
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5.11.1 Aboriginal population The Northern Territory covers one-sixth of Australia but as of June 2015 had only 244,307 people living in an area of 1.35 million square kilometres (Department of Treasury and Finance, 2016). About 30% of residents are Aboriginal, compared with 3% for Australia (ABS, 2012), and 79.7% of Aboriginal Territorians live in remote or very remote areas, compared with 21.3% for other Australian jurisdictions. The Barkly SA3 had a population of 6795 in 2014. In 2011, 64.5% of these residents were Aboriginal (ABS, 2012).
In Tennant Creek, 52% of residents were Aboriginal in 2011, compared with 49% in 2006, the town mainly gaining older people and losing those aged 10-19. It has changed from a predominantly non-Aboriginal mining town over the decades to a town largely providing services to Aboriginal people in Tennant Creek and across the Barkly.
The Aboriginal composition of key communities in the area under study reflects mobility both as a result of colonial settlement and more recent movement back to homelands, as well as inter-marriage between language groups. Ampilatwatja is almost entirely Alyawarre, reflecting continuing connections to country despite mobility between Aherrenge country, Alpurrurulam (see above) and more recently Tennant Creek. The Arlparra/Utopia homelands are a mix of Alyawarre and Eastern Anmatjere, with a predominance of Alyawarre people in the homelands north of the Sandover Highway, while Anmatjere homelands tend to be more to the west. There is also mobility of Alyawarre families between Imangara, Canteen Creek and Epenarra (SIA interviews). Ali Curung and Tennant Creek have more mixed populations. This reflects Ali Curung’s history as a government settlement established on Kaytetye country to resettle displaced groups from a number of language groups, including Warlpiri, Anmatjere, Alyawarre and Kaytetye. Similarly, Tennant Creek is Warumungu country but other dispersed peoples moved to fringe camps and are now part of the town’s population, with continued mobility within the region (Yuhun & Taylor, 2013; SIA interviews).
The following table provides data at a regional level on both Aboriginal languages spoke at home and country of origin for residents born overseas.
Table 5-4: Language group profiles at a local level, based on 2011 Census data on languages other than English spoken at home (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012) % Traditional Predominant language Other groups Aboriginal country group Ampilatwatja 84.7% Alyawarre 89.3% Alyawarre 0.8% Warlpiri 0.8% Anmatjere Utopia- 93.79% Alyawarre, 65.8% Alyawarre 8.1% Anmatjere Arawerr- Eastern 2.9% Kaytetye Arlparra Anmatjere 2.9% Eastern Arrernte 2.3% Arrernte Ali Curung 82.1% Kaytetye 40.9% Warlpiri 16.3% Alyawarre 3.5% Kaytetye
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% Traditional Predominant language Other groups Aboriginal country group 1.9% Anmatjere 0.8% Waramungu Tennant 52% Warumungu 6.2% Warumungu 2.6% Warlpiri Creek 2.5% Alyawarre (Aboriginal 0.9% Wambaya and TSI) Table 5-5: Demographic composition at a regional level, based on 2011 ABS data (Source: ABS 2012) Demographic composition data from 2011 Census
Estimated % Language other than Overseas born (Top 3) residential Aboriginal English spoken at home population Tennant 3061 52% Warumungu (6.2%) England (1.8%) Creek SA2 Warlpiri (2.6%) New Zealand (1.6%) (township) Alyawarre (2.5%) Philippines (1.4%) Tagalog (0.9%) Wambaya (0.9%) (English only 60.3%) Barkly SA3 5722 64.4% Alyawarre (16%) (86.3% Australian-born) (Region) Warlpiri (5.8%) English (1.1%), Waramungu (4.5%) NZ (1.1%), Philippines Kaytetye (1.6%) (0.9%) Mudburra (1.1%) (English only 49.8%) Barkly SA2 2660 78.6% Alyawarre (31.5%) (93.9% Australian born) (Region Warlpiri (9.4%) NZ (0.7%) without Kaytetye (3.1%) England (0.5%) Tennant Mudburra (2.4%) China, Greece, Singapore Creek) Waramungu (2.4%) (0.2%) (English only 37.5%) Sandover 3727 87.9% Alyawarre (23.5%) Germany, England (0.2%) SA2 Eastern Arrernte (11.2%) New Zealand, Columbia, (Region) Arrernte (10.5%) Indonesia (0.1%) Luritja (2.8%) (97% Australia) Western Arrernte (1.6%) (English only 17%) Northern 231,000 26.8% 62.8% English only Territory Australian 22.3M 2.5% 76.8% English only
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5.11.2 Age profile The Northern Territory’s population is the youngest in Australia, with 22.6% of residents being under 15 (compared with 18.8% nationally). Only 7% of the Territory’s population was aged 65 or over, compared with 15% nationally, while 71% were of working age (15-64), compared with 66% nationally (Wilson, 2016). While high fertility and mortality rates shape the age-sex structure of the Territory’s population, non-Indigenous structures are influenced by in- migration of young adults for work and net losses at other ages, with 115 non-Indigenous men for every 100 women in 2011, rising to 129 men for every 100 women for non-Indigenous residents aged 20-24.
Yuhun & Taylor (2013) found that in 2011 the Tennant Creek population comprised largely young to middle-aged Indigenous residents and working to older non-Aboriginal residents. During interviews in 2017, education authorities were preparing for an expected bulge in Aboriginal residents aged 0-14. Table 5-6 suggests a decline in residents aged 0-34 across the region and an increase in residents aged 35 and over. However, Fig 5-2 demonstrates that the population remains predominantly under 34 and is increasingly Aboriginal, strikingly so for the 15-19 age group. It shows a general decline in the school-aged non-Aboriginal population (borne out by interviewees who described schools that were increasingly Aboriginal and workers leaving town as their children reached school age). These trends are predicted to continue (see Fig 5-3).
Table 5-6: Age distribution trends from 2010 to 2014 (source ABS community profile) Trends in age distribution (expressed as percentages)
2010: 0-34 2014: 0-34 2010: 35+ 2014: 35+ 2014 ERP
Tennant SA2 54.8 53.2 45.2 46.8 3634
Barkly SA2 67.5 64 32.6 35.9 3161
Sandover Plenty 66.3 60 33.8 39.9 4497 SA2
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Fig 5-2: Barkly Region population 2016
Source: NTG, 2014; GHD Analysis. The 2016 population estimate is sourced from the population projection update published by the Department of Treasury and Finance (NTG), which is based on the final estimated resident population (ERP) figures and other demographic data based on the 2011 Census. 5.11.3 Population growth projection Forecasting the Territory’s population is more challenging than for other jurisdictions due to the cyclical and variable nature of employment, which creates volatile migration patterns, high net migration gains and losses, a small population subject to greater random variations in demographic trends and the inaccuracy of data for the large Aboriginal population (Wilson, 2016). Population projections by the Northern Territory Government (2014) suggests net overseas migration has been a significant factor in population growth. The Northern Territory typically experiences large interstate flows of people into and out of the Territory, with about 7% of the population leaving and arriving each year. Predicted Aboriginal growth rates are based on
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natural increases. Average annual growth rates of 1.5% were predicted to 2041, with the following comparisons between expected Indigenous and non-Indigenous for to 2026.
Table 5-7: Northern Territory Population Projections
2011-16 2016-21 2021-26
Territory total 1.8% 1.7% 1.6%
Indigenous 1.5% 1.6% 1.6%
Non-Indigenous 2% 1.7% 1.6%
Source: Population Projections, Main Update (2014 Release), Department of Treasury and Finance The Government’s projections predict a slight decline in the proportion of Territorians aged under 15, an increase in the number Territorians of working age but a slight decline in the proportion of this age group, due largely to a predicted increase in Territorians aged 65 and over, which is projected to double by 2041. The proportion of Aboriginal Territorians aged more than 65 is expected to triple in this period, largely due to increased life expectancy. In the Barkly Region, projections suggest a slight increase of 311 males and 367 females in the 10 years to 2026. Due to the complexity of forecasting population growth in remote communities, projections for Aboriginal populations are limited to 2026. The expected growth rate for the Barkly region is significantly lower than Northern Territory and Australian averages, for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups. Note that the predicted growth rates in Fig 5-2 below are almost entirely Aboriginal. Fertility rates for the region vary between 1.9 and 2.2.
The projected number of residents excludes people in the NT whose usual residence is another state or country, such as fly-in fly-out workers, business visitors and tourists, which makes it challenging to provide an accurate picture.
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Fig 5-3: Population projection, Barkly region, 2016-2026
Source: NTG, 2014; GHD Analysis.
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Fig 5-4: Population growth trend, 2011-2041
Source: NTG, 2014; GHD Analysis.
5.11.4 Social economic indexes for areas – SEIFA The ABS Socio Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) is a suite of four indexes created from social and economic Census information. Each index ranks geographic areas across Australia in terms of their relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage. A SEIFA score measures how relatively ‘advantaged’ or ‘disadvantaged’ an area is compared with other areas in the state and within Australia. The Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage, 2011 ranks the Barkly region as the 8th most disadvantaged in the Territory and 10th (in most disadvantaged in Australia, rankings are illustrated in Fig 5-5. The Sandover-Plenty is the equal most disadvantaged.
Fig 5-5: Index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. Source: Adapted from Index of Relative Socio- economic Disadvantage, ABS 2011, GHD analysis
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5.11.5 Community cohesion and resilience Community cohesion is defined as the sense of harmony in a place, which can be established by the acceptance of social diversity, a shared sense of belonging across all groups, a broadly
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accepted vision and image of the location, reasonably similar life opportunities and access to services and positive relationships between people of different backgrounds (Vanclay et al., 2015).
The dispersion of Alyawarre people in the past century has disrupted aspects of their lifestyles, although Alyawarre maintain strong links to culture and country (SIA interviews). Recent media reports and interviews for the SIA, suggested undercurrents of conflict between families in the region, particularly Ali Curung. At the time of writing, there were significant tensions between families, which necessitated an additional police presence in Ali Curung (Pereira & Vanovac, 2017). The consultant was due to attend a Barkly Local Area Authority meeting in Ampilatwajta in early May that was cancelled due to a more pressing community meeting attended by police and senior government officials to discuss an outbreak of violent incidents across the region which had led to serious injuries.
In Tennant Creek, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal families reportedly live in reasonable harmony. However, interviewees reported a decline in community infrastructure, civic involvement and volunteering, from the town’s heyday as a flourishing gold mine. The head of the local Regional Economic Development Committee and Chamber of Commerce, Greg Marlow, announced earlier in 2017 that Barkly Regional Show in July would not go ahead as long-serving volunteer committee had had enough. “We’re all burnt out. While we can run the show, we are all getting older and slower,” he told the local paper (Ansorge, 2017). (The Show Committee was later re-established with new leadership and the Show proceeded in July). Other interviewees said the formerly flourishing gold mining town had become a Government services town, with a growing number of transient government and NGO workers who have less attachment or loyalty to the town.
However, as the town becomes more Aboriginal, it is developing strengths in other areas, including a strong arts culture, with the Nyinkka Nyunyu art and cultural centre and other Waramungu arts and music centres.
In Arlparra, there are political tensions between Barkly Regional Council and the Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation, which wants to provide services independently, but in general the Homelands were described by interviewees as relatively cohesive.
Ali Curung, on the other hand, is an artificial community created by Government for a number of displaced language groups. Interviewees suggested that community cohesion has been impacted by alcohol abuse, violence and tensions between families that necessitated a heightened police presence in mid-2017.
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5.12 Impact assessment for people and communities The above discussion provides background data and context for an examination of economic and social opportunities and impacts from Verdant’s Ammaroo Phosphate Project in both this and following sections.
In assessing likely positive and negative impacts, this section considers change likely to be triggered by project activities, such as mobilisation triggering an influx of workers and demographic change.
Activity Change Impact
In some cases, change can be readily absorbed with any noticeable effect, for example a small number of newcomers and their families to a town like Alice Springs. In other cases, demographic change can create positive or negative impacts, for example by creating a tipping point for already strained social infrastructure (such as overcrowded housing), which may then impact on community cohesion. Or it may noticeably change community composition and sense of wellbeing (large numbers of young single men). Predicting positive and negative impacts includes a subjective assessment of community’s perceptions, level of concern about change and resilience or vulnerability to change.
Overall, the project is considered unlikely to create significant demographic change in communities such as Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, with consequently low level direct and indirect social and economic impacts, as discussed in this and following sections.
The picture is less certain for smaller local communities nearer the project. Recruitment for construction jobs, or even rumours of the project starting, could trigger an in-migration of local Aboriginal people looking for jobs. There is high mobility of Alyawarre people between Arlpurrurulam, the Utopia Homelands, Canteen Creek, Imangara, Epenarra, Ali Curung and other nearby homelands. Some Alyawarre people have reportedly moved to Tennant Creek or Alice Springs, either for work, to access services or to escape family troubles. During SIA interviews, it was pointed out that Aboriginal people are often reluctant to leave their country or family for work, so anyone seeking work at the mine is likely to come back as a family group, putting strain on Ampilatwatja’s already overcrowded housing. This is discussed further in the Services and Infrastructure section. Mobility may also create tensions and conflict over who is entitled to jobs and access to benefits.
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5.12.1 Demographic change reduces community cohesion The project could impact on community cohesion by triggering the movement of people to Ampilatwatja seeking jobs, exacerbating overcrowding and creating tensions between families.
While existing tensions (as discussed in 5.11) may reduce the resilience of local communities to change, the initial and residual ratings for risk (#46) were assessed as LOW.
5.12.2 Reduced community cohesion through distribution of benefits Major projects can stir up community conflict between families and communities if the distribution of benefits and jobs is seen as inequitable or expectations unrealistic. This issue often begins with rumours about a project as a result of publicity or native title meetings. There was some evidence of this during SIA interviews, with people regularly asking about money. It is the role of the Central Land Council (CLC) to determine who is entitled to negotiate for distribution of benefits and how they are allocated.
These tensions may not be easy for Verdant to control, except by working closely with the CLC and through open and transparent communication, therefore the residual rating (risk #52) is MEDIUM.
5.12.3 Reduced community cohesion from alcohol and low-level crime Community cohesion could also be undermined by increased access to alcohol. Although Ampilatwatja is a ‘dry’ community, police report that ‘grog-running’ from Stuart Highway hotels is common and would be concerned if a ‘wet mess’ at the workers’ village led to increased alcohol consumption in nearby communities. This could include workers’ relatives putting pressure on them to supply alcohol. Unrestricted access to alcohol in the camp could exacerbate any family tensions or jealousies, leading to fights.
Given baseline conditions suggest these issues are already occurring, the initial significance rating for risk 47 was LOW. The company will implement strict controls to reduce any contribution to opportunistic crime and alcohol abuse, including restrictions on alcohol consumption and controls over alcohol leaving the proposed wet canteen. The significance of is risk is therefore rated as LOW but the issue will require careful monitoring.
5.12.4 Reduced volunteering and participation in sporting events Organisations relying on volunteers and community participation in sport may be negatively impacted if a significant proportion of residents work long hours, shift work or live away from home. Interviewees reported this is already an issue in Tennant Creek, with a decline in community spirit due to a more transient population and difficulties attracting volunteer paramedics and emergency service volunteers. The recruitment of workers from towns like Tennant Creek is unlikely to substantially exacerbate this trend.
Football is popular in Aboriginal communities. The Ampilatwatja Bombers are a local passion and the Clontarf Foundation, which operates in the town, sees sport as a way to teach
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discipline and life skills. The football carnivals that start in September attract 2000 to 3000 people and bring families together (SIA interviews). Verdant sponsorship of local football teams could increase their capacity and build good relationships. An associated issue, dealt with under employment, is the mobility of families for popular sports carnivals and the consequent absenteeism this generates. Should young men live in the workers’ village, they may not be available for sport, especially as good sportspeople are more likely to have the motivation and discipline needed in the workforce.
Given the baseline conditions, the likelihood of the project exacerbating issues with participation and volunteers (risk #59) was assessed as LOW.
5.13 Mitigation and management Mitigation and management measures to avoid or minimise disruption to local and regional community cohesion include:
• limiting interaction between FIFO workers and local and regional communities; • a strict Code of Behaviour for all workers; • strict controls over the consumption of alcohol and any associated misbehaviour in the workers’ village; • limiting cash payments and working with the Central Land Council (CLC) to distribute royalty money in the form of community development, social infrastructure and education; • good communication to manage expectations about jobs and ‘money’ matters.
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6. Economies 6.1 Overview Mining in remote areas can have a significant positive impact on regional economic development, through procurement of local goods and services, wages and the payment of taxes and royalties to governments and traditional owners. The resource industry is a major contributor to the Northern Territory’s economy and is seen as important for regional economic development, jobs in disadvantaged regional areas and reducing the Territory’s dependence on Federal funding. There can also be cumulative benefits if several resource projects stimulate investment in regional capacities and infrastructure, such as ambitions for Tennant Creek to become a mining services hub.
Potential negative impacts can occur, however, if expectations of benefits are not met or are seen to be unfairly distributed. Other sectors (such as tourism and pastoral operations) may suffer displacement effects, particularly through loss of workers to more highly paid mining jobs, inflationary pressures and short-term accommodation and airline seats being taken up by mine workers.
Productivity may be impacted by disruption to pastoral activities and staffing or loss of water quality and availability.
6.2 Key events or activities causing economic impacts Key events or activities causing economic impacts are likely to be:
• in-migration of FIFO workforce • local procurement • mobilisation leading to recruitment of workers from nearby communities • project’s use of water (may have impacts on productivity) • project traffic on local roads (may have impacts on productivity).
6.3 Key risks and opportunities Table 6-1: Key potential positive and negative economic impacts Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Increased pastoral productivity because of Reduced pastoral productivity because of impacts project infrastructure, such as new bores on groundwater, weeds, erosion and disruptions to opening up more grazing land, road and rail operations and mustering from dust, noise, traffic transport improving access to markets. and increased project traffic on properties.
Contracts awarded to local businesses meet Loss of experienced staff from other employers to local content expectations, deliver the project and difficulty backfilling positions. economic benefits and capacity building,
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Potential impacts
particularly for small businesses and Aboriginal-owned enterprises.
Payments to contractors and workers Inflationary pressures through scarcity of goods, stimulates the regional economy and GSP. pressure on housing affordability and availability.
Mobilisation of workforce leads to Frustration and dashed expectations if local targets relocation of families to the region, eg Alice are not met due to lack of capacity or skills. Springs and Tennant Creek, increasing economic activity in the region.
Short-term construction period creates ‘boom bust’, with risk of over-capitalisation by small companies to win work.
Displacement of tourism by FIFO workers taking up short-term accommodation in transit towns (such as Tennant Creek) or taking up seats on planes.
6.4 Regional economic sectors This section should be read in conjunction with the attached economic report by GHD and Econsearch, which includes an analysis of the Northern Territory’s industry sectors and the project’s economic contribution.
6.4.1 Pastoral industry The Barkly accounts for about one-third of the Territory’s pastoral production, with more than 200,000 square kilometres of pastoral land over 25 leases running about 600,000 head of mainly Santa Gertrudis and Brahman cattle shipped to markets in Queensland or for the live export trade out of Darwin (Tennant Creek Regional Economic Development Committee, 2014).
As outlined above, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (which is primarily pastoral) is a key economic sector and employer of the Barkly. While the third most important sector in terms of gross value added in 2014/15, behind mining, it is the third largest employer, based on 2011 Census data, well ahead of mining and the main private sector employer.
6.4.2 Mining While mining activity in the Tennant Creek region has declined in recent years, mining still accounts for a substantial contribution to GSP, although it makes less of a contribution to employment, ranking well below agriculture and construction (see figure 6-5).
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In December 2016, the Australian Government, as part of its $100 million Exploring for the Future program, announced a $3.1 million project to map the electrical conductivity of ground in the Barkly region to locate mineral and energy resources and a $3.8 million, 550-kilometre seismic line in the north-east Barkly to identify oil and gas reserves. Minister for Primary Industry and Resources (DIPR), Ken Vowles, sees the initiatives as boosting population growth, jobs, regional development and the economic relevance of Tennant Creek (Department of Primary Industry and Resources, 2016). Geoscience Australia researchers will work closely with DPIR to gather pre-competitive data to support the NT government’s $23.8 million investment in the Creating Opportunities for Resource Exploration (CORE) initiative.
There has been substantial exploration on Ammaroo over recent years, as evidenced by the number of parties to the 2014 Native Title Determination (uranium explorer Nupower, Territory Phosphate, Rum Jungle Resources and nine other mining or oil and gas explorers). Avenira Limited (formerly Minemakers), is seeking to develop the Wonarah Project south of the Barkly Highway, although its main focus for now is its Senegal Baobab project (Avenira, n.d.). Further south along the Stuart Highway is TNG’s Mount Peake titanium and vanadium mine west of Barrow Creek and Arafura’s proposed rare earths mine near Aileron, south of Ti Tree. The Bootu Creek manganese mine, owned by OM Holdings, resumed operations in February, 2017 after going into administration in December 2015, with a loss of 140 jobs, due to a drop in ore prices (Curtain, 2017), while Emmerson’s relatively small Edna Beryl gold mine resumed production in July 2017 near Tennant Creek.
6.4.3 Horticulture A key focus for the Northern Territory is the contribution of horticulture to regional economies, including amendments to the Pastoral Act to encourage economic diversification and projects on Aboriginal land. The Government released two reports in February 2017 covering the potential for irrigated crops near Tennant Creek West and the Ali Curung area south of the Western Davenport Ranges. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has worked with landholders and Aboriginal-owned Centrefarm to find soils suitable for crops such as watermelons, hay, chia, grapes, citrus, mangoes, stone fruit, asparagus, garlic, onions and potatoes. Pastoralists such as Singleton, Neutral Downs and Murray Downs are considering diversification into horticultural development.
6.4.4 Tourism Tourism is a key economic sector for the Northern Territory, particularly in regional areas. In the Barkly, over the three years from 2013 to 2015, visitors spent an average 2.8 nights, with an average expenditure of $37 million a year. A large proportion of these were business visitors, particularly government workers. Peak season is September and most arrive by car. Data to December 2016 suggests 112,000 visitors to the region in 2016, of whom 64,000 were classed as ‘holiday visitors’. Of these, 14,000 were international, 9000 were from the Territory and 40,000 from other states (Tourism NT, 2017).
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In relation to available beds, data from Tourism Research Australia appears to be patchy. It suggests a decline of rooms in the Barkly (from Newcastle Waters to Wycliffe Well) from 289 to 277 from 2013-14 to 2014-15 and occupancy rates of 46.4% in 2013-14 and 75% in 2015-16 (Tourism Research Australia, 2016). Short-term accommodation in Tennant Creek is estimated at 182 hotel/motel beds, 69 caravan park bed and nine hostel beds (based on available data from providers’ websites). Alice Springs in 2015/2016 had 1368 beds and an occupancy rate that increased by 3.1% to 72% in 2016 (Tourism NT, 2017).
6.5 Employment by industry A brief look at the employment by industry in the Barkly region and NT as reported in the 2011 Census, shows that Public Administration and Safety is the largest employer with 25% and 21% within Barkly region and NT respectively. This is followed by Education and Training sector (13%), Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector (11%) and Healthcare and Social Assistance sector (10%) for the Barkly region.
Fig 6-5: Historical employment by industry, 2011
Source: NTG, 2014; GHD Analysis. 6.6 Income profile The median personal and household income levels rose at a steady rate in the Barkly region between 2001 and 2011. During this time, median personal incomes rose at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.6% a year. By comparison, median personal and household income in the Northern Territory increased at a CAGR of 5.2% a year
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Fig 6-6: Historical median income in Barkly region
Source: ABS, 2012c; GHD Analysis. 6.7 Business Counts Given the remoteness of the Barkly region, most businesses are based in Tennant Creek. Over the past three years, the number of businesses in the Barkly region declined from 212 in 2013 to 200 in 2015 (see Fig 6-7). Comparison with older figures was not readily available due to methodological changes and updates to the statistics between publications.
Fig 6-7: Business counts by sector in Barkly region, 2015
Source: ABS (2016); GHD analysis.
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6.8 Assessment of economic risks and opportunities 6.8.1 Successful local procurement meets expectations The relatively small scale of this project is likely to suit the capabilities of Barkly or Central Australian businesses. Verdant reports that pastoralists and Tennant Creek businesses have provided most services to the project to date, including clearing and civil works. The Barkly business community has substantial experience of working with the mining industry and in remote locations, with a relatively strong trades and civil sector for a small town. By the time construction of the Ammaroo project starts, many Barkly businesses will have worked on the Jemena Northern Gas Pipeline Project which means, based on current projected timelines, some contractors may transition from one project to the next. Small Aboriginal enterprises may tender for civil works packages, building their capacity for other work with pastoralists and communities.
The Industry Capability Network (ICN) Northern Territory, Chamber of Commerce and Australian Governments can provide advice on packaging works in a way that suits local companies and help with enterprise development and business upskilling, given sufficient notice. All are keen to help Verdant publicise opportunities with the project and will reinforce the importance of meeting the financial, safety and quality standards required of major projects. Local businesses spoken to were confident they could scale up to meet Verdant’s needs, given sufficient advance notice and certainty of timelines.
Other opportunities arise from enterprise development and community-owned commercial activities. For example, the Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation is looking for commercial opportunities as a means of building both the Homelands’ independence and jobs for local people. The Aboriginal-owned Aherrenge Store in Ampilatwatja is interested in exploring services it may be able to offer to the project.
This opportunity (#1) was initially ranked as MEDIUM, but with appropriate measures such as working with the business community to package and promote tenders, combined with the likely capacity of local businesses to provide services, this opportunity is assessed as having a HIGH positive significance.
6.8.2 Payments to contractors and workers stimulates the regional economy and GSP Economic modelling suggests substantial benefits are likely to remain in the Barkly and Alice Springs regions due to the payment of local wages and from local procurement, while broader benefits would flow to the Northern Territory from the payment of taxes and royalties, and Territory-wide employment and procurement.
Based on the economic modelling, the opportunity rating for likely stimulation of the regional economy from wages and payments to contractors (Opportunity #4) is assessed as MEDIUM.
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6.8.3 Families move to the region, stimulating the economy A major benefit of regional projects is the stimulus that comes from increased populations, particularly if families relocate, reducing the leakage of wages from the region. However, for this project, the construction workforce is likely to be a combination of local Aboriginal workers, complemented by workers flown or bussed in from Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Mount Isa and perhaps further afield. There is no capacity for an external workforce to live anywhere but the workers’ village on site. Aboriginal families may move back to Ampilatwatja, with some additional spending at the store. Any influx of families would strain overcrowded public housing – although this may lead to Government prioritising new housing in the community to support economic growth.
The short construction phase is unlikely to prompt the relocation of families to the regional towns of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. These towns are too far from the project site to make it attractive for managers to relocate from Darwin or other cities during construction or operations. Other mining companies, such as Emmerson Resources, have struggled to attract staff to live in Tennant Creek, especially once children reach school age.
There is a possibility that Alice Springs may be attractive as a regional base for FIFO workers, prompting greater regional migration. While other mining projects (interviews by the author for previous projects) have found this difficult, the combination of prospective mining projects in Central Australia, apparent attraction of Alice Springs for regional settlement by migrants and a collaborative marketing campaign by government could change this.
While the consequences would be positive, this is outside Verdant’s control and the likelihood of this potential opportunity (#5) was given a residual significance rating of (LOW).
6.8.4 Reduced pastoral productivity because of traffic, dust, noise, weeds, erosion The project footprint, including access routes, covers productive grazing land and transport routes for local pastoral properties. While activities are a reasonable distance from homesteads, there is potential to impact on grazing, mustering and the movement of cattle from project activities, in particular along Murray Downs Road.
In general, pastoralists spoken to were either supportive or philosophical about the project and did not feel it would have a substantial impact on productive grazing land. The main concerns related to potential disruption of cattle trucks on Murray Downs and Neutral Junction by the transport and services corridor (with a need to design means for cattle to pass under or across this corridor). Ammaroo raised the issue of project activity disrupting cattle near key watering areas, such as Woodys Dam, while Elkedra and Ammaroo were concerned at the prospect of further wear and tear on cattle roads.
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Plate 1: Woodys Dam and cattleyards on Ammaroo Station
Elkedra referred to more people being on their properties as a result of mining and exploration activities. This extends to large groups attending ‘on country’ meetings, people on the property for technical studies, exploration crews and other workers putting pressure on station tracks and occasionally leaving gates open.
Elkedra pointed to the fragile soils and ecology of the region, which pastoralists manage through landcare activities (see the cumulative section of this report and the consultation report for more comment).
Avoidance or minimisation of impacts will require measures in environmental management plans to control the potential spread of weeds and manage access tracks to avoid erosion. Traffic management plans and liaison with pastoralists will help control the timing and speed of project traffic. Verdant should draw on pastoralists’ local knowledge in planning project infrastructure, such as the transport and services corridor and diversion of the Murray Downs Road. All pastoralists raised the importance of good communication about project activities as a key mitigation strategy.
The significance of this risk (#25) was initially rated as MODERATE, which reduced to LOW, provided the above mitigation measures are implemented.
6.8.5 Reduced pastoral productivity because of impacts on ground water The fragility of Central Australia’s groundwater is topical, with debate about water allocation generally and onshore oil and gas exploration and production in particular. Apart from short- lived dam water after rain (such as Woodys Dam) and some surface water, pastoralists and communities in the Sandover are largely reliant on bore water for irrigation, domestic and pastoral use.
The timing of interviews coincided with the release of the Draft Western Davenport Water Allocation Plan (Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 2017), which had heightened awareness of water issues. Pastoralists accepted that the Ammaroo Project is
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outside the water control district and Ammaroo’s owners (the only pastoralists interviewed in person) accepted modelling results that suggest minimal impacts on groundwater. Elkedra is concerned about the collective impacts of mining and horticulture on the region’s water, mainly in reference to Verdant’s exploration activities on their property.
While the consequences of water impacts would be severe, modelling suggests the likelihood is remote. Monitoring would also provide early warning signals of any draw down of the aquifer near pastoral bores, allowing corrective action so any impacts can be avoided, therefore the untreated and residual significance of this risk (#3) is rated as LOW.
6.8.6 Reduced productivity because of loss of staff to the project Government and private employers report significant challenges recruiting and retaining a labour force (Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal) across this region, including Barkly Regional Council, government departments and Tennant Creek companies. Many have resorted to hiring FIFO mining, administration and technical staff from other parts of Australia. The advent of a mining project could prompt good workers to leave their current jobs for better paid work at the mine, create inflationary pressures on wages and cause lost productivity for other employers as a result, compounding the loss of backpacker labour and existing recruiting challenges. Pastoralists reported difficulties attracting staff but felt pastoral work on the whole attracted different people to those who work in mining, although there could be some impact on their workforces.
This risk (#48) is considered quite likely but short-term and hard to mitigate. Given that mining requires either low-skilled labour or specific professional skills, it may also be unattractive to many existing local workers. Local Government saw the risk as likely but also as an opportunity to train additional workers to backfill positions. Therefore the risk is allocated a LOW significance rating.
6.8.7 Increased pastoral productivity due to upgraded infrastructure Aspects of the project may improve pastoral productivity, for example by providing contracting opportunities to local pastoralists, enhancing common user infrastructure (such as upgraded roads or the proposed rail spur line), or opening up additional grazing land with new bores.
A key issue from consultation is the poor condition of the Murray Downs Road, which is critical infrastructure for pastoralists moving cattle to export and domestic markets. This road will be used for project traffic during construction and is used heavily by community, government and business traffic. Therefore any upgrading of the road, as a result of the mine, would have widespread social and economic benefits for other users.
While the railway is unlikely to be used by the pastoral industry, it would offer potential benefits to the growing horticultural industry near the project and may be used to transport other supplies.
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Stakeholders referred to benefits from other infrastructure such as new bores along the transport and services corridor, improved telecommunications and access to gas.
This opportunity (#9) was assigned a LOW rating, mainly because of the uncertainty of investment in road upgrades.
6.8.8 Displacement of other economic sectors Large-scale resource development can displace other economic sectors by soaking up a local workforce (see 6.7.6), causing inflation (see 6.7.8) or taking up flights and accommodation that are important for other sectors, in particular tourism. The tourism sector in Tennant Creek would welcome a small increase in occupancy rates, but not to the extent that the town becomes known as ‘the place with no room at the inn’ (SIA interview). Given the total of only 277 tourist beds in the Barkly (see 6.4.2) it would not take much to saturate existing capacity, although the Outback Caravan Park owner points out that supply can be increased to accommodate any certain increase in demand (SIA interview). The transit of a relatively low number of workers is likely to be readily absorbed in Alice Springs, although the 72% average occupancy rate does not capture full occupancy for major events and conventions during peak season.
The significance of this risk (#50) was assessed as LOW, given Verdant’s distance from regional sectors such as Tennant Creek and plans to fly or bus workers direct to an airstrip or site. It is likely that the project would have a slight positive effect on short-term accommodation in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs as management and contractors transit through the region.
6.8.9 Inflationary pressures The presence of a mine can lead to inflationary pressures in a small economy by creating scarcity and higher costs of goods and services, increasing the cost of housing and pushing up wages and conditions. This can create inequitable impacts for disadvantaged or marginalised people on welfare or low wages.
Apart from potential pressure on wages, these impacts are considered unlikely due to the project’s distance from towns, the lack of commercial accommodation in Ampilatwatja (housing in Aboriginal communities is employer provided - such as Government, council or the store - or public housing), a focus on recruiting from local communities and the scale of change from local procurement.
This risk (#51) is therefore given both untreated and residual risk ratings of LOW.
6.8.10 Local content expectations not met While local procurement is a significant potential benefit of a mining project, barriers to realising these benefits can include a lack of relevant skills and capabilities, reluctance to tender because of the standards and paperwork required, challenges of recruiting staff,
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higher overheads reducing competitiveness or companies being fully committed to other project work.
It will be important to manage any unrealistic expectations by clearly communicating the timing and nature of opportunities, standards required to win work, business support programs and opportunities to sequence work between projects.
Given the nature of the project, it is considered likely that local contractors can meet most of Verdant’s needs, apart from more expensive and specialist equipment and infrastructure. However, given the potential gap between expectations and capacity to deliver on them, this risk (#40) is assigned a MEDIUM level of significance. It will be important to implement strong measures to communicate opportunities and manage expectations or the likelihood of this risk could increase.
6.8.11 ‘Boom bust’ effect An issue for the economic sustainability of small towns is the risk of contractors over- capitalising on short-term project work, then being left unable to service debt and pay staff when contracts come to an end. This may be particularly acute if companies scale up and fully commit to a contract, without good prospects of moving to other work at the end of intense phases of projects, such as construction. Small businesses may invest in heavy equipment with unrealistic expectations of winning future tenders. This can be particularly acute in a regional economy, if small businesses over-capitalise in equipment for one project. One SIA interviewee suggested a dilemma confronting regional businesses was maintaining capability and capacity while balancing the ebbs and flows of project work.
This risk should be mitigated with good communication about the scale and duration of tenders available. There may also be a chance for some businesses to transition from the Northern Gas Pipeline to this project. The scale of work available should suit existing business capabilities, therefore this risk (#60) is rated as LOW.
6.9 Mitigation and management Economic opportunities will be enhanced and risks reduced by: • working closely with the ICN, Chamber of Commerce and Governments to package tenders in a way that suits local businesses (where this is commercially reasonable), communicate opportunities and manage expectations; • Verdant will prepare a Local Industry Participation Plan as part of its obligations under the Project Development Agreement with the NT Government (as a result of being awarded major project status); • in assessing tenders, Verdant will clearly communicate the timing and scale of contracts to minimise the risk of businesses over-capitalising in equipment; • Verdant will contribute to regional training programs that enhance the skills of potential staff but which may also help other employers backfill positions of staff moving to work at the mine;
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• Verdant will work closely with pastoralists to share water monitoring data and discuss where production bores might be located to the mutual benefit of both Verdant and pastoralists; • Verdant will liaise with other short-term projects, such as Jemena’s Northern Gas Pipeline, to sequence works where possible; • Verdant will work closely with Government, Barkly Council, pastoralists and communities to maximise any common user infrastructure that will have broader social and economic benefits for the region, such as roads and improved telecommunications.
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7. Employment and education 7.1 Overview While access to jobs is a key aspiration of Government and Aboriginal people for projects on their land, the barriers to achieving this and overcoming socioeconomic disadvantage are threefold:
1. Work readiness: Many Aboriginal people in remote areas lack the skills, relevant work experience, driver’s licences and there are structural issues, such as appropriate accommodation and access to public transport. 2. Impacts of disadvantage: The many direct and indirect impacts of disadvantage include overcrowded housing (which can impact on sleep, wellbeing and the lifestyle needed to support regular work hours), poor health, poor education, mental health and disengagement from the labour force. 3. Cultural: Cultural barriers include concepts of relatedness and family obligations, perceptions of what constitutes ‘work’, attendance at funerals and sports events and cultural issues in the workplace and around childcare.
The following section attempts to describe the current labour force issues in the Barkly region and Sandover local area and provide a realistic prediction of how many local people will work with the project. This is one area where qualitative insights are likely to provide a truer picture than statistics. In short, there are high levels of unemployment across the region but, equally, employers report challenges finding and retaining workers. For example, on the face of it, the NT Government’s current requirement for 30% Aboriginal participation in remote tenders could be applauded. However, employers in the field report struggling to reach the target through a lack of work-ready participants and high drop-out rates. There is cynicism by some that targets will be met by hiring Aboriginal people from interstate. Mining projects offer opportunities, but it is likely to take time, perseverance, support and understanding to realise them.
7.2 Key events or activities causing impacts Key activities creating opportunities and risks for employment and education include:
• mobilisation of construction workforce • contracts awarded to companies for supplies and services, creating jobs • benefits package negotiated with native title holders • local people winning jobs directly with Verdant or with contractors • local companies missing out on work • local people not getting work, or the level of work expected.
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7.3 Key risks and opportunities for employment and education
Table 7-1: Key risks and opportunities with employment and education Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Mobilisation of workforce leads to jobs (including Failure to expectations of local employment, apprenticeships) for local people throughout the due to a lack of work-readiness, structural supply chain, including traditional owners, such as (eg transport) or cultural issues. civil work, trades, administration, rehabilitation and longer-term operational jobs.
Jobs for local Aboriginal people draw on traditional knowledge and provide opportunities for jobs and business ventures in progressive rehabilitation and land management, eg through expanded or new ranger groups, collecting and growing seedlings for nurseries.
7.4 Educational outcomes Analysis of available data, primarily ABS statistics, Small Area Labour Force Statistics (Department of Employment, 2016) and the recent Closing the Gap Report (Commonwealth of Australia, 2017), suggests significant gaps remain in areas such as school attendance and outcomes, although there have been some gains.
The recent Australian Government’s ‘Closing the Gap’ report suggests that educational attainment is improving for Aboriginal people in Australia and points to a high correlation between better education and employment outcomes. However, progress against education and employment targets has dropped for Aboriginal people across Australia. Despite the Australian Government’s Remote Schools Attendance Strategy, the Northern Territory’s educational results failed to meet Closing the Gap targets in all categories, the only jurisdiction with such a negative scorecard.
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Table 7-2: Indigenous student attendance rates for Years 1 to 10 combined Indigenous school attendance rates for Year 1 – 10, Semester 1
2014 2016
Northern Territory 70.2 68.2 (1.5% fall)
Australia 83.5 83.4
Source: ACARA, cited in the Prime Minister’s Closing the Gap Report (2017) The proportion of Australian Indigenous students in very remote areas in Years 1 to 10 attending school at least 90 per cent of the time in Semester 1 of 2016 was 21.9% compared with 68.3% for non-Indigenous students, while 55.3% of Indigenous students in major Australian cities attended school at least 90% of the time (the figures are not broken down by State or Territory).
Nationally, reading and numeracy outcomes across nine areas were on track in Australia only for Year 9 numeracy. The Northern Territory was not on track in any category although outcomes were improving. For example, the proportion of Year 3 Indigenous students reaching national minimum standards for reading in the Northern Territory was 30% in 2008 and 42% in 2016.
The report cites funerals, cultural activities, poor student behaviour, community unrest and family travel for non-cultural reasons as the main factors in continued poor school attendance rates.
The MySchool website provides more localised NAPLAN results. For Year 5 reading, the Australian national average is 499. For numeracy, the Australian average for all Year 5 is 493. While all schools in the area under study were well below these outcomes, most (apart from Tennant Creek Primary) appear to have relatively higher scores for Year 5 numeracy and literacy (particularly Ampilatwatja) than statistically similar schools. Murray Downs is not included in the NAPLAN results. Year 5 was chosen for comparative analysis as Tennant Creek Primary goes to Year 6.
Tennant Creek High School scored 452 for Year 9 reading (compared with 480 for statistically similar schools and an Australian average of 580) and 490 for Year 9 numeracy (compared with 512 and 592 respectively). The school had 20 Vocational Education and Training students enrolled in 2014 (18 of them in agriculture, environment or related studies), which was well down on 69 VET enrolments in 2013. However, VET enrolments had returned to an estimated 70 in 2017 (SIA interview). Its Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) value was 722.
We were advised during consultation that a recent Apprenticeship position in Tennant Creek received 83 applications, as a result of working closely with schools, VET programs and providers such as Karen’s Kitchen, which augurs well for the future.
The following chart outlines key features of schools in the study area, including number of students enrolled, the percentage of students who are Aboriginal and the school’s ICSEA score which allows for comparisons to be made among schools serving students from similar socio-educational
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backgrounds and schools with similar students. All data is taken from the My School website coordinated by the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Given the general disadvantage of the area, it is not surprising that the distribution of students on the ICSEA index tends to be lower than the Territory or Australian Average. For example, at Tennant Creek Primary, 67% of students are in the bottom quarter compared with the Australian average of 25%, while 6% are in the top quarter, compared with the Australian average of 25%. At Arlparra, 93% of students were in the bottom quarter. At Ali Curung, 100% were in the bottom quarter.
Key factors influencing ICSEA ratings include students’ family backgrounds (parents’ occupation, school education and non-school education), school-level factors (a school’s geographical location and the proportion of Indigenous students a school caters for (ACARA, 2016)
Table 7-3: Educational outcomes in 2014 for schools in the study area
Profile of educational outcomes at schools in the study area (2014)
School Teaching staff Student % ICSEA 2015 NAPLAN, 2015 (FTE) s Indigenous value* **Year 5, NAPLAN reading Year 5 numeracy
Tennant Creek 23 teaching 366 73% 740 345 (405) 392 (408) Primary (P-6) 11 non-teaching
Ampilatwatja 8.1 teaching 104 100% 491 308 (262) 353 (324) 1.8 non- teaching
Ali Curung 7 teaching 117 99% 486 316 (254) 334 (326) (Alekarenge) 2 non-teaching
Arlparra 22 teaching 183 100% 597 358 (348) 389 (364) School 5.3 non- (Utopia) teaching
Imangara 3 teaching staff 17 100% n/a n/a n/a (Murray Downs)
Source: ACARA MySchools website with number of students, ICSEA value and comparative data from two key indicators (national statistically similar school data in brackets). On a more positive note, a study by Charles Darwin University’s Northern Institute in 2013 (Yuhun & Taylor, 2013) based on an analysis of 2006 and 2011 Census data found improving educational outcomes for Tennant Creek and the region, particularly students completing Years 11 and 12. However, as the data below indicates, a significant gap remains between Indigenous and non- Indigenous outcomes. The rest of the Barkly is shown in brackets.
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Table 7-4: Comparison of educational outcomes
Comparison of educational outcomes in 2006 and 2011 (Rest of the Barkly Region in brackets)
Percentage of 2006 2011 responses 15-29 year-olds Indigenous Non-Indigenous, Indigenous Non-Indigenous, not stated not stated
Completed year 18% (11%) 67% (67%) 31% (20%) 76% (85%) 11, 12
Bachelor or 1% (0%) 13% (7%) 2% (1%) 19% (15%) above
Advanced 3% (0%) 6% (6%) 2% (0%) 7% (9%) diploma
Certificate 8% (3%) 19% (20%) 9% (4%) 20% (20%)
Source ABS data cited in Yuhun et al (2013).
In Australia, the rate of Indigenous men with post-school qualifications increased from 4.9% in 1971 to 31% in 2011 (Closing the Gap, 2017). In the Barkly SA2, 32.9% of people aged over 15 have a post-school qualification compared with 48.4% in the Sandover-Plenty (ABS 2012). Not surprisingly, there is a correlation between the proportion of Aboriginal people in the workforce in the region under study and the percentage with post-secondary qualifications.
7.5 VET training and Employment Pathways The Department of Education’s vision is for Tennant Creek to become a regional hub for VET training, particularly in agriculture, conservation, land management, construction and hospitality. Tennant Creek High School has four VET trainers who spend time in remoter schools. The Department recently leased land from Barkly Regional Council for a $1.5 million Juno training facility for students from the Barkly and Alice Springs regions. Plans include bringing students in from all Barkly Group schools for one week each semester. A ‘Healthy Life Creative Life’ program will provide support for disengaged and ‘at risk’ students. The 1000-hectare Juno block is 10 km from Tennant Creek and includes some training facilities, which will be upgraded to include accommodation for 16 students. The Department’s Employment Pathways program aims to link remote students with jobs, training and further education. It includes vocational training, literacy and numeracy, life skills and wellbeing programs. A key focus is Years 7-9, which is often the most difficult cohort of students (SIA interview). 7.6 Labour market From the Closing the Gap report, the Indigenous employment rate in Australia fell from 53.8% in 2008 to 48.4% in 2014-15 (the non-Indigenous employment rate also declined from 75% to 72.6%
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as part of a softening labour market). Only 35.1% of Indigenous people of workforce age (15-64) in very remote areas were employed compared with 57.5% of those in major cities. Employment rates decreased significantly in Queensland, Western Australian and the Northern Territory. However, the report cautions this may have been affected by a decline in Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) participants between 2008 and 2014-15.
Table 7-5: Employment rates for the Territory, Queensland and Western Australia Indigenous working age employment rates (15-64)
2008 total employment 2008 non-CDEP 2014-15 employment Northern 50.8% 33.4% 36.7% Territory Western 56.3% 46.1% 39.5% Australia Queensland 59.5% 55.4% 49.6%
Source: ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Social Survey 2008 and 2014-15, cited in Closing the Gap (2017).
Table 7-6 below compares employment, unemployment and participation rates in the key regions (Alice Springs, Sandover-Plenty and Barkly) and Indigenous locations in the area under study. Arlpurrurulam is included as it is a large, mainly Alyawarre community with close connections to Ampilatwatja and there is potential mobility of people interested in jobs.
The 2011 ABS statistics show substantial gaps in unemployment and participation rates between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people. Clearly non-Aboriginal rates are influenced by the fact that people are likely to be living in communities only because they are there for work. Even in Tennant Creek, non-Aboriginal people are more likely to be in the town for work-related reasons and to leave when they don’t have work (as reflected in higher mobility rates discussed in Yuhun & Taylor, 2013).
Also evident is the discrepancy between educational attainment across all areas and the higher rates of post-secondary qualifications for Aboriginal people living in Tennant Creek, compared with smaller communities, and the significantly higher employment rates of Aboriginal people in Tennant Creek (28.9%) compared with Indigenous communities. There is 13% Aboriginal employment in Ampilatwatja, rising to 32% in Imangara (Murray Downs). The Tennant Creek employment figures may reflect both better education and more job opportunities while the lower statistics in communities may partially reflect people leaving communities and gravitating towards towns such as Tennant Creek seeking education and jobs. In remote communities, people may be more involved in traditional activities.
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Key labour force, population and education statistics from 2011 Census Comparing Aboriginal with non-Aboriginal numbers and rates Employed (a) Unemployed (b) Participation rates ERP (c) Aged 15+ Non-school quals (d) Aboriginal Non-A A Non-A Total A Non-A A Non-A All A Non-A All A Non-A Barkly SA3 616 1213 156 20 8.7% 31.2% 83.9% 3685 1680 5723 2471 1469 4216 179 774 303,294.6 km 24.9% 82.6% 20.2% 1.6% Barkly SA2 300 363 81 3 84 27.9% 83.4% 2093 470 2661 1368 440 1886 56 222 Region (minus 21.9% 82.7% 21.3% 0.8% 11.2% Tennant Creek) Tennant Creek SA2 320 849 73 17 90 35.5% 84.2% 1591 1207 3060 1106 1028 2332 121 218 (town) 28.9% 82.5% 18.6% 2% 7.1% Alice SA3 2440 13,578 588 274 866 33.5% 82.9% 13,060 20,480 36,066 9034 16,708 27,742 919 9263 569,566.2 km 28.6% 83.9% 19.4% 2% 5.1% Sandover Plenty SA2 430 226 150 4 157 24.3% 70.6% 3275 368 3728 2381 325 2769 130 157 129,514.9 km 18% 69.3% 25.9% 1.7% 19.3% Ampilatwatja and 31 17 26 0 33.8% 23.9% 73.9% 372 27 406 239 21 267 6 15 outstations 13% 72.9% 45.6% 0% ILOC70200201 15113.3 km Utopia, Arawerr, 60 20 22 0 22 25.9% 76.9% 481 26 517 318 27 352 18 16 Arlparra ILOC 19% 76.9% 26.8% 0% 21.6% 2627.2 km Ali Curung ILOC 57 36 13 0 13 22.4% 83.7% 486 47 536 313 42 358 6 30 443.2 km 18.3% 83.7% 18.6% 0% 12.3% Imangara 16 6 3 0 3 38% 100% 89 6 95 50 6 56 0 6 (Murray Downs) 32% 100% 15.8% 0% 12% 6.2 km Wutungurra 32 4 3 0 3 30.7% 57.1% 199 7 206 114 7 121 3 3 (Epenarra) 28.1% 57.1% 16.7% 0% 7.7% Arlpurrurulam 48 27 22 3 25 24.3% 100% 415 28 443 287 30 317 10 19 10 km 19% 90% 31.4% 10% 25%
Table 7-6: Labour force for areas under study Source: ABS 2011 Community Profiles for SA3 and SA3 regions and Indigenous Locations (ABS, 2011) The labour force comprises people who are in jobs or actively seeking work. It excludes people who are disengaged from the labour force (ie haven’t registered to seek work), who are unable to work, people in unpaid labour (such as home duties) and welfare recipients. Therefore participation rates provides a better guide as it shows the proportion of people in a community who
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are either employed or actively seeking work. For example, there are 616 Indigenous people employed in the Barkly and 156 unemployed (which is 20.2% of the Aboriginal labour force), however there are 1312 people not in the labour force at all, or a participation rate of 31.2% and another 387 people aged 15 or over who didn’t provide their labour force status. The labour force included 160 CDEP participants. (a) excludes small number of residents who did not state Indigenous status, residents aged 15+ (b) as percentage of labour force, includes CDEP participants (7 men for Ampilatwatja, 88 for Barkly SA2, 7 for Arlpurrurulam, 18 for Utopia, 23 for Ali Curung, 10 for Wutungurra, 2 for Imangara, 348 for Alice Springs SA3 of whom 6 were non-Indigenous, 64 for Tennant Creek SA2 of whom all were Indigenous) (c) estimated residential population: note the total includes some additional residents who did not state Aboriginal status (d) non-school qualifications range from Certificate II to Post-graduate degrees.
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7.7 Unemployment profile The unemployment rate for Aboriginal Australians of working age in 2014-15 was 20.8%, 3.6 times the non-Indigenous unemployment rate of 5.8%. For Aboriginal people living in very remote areas, the rate was double that of those living in major cities at 28.1%, compared with 2.8% for non- Aboriginal people living in very remote areas.
The participation rates were also lower in remote areas: 49.1% of Aboriginal people of working age in remote areas, compared with 67.1% of those in major cities, with lower participation rates for women.
The unemployment rate in the Barkly SA3 region rose in comparison with the overall unemployment rate for NT between the 2006 and 2011 Census periods. Contextually, the Barkly region has a higher rate of working age population (15 years of age and over) not in the labour force – which is defined by the ABS as ‘people aged 15 years and over who are neither employed nor unemployed are classified as not in the labour force. This includes people who are retired, pensioners and people engaged solely in home duties (unpaid)’. Participation rates may be a more meaningful indicator than unemployment data. Non-participation covers people not working or seeking work, which may include ‘disengaged’ people of working age. People may drop out of the workforce for a range of reasons, including that they have given up trying to find work. For example, participation rates are 63.9% for the Northern Territory, 61.4% for Alice Springs, 54.3% for Tennant Creek, only 29.3% for the Sandover-Plenty SA2 region and 39.6% for the Barkly SA2. These rates are skewed, however, by near total participation of non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal participation rates are much lower: 35.5% for Tennant Creek, 24.3% for the Sandover-Plenty and 27.9% for the Barkly SA2.
Aboriginal unemployment rates for the communities under study are highest in Ampilatwatja (45.6%) and lowest in Imangara (15.8%), the latter also having the highest participation in the labour force (38%). While Imangara’s population is small, SIA interviews suggested a cohort of Imangara teenagers boarding in Tennant Creek to get secondary education who are regarded by the Department of Education as more likely to get work. Ampilatwatja is a larger community and further away from centres offering job opportunities.
More recent data suggests changes in employment, participation and education rates across the region but accurate comparisons are made difficult by different collection methods, statistical boundaries and currency of data. For example, Small Area Labour Market data for the September 2016 quarter (Department of Employment, 2016) suggests lower unemployment in some areas (eg Sandover Plenty has dropped from 19.2 in the 2011 Census to 13.9% in the labour market data), but this might be attributed to methodological differences, population movements and changes in the way that community development participants are counted (2016 Census data is due for release in late 2017). Anecdotal information gathered in SIA interviews supports the key obvious conclusion from the data: there are few Aboriginal people working in the local or regional areas under study.
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The Australian Government’s Department of Employment surveyed Australian employers in 2015. The most common reason given by those in the NT Outback (which includes the Sandover-Plenty and Barkly regions) for not interviewing job seekers for a vacancy was that they lacked relevant experience. The second highest reason was that job seekers had insufficient training or qualifications. Completing Year 12 increases labour market outcomes (Department of Employment, 2015)
Fig 7-1: Unemployment rate and not in labour force rate, 2001-2011
Source: ABS, 2012c; GHD Analysis. Note: Population count for this graph is based on Place of Enumeration. 7.8 Employment providers Community Development Program services are provided to the North Alice Springs region (covering Ampilatwatja, Arlparra and Atitjere) by MyPathway (Enterprise Management Group). My Pathway is a national provider of education, training and employment services and describes its vision as providing stronger communities and providing job seekers with support programs, education, training, labour hire, apprenticeships, traineeships, community support and networks.
The Community Development Program replaces what was formerly known as the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP or ‘work for the dole’) and Remote Jobs and Communities Program (RJCP). In urban areas, it is known as ‘Job Active’.
In Tennant Creek, employment services are provided by Julalikari Aboriginal Corporation which was placed into administration in February 2016 but continues to operate. There are several JobActive providers in Alice Springs.
MyPathway reported 405 job seekers on its books in April 2017 across the North Alice Springs Region, of whom 266 had workforce development requirements (in other words, they are not
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considered work ready). MyPathway has helped place Ampilatwatja people in jobs with Verdant Minerals during exploration and rehabilitation work. At the time of interviews, MyPathway had about 12 men and 16 women in the program in Ampilatwatja and about the same number of men in Arlparra. At the time of writing, MyPathway had won two training houses at Arlparra to gain construction experience and a Certificate II in Construction Pathways.
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7.9 Assessment of economic risks and opportunities 7.9.1 Opportunities for local jobs Aspirations to improve education outcomes and increase local Aboriginal participation rates were the key issue raised by Aboriginal people, government and businesses in interviews. Construction (including trades), mining and associated activities offer the chance to meet these aspirations.
MyPathway reported that most job placements as at April 2017 were with the construction sector (22% in 2016 in the North Alice Springs region). The shortage of community housing in Arlparra and the NT Government’s housing and infrastructure programs are expected to generate demand for construction labour, thus opportunities for skills development.
The regional manager of MyPathway estimates that perhaps 25% of Verdant’s 300 construction jobs could be filled by Aboriginal people from all Alyawarre communities, including Arlpurrurulam. The types of job available are likely to suit local workers (truck and grader drivers) and some Aboriginal people may move back to their land for jobs and business opportunities with the project.
Given the project’s lifespan is expected to be 25 years or more, longer-term opportunities for local workers could be enhanced by working with both governments, employment providers and schools to transition promising students into jobs and by providing the appropriate mentoring and support.
It is also likely that Aboriginal recruitment will be enhanced by Verdant awarding contacts to companies with a good track record of Aboriginal employment and training, using labour hire as a means of accommodating cultural obligations, focussing on work that Aboriginal people aspire to such as land management, as well as human resource practices that encourage women to work either at the mine site or in administrative or workers’ village positions.
Given the importance of family and culture, it will be important for Verdant to work with the community as a whole, rather than individual employees, to achieve its objectives and communicate reasons for failure to achieve targets.
On one issue both data and interviewees were united: the strong link between higher education levels and the likelihood of young Aboriginal people getting a job, both because it improves literacy and numeracy but also because educational attainments is likely to be linked to the discipline and motivation needed to hold down a permanent job. On that point, educators spoken to seem quietly confident that outcomes are improving and that a project like Ammaroo provides an additional incentive for young people in the region to persevere with their education. MyPathway, Barkly Council and Aherrenge Store reported increasing numbers of local people taking part in employment programs and work.
The Department of Education is keen to link its vocational education and training program to jobs at the mine and suggests working with promising students while they are still at school
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to create career pathways. The Department is interested in opportunities to link with the Ammaroo project, in particular with rehabilitation work or hospitality jobs in the accommodation village.
The relatively small scale of the Ammaroo project may also provide a better match with the size of a work-ready cohort. Alyawarre traditional owners have a strong history of working on pastoral properties, some Alyawarre people have worked with Verdant already and, we were told during interviews, senior people are urging younger people to get a job.
Verdant will sign an Indigenous Land Use Agreement with native title holders, through a negotiated benefit agreement with the Central Land Council, and will seek collaborative approaches with local education and employment providers to maximise the capacity of local people to realise work opportunities.
There are two ways to rate the significance of this opportunity (#2). Using the commonly cited yardstick of mining projects creating ‘hundreds’ of regional jobs, it is unlikely to be achieved. If using a more realistic measure of slow, incremental take-up of opportunities as barriers to participation are lowered, an untreated opportunity rating of MEDIUM is raised to HIGH. However, it will be important to manage the expectations of all stakeholders, including governments, about what is realistic.
7.9.2 Opportunities for jobs that draw on traditional knowledge Alyawarre people retain good traditional ecological knowledge and a keen interest in working on their own country. The advantage of this work is that it draws on traditional knowledge, plays to strengths rather than the deficits of local disadvantage, and is more adaptable to cultural obligations than mining rosters. Progressive rehabilitation also offers substantial opportunities, from cottage industries such as seed collection to ranger and rehabilitation work. There are additional opportunities should Aboriginal people want to use the rehabilitation process as a chance to plant bush foods. According to the Aherrenge Store, local women previously harvested a range of bush food on request from a commercial supplier.
The significance of this opportunity (#3) is considered HIGH given that the scale of opportunities is likely to be commensurate with local interest and capacity.
7.9.3 Failure to meet local job targets Employment and education offer the greatest potential benefits of the project, but also the greatest challenges. Clearly, the company can, and wants to, make a difference in closing the gap of disadvantage. However, analysis of trends and feedback from interviews suggest Verdant is more likely to recruit workers already in jobs than make an immediate dent in unemployment queues. Other employers have struggled to recruit and retain staff.
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In Ampilatwatja, challenges include cultural obligations, poor skills, a lack of experience in the workforce (particularly with long shifts), attendance at sports carnivals and, for some, poor motivation.
While many people on the Utopia Homelands have family connections to Ampilatwajta, barriers to work include poor work histories tied to a lack of jobs, low skill levels, poor English, no public transport and an unwillingness to travel away from traditional country and family. One interviewee commented that, even if people were prepared to travel for work, they may expect to take families with them. For example, at the time of interviews, a worker in Arlparra had set up a camp on the outskirts of the community so he can continue to live with family. An unwillingness to leave family or live in an accommodation camp may reduce the level of local Aboriginal employment.
Short-term, it is likely that meeting aspirations for Aboriginal employment will be challenging. This should improve longer-term, given the long mine life, relatively small scale start-up phase of the project and fewer number of workers needed during operations.
There are signs that local employment outcomes are improving. A collaborative effort with employment, training and education providers will mitigate the risk of failure, however this risk (#44) is assigned a MEDIUM significance rating, reflecting the level of effort required to deliver good outcomes.
7.10 Mitigation and management In order to maximise the opportunities and minimise failure on employment and training issues, it is suggested Verdant:
• develop a workforce development plan, including support mechanisms; • establish a training committee once the timing of construction is known in order to harness all available support for jobs and training, including liaison with the Department of Education; • encourage providers to deliver driving courses to help local people get jobs driving buses or heavy equipment; • use a labour hire system; • use communication and tactics such as site visits and career days to make people aware of the range of potential jobs available; • develop a code of conduct, cultural inductions and mentoring to provide a safe and welcoming workplace for Aboriginal men and women.
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8. Infrastructure and social services 8.1 Overview An influx of workers and start of a major project may put pressure on local government, council and non-government services. For example an influx of people may put pressure on public housing, while any increase in crime or social unrest can put pressure on policing services. On a positive note, any increased interest in education may improve school participation rates. Mining companies in general are self-contained in terms of demand for health services and waste disposal, so these services are unlikely to be impacted.
The key predicted impact of the Ammaroo project is deterioration of local roads through increased industrial traffic, with consequent budgetary pressures to upgrade and maintain them. Conversely, a key social and economic benefit would be upgraded local roads. Some pressure on community housing is likely should local people move back to their country seeking work and expecting to live with family, exacerbating severe levels of overcrowding.
8.2 Key events or activities causing impacts Key project activities that could lead to impacts on services and infrastructure are:
• project mobilisation • industrial traffic on local roads • the ‘honeypot’ effect of families moving back to the region for jobs.
8.3 Key risks and opportunities
Table 8-1: Potential risks and opportunities for infrastructure and social services Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Project activities includes residual Workforce puts pressure on social infrastructure infrastructure that benefits the community, eg through increased demand, such as transport, telecommunications, or spending on shared and health, creating budgetary pressures for infrastructure such as roads. service providers (Government and Council).
Distribution of benefits increases investment in Pressure on policing and emergency services community infrastructure in nearby through increased crime, alcohol abuse, road communities, such as sporting facilities. trauma, chemical spills or bushfires.
Pressures on already overcrowded public housing if people return to live with families or are displaced from private rental properties in Tennant Creek due to higher rents.
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8.4 Key social infrastructure and services in the region Tennant Creek is the regional service centre for government and municipal services as well as non- government services like Julalikari Aboriginal Corporation, Anyinginyi Aboriginal Health Corporation and art and music centres that serve the vast Barkly district. Barkly Regional Council serves Tennant Creek, six communities and many homelands across the Barkly, including power and water management to some of the most remote and disadvantaged parts of Australia. Community services extend from aged care and early childhood services to sport and recreation facilities.
Ampilatwatja has a council service centre and workshops, the community-owned Aherrenge store, primary and secondary schools, post office, sports facilities, aged care service, night patrol and health centre. Police services are provided from Arlparra and Atitjere (Harts Range). An art centre supports the region’s well-known artists).
The Utopia Homelands is characterised by many small outstations. It is serviced by small primary schools and a health centre on the Homelands and a centralised service centre. Arlparra supports a community-owned store, high school, police station, aged care, recreational facilities, MyPathway, a Central Land Council office and Arid Edge (a community development program designed to engage young people). Urapuntja Aboriginal Health Corporation runs the health clinic 10 km to the north, with a large, sealed airstrip near the health clinic at Amengernternenh outstation. Municipal services are provided by the Barkly Regional Council’s Arlparra Service Centre.
Ali Curung has a school, health clinic and police station. A dirt airstrip services flights to Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. Other facilities include the Mirnirri Store (managed by Outback Stores), Warrabri Bakery, women’s centre, Arlpwe Art Centre and Gallery (established in 2008), Baptist Church, Homemakers, health centre, mechanical workshop, crèche and aged care service. An advanced water treatment plant opened in 2013 and a council water park in March 2016. There is no commercial accommodation in Ali Curung (Barkly Regional Council).
8.5 Transport As is typical for remote mining projects, transport and logistics is a key issue. The Ammaroo site is reached by travelling north or south on the sealed Stuart Highway then along unsealed roads, most in poor condition. While there are plans to rail freight and concentrate along a spur line in a transport and services corridor, during the construction phase the site will be accessed by local roads, with a substantial increase in industrial traffic, mostly along the Murray Downs Road (albeit over relatively small windows of time during the construction phase).
The Sandover Highway is a key access route from Alice Springs to the Queensland border, passing by several stations. Originally a stock route, with government bores at strategic intervals, post-war development saw it become a regularly-graded track by the early 1950s. It linked communities at both ends of the Sandover River, with Ooratippra at the centre. Subsidiary roads such as the Elkedra- Annitowa-Argadargada route, first graded in 1952, linked the district’s stations to each other and the arterial road. The roads soon underpinned burgeoning cattle haulage business, with Kurt Johannsen
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starting the first successful cattle transport business in Alice Springs in 1946 and the Beef Roads Program starting in 1962 (Powell, 2016).
The Sandover is mostly unsealed, although there is a small, 17-kilometre section of sealed road between Arlparra and the turn-off to the health clinic, sealed at a cost of $5 million. Another $2 million has been allocated to extend this sealed section to the clinic.
Local pastoralists say the Sandover and Murray Downs Roads are critical to their station operations but that maintenance has not kept pace with substantial increases in traffic. They describe roads becoming muddy quagmires after rain (in July, 2017, two inches of rain fell on bulldust), cutting off stations from supplies for weeks at a time. Markets for nearby Sandover pastoralists include export through Darwin to Indonesia and China, the AACo meatworks south of Darwin, Queensland along the Barkly Highway and south along the Sandover to South Australia.
The number of cattle trucks along the Murray Downs Road was estimated at 15 (this year) to 20 (last year) by Ammaroo, 10 to 15 a year by Elkedra and six to seven trucks a year by Ooratippra, which also brings in steers for fattening from Mistake Creek near the West Australian border. Argadargada occasionally uses the Murray Downs Road to get cattle out when black soil country becomes too boggy to travel via Lake Nash. In addition, the stations use these roads to bring in fuel, hay, building materials and general supplies as well as running cattle between bores and properties. Elkedra reports that fuel and supply trucks charge extra to deliver to their station because of the wear and tear on vehicles.
Alyawarre people have always travelled widely across the region, with Powell (2016) describing a pattern of movement between Ooratippra, Elkedra, MacDonald Downs and Lake Nash. These days, this travel is by car. While signs warn of gravel roads and floodways, most of the community travel these days is by sedans (there is no public transport) with wear and tear contributing to social and economic costs for already disadvantaged people (SIA interviews). Evidence of this includes the number of car bodies along the roads from break downs and single vehicle rollovers.
The level of tourism traffic is unknown, although tourism sources note the increasing popularity of off-road driving in Central Australia and Ammaroo estimates about 200 vehicles a year on Murray Downs Road. The Binns Track is promoted by tourism authorities as a popular four-wheel drive experience that starts at the South Australian border. The 2230-kilometre track includes a 691- kilometre section from the Plenty Highway to the Barkly Highway, passing through the Iytwelepenty/Davenport National Park, which is described as having ‘spectacular scenery’ and holding cultural significance to the Alyawarre, Kaytetye and Warumungu people (Parks and Wildlife Commission, Tourism NT). The Binns Track follows the Murray Downs Road, past the project site at Ammaroo, then heads up Kurundi Road to the old mining town of Hatches Creek.
Workforce access to the Ammaroo project will be by bus or by air, including from Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Mount Isa. There is a good 1.2-kilometre sealed airstrip near Arlparra, built recently to support the health clinic. The 1.2-kilometre airstrip at Ampilatwatja is unsealed. Both airstrips are
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used for aeromedical evacuations by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and were described as being of a relatively high standard.
Plate 2 – Intersection of the Sandover and Murray Downs Road, abandoned car on the Sandover, bulldust on the Murray Downs Road, the car graveyard outside Ampilatwatja, a sealed section of the Sandover at Arlparra and sign on the Murray Downs Road.
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8.6 Education facilities (See Education section for information on educational outcomes).
Table 8-2: Education facilities Education services
Providers Overview
Tennant Tennant Creek Tennant Creek Primary School had 366 enrolments in 2014, Creek Primary School 70% Indigenous. The school campus includes a preschool (including pre- and child care centre. It provides services to several school) outstations.
Tennant Creek High Tennant Creek High School, like all schools in the area School under study, is classified as ‘very remote’. It had 200 enrolments in 2014 (112 boys and 88 girls), 79% of whom were Indigenous and who came from the town, town camps and other remote communities, with 58% speaking a language other than English at home. The school covers years 7 to 12. In 2017 it had 70 students enrolled in VET courses. There is a 40-bed hostel in Tennant Creek for students for remote communities. As of April, 2017, the hostel had about 25 students boarding, most from Imangara (Murray Downs).
Ampilatwatja Department of Ampilatwatja School is part of the Barkly Group and offers Education education from preschool to Year 9. It offers literacy and numeracy and programs designed to create career pathways. During interviews in April 2017, there were 110 students enrolled and an estimated 10 students in boarding schools in Darwin, Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.
Ali Curung Department of Alekarenge School is part of the Barkly School Group and Education had 117 students enrolled in 2014. It covers preschool to middle years. Programs include accelerated literacy, early childhood reading, healthy living and Indigenous language and culture program.
Arlparra Department of Arlparra School (Annkerrapw) has 180 students and covers Education primary education on five homeland sites: Apungalindum, Clinic, Irrultja and Soapy Bore Homeland Centres. Arlparra High School opened in 2009 and includes a family learning centre for children aged 0 to 5. The homeland schools are run by a teacher and two assistant teachers from Monday to Thursday. The high school operates five days a week. The learning centre runs three days a week, with mobile outreach programs to 60 children in the outlying homelands. All but three students were reportedly Indigenous in 2017 and most speak Eastern Anmatyerre and Alywarre, with English as an additional language. Many
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Education services
travel between the homelands and other remote communities (various websites).
School of the Department of Alice Springs School of the Air provides education services Air Education and activities to isolated school children from pre-school to Year 9 in the Southern part of the NT and northern South Australia. Students live on cattle stations, in remote communities, police stations and national parks.
Source: MySchool website and Alice Springs School of the Air website (Alice Springs School of the Air, nd)
8.7 Health services
Table 8-3: Health services in the region Health services in the region
Key providers Overview
Tennant Royal Flying Doctor The Royal Flying Doctor Service offers a General Practice Creek Services health service in Tennant Creek that includes primary health care services. Dept of Health Tennant Creek Hospital is a 20-bed acute care hospital providing accident and emergency and outpatient facilities, a range of hospital services, clinics, allied health services, aged care and visiting specialist services. The hospital sees 14,000 patients a year (Department of Health).
Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation is an Aboriginal controlled multidisciplinary health service established in 1984 that achieved general practice accreditation in 2000. It provides primary health care and dental services to Aboriginal people in Tennant Creek and the surrounding region in addition to services such as community development, sport, alcohol after care and education. More than 2500 people access Anyinginyi’s health clinic each year, with 90% of services and 80% of patients being Aboriginal. Anyinginyi is a Warumungu word meaning “belonging to us” (Anyinginyi n.d).
St John Ambulance is based at the hospital and provides local area transport for patients.
Ampilatwatja Ampilatwatja Health The health centre provides primary healthcare, 24-hour Centre Aboriginal emergency care, women’s and men’s health programs and Corporation healthy eating to the community and Irrultja, Welere (Derry Downs) and Atnwengerrp out stations (in 2013, staff were a GP, two nurses and two full-time and two part-time Aboriginal Health Workers at out stations). The centre coordinates medical evacuations by the Royal Flying Doctor
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Health services in the region
Service (most for chronic diseases) and operates an ambulance for ground transport.
Arlparra Urapuntja Health The Utopia clinic is at the Amengernternenh homeland, 10 Centre Aboriginal km from Arlparra. It provides health services to an Corporation estimated 1000 people living in 16 homeland communities Staff include a GP, three registered nurses and clinic manager/CEO. The Centre reports to a Board, comprising senior people from its outstations.
Ali Curung Ali Curung Centre The clinic provides 24-hour acute or emergency response Clinic (NT and primary health care services to Ali Curung and Murray Government) Downs, together with a number of men’s, women’s and children’s health programs, infectious and communicable disease prevention and control and visiting district medical officer and specialist services. In 2011, the clinic had 4.5 staff, including a GP, nurses and Aboriginal Health worker.
Royal Flying Royal Flying Doctor The RFDS provides a range of medical services to remote Doctor Service Alice Springs parts of the Northern Territory and South Australia from Services Alice Springs, including 24/7 medical evacuations, clinics, telehealth, mental and oral health clinics and a Healthy Living Program.
Sources: various websites
8.8 Police and emergency services
Table 8-4: Police and emergency services Police and emergency services
Source of services Description
Tennant Tennant Creek A new $3.7 million Tennant Creek Police headquarters and Creek Police police station opened in 2013 for town’s 42 police. NT Fire and Rescue The Tennant Creek Fire Station is staffed by career, Services; auxiliary and volunteer fire fighters. It has one fully- equipped fire and emergency response truck, two light NT Emergency vehicles for fire-fighting and access to aerial support. It Services; services Tennant Creek and the Barkly region and works closely with Bushfires NT and pastoral stations. Tennant St John Ambulance Creek has 10 trained members in its Emergency Service Volunteer Unit Ampilatwatja Police from Arlparra Police services at Ampilatwatja are provided from Arlparra and Harts Range and Atitjere (Harts Range). While the Sandover area covers a large distance, current demand levels make it unlikely that any police station would be located in the community.
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Arlparra Police Station Arlparra has a modern new police station, including a court house. There are three police houses and only two permanent staff, so there is room to expand, although the current workload wouldn’t justify increased staffing.
The main workload for police in the region is alcohol, domestic violence, property crime and road safety.
Ali Curung Police Station As of March, 2017, had three police, including an Aboriginal Community Police Officer. The station has visiting officers’ quarters, which can be used to boost numbers as needed, but no capacity for additional full-time staff.
Various sources, including NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services websites (Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, 2016) and personal interviews.
8.9 Housing The level of home ownership in Tennant Creek is lower than for the Northern Territory and half the home ownership rate of Australia. The rates for Aboriginal people were lower still (see below) with 18.5% owning or in the process of buying and 70.2% of Aboriginal people renting, compared with 57% of Tennant Creek residents overall. Of Aboriginal people renting, 148 of properties were being rented through public housing authorities and 54 through cooperatives. This is likely reflective of the large Aboriginal population and predominance of public administration jobs.
Table 8-5: Home ownership in Tennant Creek Home ownership in Tennant Creek
All residents Aboriginal NT Australia
Own home 14.2% 5.1% 15.7% 32.1% outright
Owned with 20.3% 13.4% 30.6% 34.9% mortgage
Rented 57% 70.2% 49.1% 29.6%
Other tenure 0.9% 1.0% 0.9%
Not stated 7.6% 11.3% 3.7% 2.5%
Source: Census QuickStats, Tennant Creek SA2 (2011)
Housing in Tennant Creek is relatively affordable in terms of mortgage and rental costs. Despite rising 13.2% a year over the past decade, the highest rate in the Northern Territory, house prices in Tennant Creek remain the lowest of the Territory’s regional centres, with a median price of $365,000 in the March quarter of 2016 (Department of Treasury and Finance 2016). The median mortgage repayment in 2011 was $934 a month, compared with $2058 for the Northern Territory and $1800 for Australia.
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A key issue in Tennant Creek is overcrowded public housing, long waiting lists, ageing stock and insufficient funding for repairs and maintenance. Public housing in urban areas, town camps and outstations is managed by the Department of Housing and Community Development, which sub- contracts property and tenancy management to a range of organisations. Various reports have expressed concern at the standard of public housing. A ten-year housing affordability report card produced in July 2016 by non-government organisation NT Shelter (2016) found the Northern Territory is the least affordable jurisdiction in Australia in which to rent a property. In relation to Tennant Creek, it found that public housing wait times have increased by between 250 and 387% over the past 10 years and by between 53 and 92% in the past three years. All housing in remote locations is public housing and therefore rented.
Remote housing
Public housing in remote communities is generally overcrowded, an issue flagged by the new Northern Territory Government as a priority in its first term. The figures below suggest high levels of overcrowding in Ampilatwatja and Ali Curung (with occupancy rates of 5.8). However, aggregated data fails to tell the full story, with low occupancies of worker or government-provided housing and reportedly up to 30 people in two or three-bedroom public housing in Ampilatwatja (SIA interviews).
Table 8-6: Dwellings Indigenous Average occupancy Population dwellings rates per household
Tennant Creek 334 4.1 1591
- all dwellings 1259 2.9 3061
Ampilatwatja and 76 5.8 405 outstations
Ali Curung 106 5.8 537
Utopia-Arlparra- 108 5.6 515 Arawerr
Imangara 15 5.4 93
Illeuwurru- 31 4.4 68 Inkawenyerre
Irrultja 12 4.7 88
Atneltyey 12 8 12
Source ABS 2011 Census QuickStats on dwellings occupied by Aboriginal people for ILOCs of Ampilatwatja, Arlparra and Ali Curung and the Indigenous Area (IARE) of Tennant Creek (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012)
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8.10 Other social services in the region Table 8-7: Other social and community services Other social and community services in the region
Providers Services
Tennant Creek Barkly Youth Service A range of youth services and Barkly Anyinginyi Aboriginal Strong Families program, women’s centre, men’s Corporation centre, mothers and children’s programs Julalikari Aboriginal Childcare Corporation Alcohol and other drugs programs and sobering Barkly Region Alcohol and up shelter Drug Abuse Advisory Nyinkka Nyunyu cultural centre Council Art and music centres.
Ampilatwatja Outback Stores Aherrenge Community Store (which also provides Aherrenge Aboriginal worker accommodation) Association Art centre, post office, aged care, sport and Barkly Regional Council recreation Mail plane Municipal services.
Arlparra Urapuntja Council Provides services to Arlparra and 16 out stations Aboriginal Corporation Mail plane Recreational facilities including basketball complex and football oval.
Ali Curung Arlpwe Artists Aboriginal Art Centre Corporation Sport and recreation, including AFL team competing in the Barkly Australian Football League.
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8.11 Assessment of infrastructure and services risks and opportunities 8.11.1 Legacy infrastructure that benefits the community Substantial legacy benefits from the project would include upgrading of roads used by pastoralists and the community, improved telecommunications, and access to common user infrastructure such as the railway spur line. These benefits are subject to negotiation with the Northern Territory Government and would be substantial if delivered.
Upgrading of the Murray Downs Road would have particular social and economic benefits for pastoralists and communities. There is no public transport in the region (although there is talk of the ‘Bush Bus’ expanding its route), so community members drive often unsuitable sedans on this road to visit family, access services or go shopping. There is wear and tear on the vehicles and frequent single vehicle rollovers, as evidenced by the substantial ‘graveyard’ of vehicles outside Ampilatwatja and many abandoned cars by the roadside. Government workers travel regularly on the roads, both for work and weekends off.
Pastoralists rely on the roads to travel between properties and get cattle to markets in Queensland or northern export markets through the Port of Darwin. Better roads would reduce wear and tear on trucks and improve access.
Local roads are also used to deliver fuel, supplies to the store and by growing numbers of four-wheel drive tourists on the Binns track.
The untreated opportunity rating (#6) is MEDIUM, with the potential to increase to HIGH should the project succeed in unlocking government spending on upgrading local roads.
8.11.2 Community infrastructure as a result of benefit agreements or sponsorship Social infrastructure generally is seen as a government responsibility, however some community infrastructure may benefit from distribution of benefits. The untreated rating for this opportunity (#7) was assessed as LOW, rising to MEDIUM depending on the negotiations for how ILUA money is distributed.
8.11.3 Pressure on social infrastructure Social infrastructure, such as health and education, are considered unlikely to experience negative impacts as external workforces would not bring families and the mine would provide its own health services. There could be some increased demand for services at the Ampilatwatja Health Centre during construction, before medical services are established, and as a result of any influx of local families and if there is a demand for worker medicals. Additional workload for the clinic and Tennant Creek hospital could result from medical evacuations or disaster responses. However, providers did not feel negative impacts were likely or particularly consequential, therefore this potential risk (#42) is assigned a LOW significance rating.
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8.11.4 Pressure on housing The project is unlikely to impact on public or private housing availability or affordability in regional centres such as Tennant Creek.
However, any influx of families to Ampilatwatja would strain already overcrowded public housing. Should Aboriginal workers move to the local area seeking work, they are likely to bring families and may not want to live at the workers’ accommodation village. The extent of this is unknown but should be closely monitored to provide early warning to government of increased demand for housing. On the other hand, the ‘honey pot’ effect of people arriving the community in expectation of work may be short-lived.
Any impact (#45) is likely to be short-term with increased demand met with forward planning by government, so it also attracts a LOW rating. However, given the sensitivity of this issue, it will require careful monitoring.
8.11.5 Pressure on transport infrastructure A key issue of concern to stakeholders was the implications of construction and mining traffic on the Sandover Highway, which services communities and pastoral properties to the Queensland border, and the Murray Downs Road past Ali Curung and Imangara. The Murray Downs Road in particular was described as being in poor condition and in need of upgrading. After rain it can be closed for several weeks, particularly to heavy traffic.
Suggestions varied from upgrading the Murray Downs Road, accessing the site from the better maintained Sandover Highway or building a dedicated road on the services corridor.
The additional traffic introduces road safety and amenity issues for communities along its route, including Murray Downs homestead and Imangara (Murray Downs community), off to the north, and Imperrenth Community past the Elkedra turnoff. As outlined in 8.5, the Murray Downs Road is used by Ampilatwatja people travelling to outstations and families in other communities, by pastoralists, government workers and a range of services.
Any increased traffic on the Sandover Highway is likely to have implications for pastoral properties and cattle movements (Bushy Park, Alcoota, Woodgreen, Mt Skinner, Angarap Land Trust, Derby Downs, Ooratippra, Annitowa, Angadargada, Georgina Downs). The road also provides access to a number of tracks to small communities and outstations (such as Indaringinya, Ngkwarlerlanem, Inkawenyerre, Amengernterneah, Atheley, Irrultja).
Roads are maintained by the Northern Territory Government, so there are budgetary implications in upgrading and increased maintenance.
Roads within communities are maintained by Barkly Regional Council, but are considered unlikely to experience additional impact from the project.
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The initial rating for this risk (#118) was HIGH, with a residual rating of MEDIUM should government funding be available to upgrade local roads (see further discussion under health, wellbeing and safety in Section 9).
8.11.6 Pressure on policing Police do not see the project as substantially increasing workloads or requiring an increased police presence in Ampilatwatja. Their main concerns related to any increased availability of alcohol, either through wages and benefits payments or at a ‘wet’ mess at the workers’ accommodation village. However, police believe likely issues can be addressed by a well- managed Code of Conduct. So this potential risk (#41) is given a LOW rating.
8.11.7 Pressure on emergency response capabilities The mine is likely to maintain its own emergency response teams. Given the nature of the project, there is unlikely to be substantially increased pressure on emergency services for spills or bushfires provided there is careful management of this potential risk. Police and health clinics have emergency response capabilities, trailers and ambulances, with access to local back-up. They are accustomed to call-outs for road trauma and chronic disease incidents.
However, given the nature of local roads and the elevated road safety risk posed by project traffic, this risk (#43) is assigned an initial MEDIUM rating. The risk would be reduced by traffic management and any upgrades of the road, however the consequences of any incident on local services remains MEDIUM.
8.12 Mitigation and management Management and mitigation measures
• work with the community to identify ways they can benefit from common user or shared infrastructure; • work with the Northern Territory Government to seek funding for upgraded local roads and regular maintenance; • traffic management plan to enhance safe driver behaviour by project transport; • Verdant to have on-site medical staff to reduce pressure on local health clinics; • Verdant will liaise with the Department of Housing and Community Development to forecast any predicted increase in the population of Ampilatwatja as a result of the project to allow forward planning for increased public housing demand; • Encourage local workers to live at the accommodation village while on shift, particularly single workers; • Verdant to have trained emergency response teams on site; • Verdant to install appropriate firebreaks and safety precautions.
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9 Health, wellbeing and safety 9.1 Overview Any project that increases opportunities for jobs and higher incomes has the potential to positively address the many determinants of health and wellbeing. Key risks arising from project activity would flow from increased alcohol consumption and road safety risks. Other risks, such as sexually transmitted diseases and drug use, are possible but readily managed through good human resource management and a strict code of behaviour for workers.
9.2 Key events or activities causing impacts Key activities that could influence health, wellbeing and safety risks and opportunities:
• mobilisation of workforce bringing large numbers of workers to the area • local people getting work on the project • increased disposable income by local workers • worker behaviour • project traffic on local roads.
9.3 Key risks and opportunities Table 9-1: Key risks and opportunities for health, wellbeing and safety Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Improved health outcomes through Road safety risks from interaction between industrial and higher incomes and access to health local traffic on locals roads, including risk to workers promotion programs, drug and driving after shifts and increased risk to other road users, alcohol testing. including pedestrians and cattle on the road.
Binge drinking or alcohol abuse by local and FIFO workers leads to increased crime, anti-social behaviour.
Thefts and vandalism of project equipment.
Use of project access and haul roads for illicit activities such as grog-running.
Mental health issues for workers spending long periods away from home and family.
Sexually transmitted diseases through prostitution and relationships between workers and local women.
Fears or negative perceptions on community amenity and wellbeing from dust, industrial activity, visual amenity, light pollution, noise from the project, changed sense of place or fears of contaminated ground water.
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9.4 Health The (World Health Organisiation, 2008) outlines 10 key determinants of health as being:
• social gradient: a person’s social and economic circumstances; • stressful economic and social circumstances mean people are less likely to be healthy and have a long life; • early years of life: babies born with low birth weight have a much greater likelihood of developing coronary health disease in adulthood; • social exclusion; • stress at work: having little control over jobs, limited opportunities to use their skills or in high demand jobs with few rewards; • unemployment, job and income insecurity can lead to chronic stress; • social support; • addiction: misuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco is harmful to health but is often a response to stressful situations and social breakdown; • food security, including good quality and affordable food; • transport is vitally important to accessing health and other services and, for Aboriginal people, a means to find traditional bush foods and hunting.
Remote Territory communities continue to reflect poorly against these factors, which impact on school attendance and employment. The NT Department of Health’s 2013/14 annual report (Department of Health, 2014) outlines some of the risk factors contributing to poor health outcomes as:
• the prevalence of smoking, which is reported as being 56% for Aboriginal people aged 18 or more and 24.1% for non-Aboriginal people compared with 18.2% nationally; • while Aboriginal adults are less likely to consume alcohol (50.3% in the previous year) compared with non-Aboriginal adults (90.2%), nearly 40% of Aboriginal people who reported drinking alcohol in the previous week had done so at risky or high risk levels; • alcohol consumption during pregnancy (and the prevalence of foetal alcohol syndrome) is of particular concern, with one in eight Aboriginal and one in 16 non-Aboriginal women reporting at their first antenatal visit to have consumed alcohol during pregnancy; • for admissions to hospital for circulatory disease, cancer and injury, there is a link to low socioeconomic status; • recent research by the Department suggests the Territory’s Aboriginal population has a much higher prevalence of dementia and younger onset of the disease compared with non-Aboriginal people.
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The report shows that Aboriginal people (who make up 29.5% of the Territory’s population) comprise:
• 70% of the Territory’s hospital patients • 93% of renal dialysis patients • 34% of mothers giving birth in public health services • 72% of government-managed remote health centre patients.
The determinants of health include poverty, overcrowded housing, chronic diseases, low birth weights and factors such as drug and alcohol abuse (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2015).
The recent Closing the Gap Report (2017) found that Aboriginal mortality rates in Australia have declined by 15% since 1998, with an improvement in chronic diseases but a widening gap for death by cancer (a 21% increase for Indigenous people compared with a 13% decline for non-Indigenous). It found that chronic diseases such as circulatory diseases, cancer and diabetes accounted for 70% of Indigenous deaths and three-quarters of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous mortality rates. The rate of Indigenous smokers is 2.7 times the rate for non-Indigenous Australians.
Child mortality rates for Indigenous Australians dropped by 33% between 1998 and 2015 (still short of the goal of halving the gap) while total Indigenous mortality declined by 15% in the same period. However, the gap remains significant in the Northern Territory where child mortality rates for Aboriginal children aged 0-4 were 333 deaths per 100,000 population compared with just 93 for non- Aboriginal residents.
9.5 Crime Alcohol-related crime rates in Tennant Creek remain high, although progress has been made with a Tennant Creek Alcohol Management Plan and Alcohol Accord. Police are stationed outside bottle shops as part of the Point of Sale Intervention (POSI) program, although the Northern Territory Government has flagged its intention to reintroduce the Banned Drinkers Register in 2017 as a primary tool to combat alcohol abuse.
Police crime statistics for Tennant Creek for the calendar years of 2015 and 2016 show:
• a 12.4% increase in assaults (including a 13.4% increase in domestic violence) • 28.6% increase in reported sexual assaults • 60% increase in house break ins • 107% increase in motor vehicle thefts and 34.7% increase in property damage.
Police report a spate of crime associated with young people sniffing petrol in Tennant Creek and Alpurrurulam in 2016, but as of March 2017, this problem had abated in Tennant Creek.
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Police reported generally lower crime rates in Ampilatwatja and the Utopia Homelands, with their main workload resulting from alcohol, domestic violence and road safety. There is a higher workload in Ali Curung, where there have been issues with alcohol and conflict between families.
9.6 Substance abuse
A Tennant Creek Alcohol Management Plan (Tennant Creek Alcohol Reference Group, 2014) was produced by a Tennant Creek Alcohol Reference Group established under Barkly Regional Council President Barb Shaw to address alcohol-related harm in the town. According to the plan, there are 10 retailers in Tennant Creek licensed to sell alcohol, including hotels, takeaway outlets, clubs and accommodation services, in addition to licensed social clubs. It found that alcohol consumption in the town was high, with the equivalent of 70,000 full-strength cans of beer sold each week in the town. Under the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory Act 2012, areas such as parks and town camps are declared ‘dry’ areas. The plan refers to concerns at the high rate of alcohol-related assault offences, harms from Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, normalisation of excessive drinking behaviours, negative economic impacts on the town and a reduced available workforce. It reports a steady increase in alcohol- related crime in the 10 years from 2013 (police reported assaults tripling in that time to 539 in January 2014). Measures under the Alcohol Management Plan cover supply reduction, demand reduction and harm reduction. Ampilatwatja is a ‘dry community’, however police and other interviewees referred to frequent problems with ‘grog running’, which led to crime and violence. While police conduct regular operations to deter illicit alcohol, this has reportedly led many people to use station tracks instead, to the annoyance of pastoralists.
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9.7 Assessment of health, safety and wellbeing risks and opportunities 9.7.1 Improved health outcomes There may be improved health outcomes for local workers through higher incomes, healthier living conditions while in the workers’ camp and taking part in health promotion programs (such as healthy diets and not smoking). These would be hard to quantify so is not included in the risk and opportunity register.
9.7.2 Road safety risks to the public After jobs, road safety was the key issue raised during interviews because of the condition of local roads (see 8.11.5). Murray Downs Road, the main access route to the Ammaroo project during construction, passes by Ali Curung community which introduces road safety risks for both community and other traffic, compounded by reports during SIA interviews of pedestrians likely to be on the road near Ali Curung and cattle straying onto the Stuart Highway, particularly near Devils Marbles. Interviewees raised the poor condition of local roads after heavy rain and prevalence of unroadworthy vehicles and ‘grog running’ on local roads and pastoral tracks. Dusty conditions on the Murray Downs Road could contribute to road safety and amenity risks.
Even with mitigation, the road safety risk remains high because of the likelihood and consequences of road trauma.
This issue is linked with risk #43 discussed in 8.11.5 which has a residual risk rating of MEDIUM as well as Transport Risk #114, which has an untreated and residual rating of HIGH.
9.7.3 Road safety risks to workers Road safety is an issue where workers commute long distances to their worksite as well as workplace driving. This includes workers driving personal vehicles to site or collection points, particularly after long shifts, as well as transport from airstrips or local communities to site.
Verdant will reduce this risk by flying workers or bussing workers to air strips at either Arlparra or Ampilatwatja, then bussing them to site, and by implementing strict workplace health and safety procedures.
Regardless, this risk remains high, particularly because of the consequences of any incident. The risk to commuting workers is covered in Transport risk #117, which is rated as LOW due to prohibitions on use of private vehicles. It is also linked to the Human Health and Safety Risk #84 of working in a remote location, which is rated as MEDIUM.
9.7.4 Crime and antisocial behaviour Higher disposable incomes could increase ‘binge drinking’ by workers attending pubs on days off or while in transit. However, Verdant will fly or bus workers from home towns direct to site.
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There is a risk of increased crime and anti-social behaviour if royalties or wages are spent on alcohol by local workers or residents from nearby ‘dry’ communities access alcohol from the workers’ village wet mess. This will be addressed by strict controls on alcohol consumption and bans on taking alcohol from site.
Workers may bring drugs to the workers’ village or worksite. Police report no evidence of the drug ‘ice’ (methamphetamines) in the region but are encountering ‘ganja’. This issue will be addressed through strict drug and alcohol policies and a ‘no tolerance’ approach to use and possession of drugs.
Alcohol, domestic violence and traffic offences contribute to most police work around Ali Curung, with recent media reports and SIA interviews recounting incidents of violence between families in the community. However, it is likely that this community will be less impacted due to its distance from the site and smaller proportion of traditional owners likely to receive benefits.
Police raised the issue of alcohol abuse and antisocial behaviour in Tennant Creek and nearby communities after distribution of royalties. They suggested non-cash payments of benefits (which is the subject of negotiation between Verdant Minerals and native title holders through the Central Land Council) and that police be forewarned when any distribution of royalties is likely.
Police report issues with grog running on back roads and station tracks, which is the subject of regular police operations. Any upgraded project roads or access tracks could attract local traffic seeking a short-cut or for illicit activities, such as alcohol from hotels on the Stuart Highway or regional towns. However, this is already occurring and the project is not expected to have a direct impact on the problem.
It is predicted that alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour may increase, but this is likely to be of a low order given that workers are unlikely to transit through other towns and the company will exercise strict control over its workforce. Therefore this risk (#53) is assessed as LOW.
9.7.5 Thefts and vandalism of project equipment Police report incidents of low-level crime in the region, such as vandalism and thefts and suggest good security measures for both company and workers’ property. Verdant has experienced thefts from its exploration camp, which is easily accessible from the Murray Downs Road, although the company now has a locked gate at the entrance.
Crime prevention methods such as secure compounds and padlocks will help reduce the incidence of crime. The company will use low aromatic fuels and ensure any fuel or potential inhalants are kept secure.
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Pastoralists report issues with trespassing and vandalism, which could increase with a major project in the area, although Verdant will have strict controls over workers leaving site and activities in their time off.
The opportunistic nature of this sort of crime leads to an assigned risk rating (#57) of MEDIUM.
9.7.6 Mental health issues for FIFO workers There is substantial literature about the prevalence of mental health problems from FIFO workers who may be lonely or distressed by long periods away from families, leading to attempted or actual suicides. This would be particularly applicable to Aboriginal workers living in the accommodation village, given the cultural importance of families, jealousy issues and the unfamiliarity of a mining lifestyle.
Studies (Hoath & McKenzie, 2013) have found the main incentive for workers to commute long distances are higher incomes and that most workers cope well with the lifestyle. However, there is a high level of uncertainty in managing workers’ mental health, as many of the causes of depression may be family or other issues that occur away from the workplace.
With good human resource management and the relatively low workforce numbers, the likelihood of this risk should be reduced, however the consequence of any loss of life or attempted self-harm are obviously serious so the risk (#49) was assigned a MEDIUM significance rating.
9.7.7 Sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies Any project with a large, young, male workforce away from home for long periods may face issues with prostitution or liaisons between workers and local women. The Department of Health has expressed concern in recent months about the increasing prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in remote parts of the Territory, with reported cases increasing from 14 in 2012 to 229 in 2016 (Wellington, 2017). There is also the issue of pregnancies arising from liaisons with workers.
Verdant will implement a strict code of conduct for its workers, including restrictions on leaving the workers’ village or worksite for non-work purposes, therefore this risk is considered insignificant and was not included on the risk register. However, given the concern of public health authorities, it should be carefully monitored.
9.7.8 Fears and negative perceptions, eg chemical spills and contamination Mining projects can lead to fears and negative perceptions of potential impacts, such as pollution or chemical spills. Given the nature of this project and apparent level of community support, the likelihood is considered low. The appointment of a community liaison officer should help identify any emerging issues, therefore the significance rating (#32) is LOW.
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9.7.9 Amenity issues Potential negative impacts on amenity would include noise, dust, additional traffic, light pollution and vibrations from mining activity. Aspects of this issue are dealt with at 6.7.4 as a pastoral productivity issue. The risk rating for impacts on various aspects of amenity is regarded as LOW (#62, #64, #70 and #82) given the distance from populated areas and relatively low level of activity.
9.8 Mitigation and management These issues will be addressed by: • strict policies covering worker behaviour • human resource policies that focus on worker welfare • drug and alcohol policies at the worksite • health promotion programs at the worksite • good mentoring and support • good communication with the community • management plans to control amenity issues.
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10. Culture and heritage 10.1 Overview Heritage and archaeological aspects of culture and heritage are covered in the separate Culture and Heritage report. However, cultural impact assessment covers both tangible cultural heritage, including natural features and landscapes, and intangible elements such as cultural practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills (World Bank, 2017).
Despite their history of dispossession and removal from their lands, Alyawarre connections to country, culture and ceremony are still strong, although this is threatened by the passing of a generation of strong cultural leaders.
The key potential impacts to culture would occur with the destruction of any sacred or culturally significant site, which would have implications for cultural and spiritual connections and potentially ceremony and the passing on of knowledge.
Other ways culture could be weakened would be through workforce participation and large numbers of workers living away from home, creating new social norms, weakening cultural ties, creating new decision-making institutions and reducing participation in cultural activities. Equally, culture may be strengthened through rehabilitation activities that draw on traditional knowledge and land management practices.
10.2 Key events or activities causing impacts Key activities that could impact on culture and heritage include: • clearing and mining of roads and at the mine site • a large workforce in the region • the presence of a new, industrial activity in the region • participation in the workforce weakening culture ties and traditional leadership.
10.3 Key risks and opportunities Table 10-1: Potential risks and opportunities for culture and heritage Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Community investment from the project Any loss of cultural heritage, such as damage to contributes to cultural activities such as cross- sacred sites, impacting on cultural and spiritual cultural education of workers, arts, music, local connections. festivals and sports events.
Jobs in rehabilitation (covered in Section 7) may Reduced traditional activities such as hunting, enhance respect for and maintenance of camping, foraging, bush medicines or art as a traditional knowledge and land management. result of biodiversity loss or reduced access to land.
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10.4 Alyawarre culture Despite the history of dispossession and working on pastoral properties, Alyawarre and other cultures remain strong in this region. While many Alyawarre travel widely or are dispersed as far as Lake Nash on the Queensland border, they remain attached to their country and most still speak English as a second or third language (Powell, 2016).
Interviewees reported that ceremonial activities are still practised and there is a strong art movement in all communities under study. However, cultural ties may be weakening through mobility, intermarriage and the passing of a generation of strong traditional leadership.
While the mine site itself is on a plain, nearby hills and water features such as soaks, were integral to traditional Aboriginal lifestyles with people moving and camping along rivers such as the Bundey and Sandover. Geographical features such as hills and water are often associated with Dreaming stories and sacred sites. The 2014 Native Title Determination by Justice Mortimer described rivers and creeks running through the area, many of which are associated with Dreamings for the claimant group of 19 Alyawarre and Kaytetye people.
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10.5 Assessment of risks and opportunities to culture 10.5.1 Strengthened culture from community investment It is possible that the project could contribute to enhanced cultural maintenance through sponsorship, cultural inductions and purchases by project staff of art from the art shops in each major community. While positive, it is considered that this opportunity is insufficient to include in the risk and opportunity register but should be considered as part of Verdant’s ongoing good relationships with the community.
The positive contribution of working on country as part of rehabilitation and land management is covered in Section 7.
10.5.2 Loss of sacred or cultural sites The loss of sacred sites or places of cultural significance could occur through project disturbing activities, such as clearing, construction of project roads and other infrastructure and extraction of phosphate. It could also occur through unauthorised behaviour by project workers trespassing or accidentally wandering into restricted works areas.
The loss of sacred or special sites has both physical and spiritual consequences, with many geographical features related to Dreamings or stories that connect Aboriginal people to their country.
There is a sacred site in the centre of the proposed mining area. The current Murray Downs Road passes through the mining area and will need to be realigned. Verdant is liaising with the Central Land Council and Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority to get the appropriate sacred site clearances and will liaise with traditional owners about appropriate buffer zones for sites declared restricted work areas.
Management mechanisms include getting the appropriate clearance certificates, consulting traditional owners before any significant disturbance activities, strict codes of behaviour for workers, marking off special sites and cross-cultural inductions to ensure all staff appreciate the sensitivity and significance of what may appear to be intangible values of sites.
This risk (#79) is considered unlikely, through good planning and management, but the consequences would be major, therefore it is assigned a MEDIUM rating.
10.5.3 Reduced access to traditional activities that maintain culture A potential negative impact is reduced access to traditional activities that are important to Alyawarre cultural maintenance, such as hunting, camping, gathering of bush foods and medicines. This could happen because of reduced access due to project activities or through clearing of habitat or loss of habitat through reduced surface water flows due to poorly designed roads and erosion.
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With appropriate management practices, the residual rating for this risk (#58) was considered LOW.
10.5.4 General aspects of loss of culture
Other aspects of culture can be changed by working for a mining project, such as living away from family and community, new decision-making or governance structures and reduced participation in cultural activities. However, it would be hard to separate project-related impacts from process that are occurring anyway and this risk was not assigned a rating.
10.6 Mitigation and management Strategies to mitigate or manage cultural impacts include:
• obtaining all appropriate sacred site certificates and respected restricted work areas • cross-cultural training and inductions • policies covering worker behaviour • involving traditional owners in all surveys and seeking advice before any potentially disturbing activities • maintaining access for traditional activities, such as hunting • appropriate environmental management policies and practice.
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11. Environment 11.1 Overview Most environmental matters are covered in other relevant chapters of the EIS. They are also relevant to the socioeconomic impacts given the socioeconomic consequences of biophysical impacts, including the ability to enjoy natural surroundings. In general, these are considered to be of low consequence for this project, although good communication on water issues will be important.
11.2 Key events of activities leading to impacts Activities that could give rise to impacts relating to the environment include: • use of water during construction and operations • clearing of land for the project’s facilities and roads.
11.3 Key risks and opportunities Table 11-1: Key social risks and opportunities for Environment Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Project evokes negative perceptions towards the use of water by mining in an arid area that may have other beneficial users, including concerns about cultural and aesthetic values of water.
Loss of natural environment that is perceived to reduce place attachment, recreational activities and natural values.
11.4 Description There is little surface water in the region but ephemeral creeks that run after rain and a substantial aquifer in the Georgina Basin. The project site is outside but close to the Western Davenport Water District.
The Elkedra headwaters are north of the project in the Davenport Ranges. Woodys Dam, near the mining area, is a key natural watering spot for Ammaroo that now has a solar-powered pump and cattle yards attached. The region further north is known for its strong cultural and environmental values, particularly in the Iytwelepenty/Davenport Ranges National Park which forms the boundary of both the traditional lands of the Warumungu, Alyawarre and Kaytetye people but also of the pastoral leases of Elkedra, Kurundi, Murray Downs, Singleton and the Anurrete Aboriginal Land Trust.
There are conservation and heritage sites around the national park, including the Old Police Station Waterhole, that served as an outstation for the Heavitree Gap police Station in Alice Springs. The station was established more for stock inspection but was too remote to attract a significant settlement and was staffed by one policeman and an Aboriginal assistant. The Frew River flows from the old Hatches Creek township, formerly a wolfram mining area, to the waterhole which is now a
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scenic camping spot (NT Police Museum & Historical Society, n.d.). The 1120 square kilometre park, accessed by four-wheel drive only, includes popular camping spots such as the Old Police Station Water Hole and Frew River campgrounds about 60 km past the turnoff from the Murray Downs Road.
11.5 Assessment of risks and opportunities 11.5.1 Negative perceptions about use of water The project is likely to require 4GL of water a year. Modelling suggests this water will be drawn from the Georgina Basin and drawdown will have no impact on pastoral bores, community drinking water or horticultural activities (the closest of which are near Ali Curung and on the west of the Stuart Highway). However, water is a sensitive issues in Central Australia and there may be concerns about the use of water for mining, regardless of the capacity of the aquifer.
The community of Ampilatwatja would be concerned about any impact on the community’s borefield, so it will be important to communicate clearly on water issues and perhaps involve community members in water monitoring to build trust in the process.
This risk (#54) is assigned a LOW level of significance, however, given the sensitivity about water use in Central Australia, good communication will help mitigate against this becoming a perception risk.
11.5.2 Reduced connections to place and recreational activities No vulnerable or threatened species were found in the project area during ecological studies but there are Coolibah swamps outside the project footprint in CLC ‘no go’ area and restricted works areas associated with water. No impact is expected to the significant habitats or areas of conservation, ecological or recreational significance. Workers are unlikely to stray onto pastoral properties, including waterholes and fishing spots on Elkedra as they won’t be on site on days off, will work long shifts, they won’t have private cars and a Code of Behaviour would prohibit workers and contractors from trespassing on other properties. Key camping and recreational places in the region are in the Davenport Ranges, well north of the project’s activities, therefore this risk (#81) is assigned a LOW rating.
11.6 Mitigation and management Measures to avoid, mitigate or manage these risks are:
• good communication on all water and ecological issues • involving the community in monitoring and rehabilitation activities.
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12. Human rights 12.1 Overview There is a growing emphasis on consideration of human rights in impact assessments. While this project is considered unlikely to have a major negative impact, it is worth considering potential breaches to ensure appropriate prevention methods are put in place. This includes the rights of native title holders to negotiate and the importance of their providing free, prior and informed consent to projects on land covered by native title.
12.2 Key events or activities causing impacts Activities that could give rise of human rights impacts include:
• mobilisation of workforce • negotiation of benefit agreements.
12.3 Key risks and opportunities Table 12-1: Key risks and opportunities for human rights Potential impacts
Potential opportunities Potential negative impacts
Human rights breaches (including inadvertent) through racism in the workforce, inequitable work practices (such as disadvantaging women), breaches of labour laws (eg internships and work experience), including with contractors.
Native Title Holders not being given the chance to provide free, prior and informed consent due to lack of time to consider the implications of a project or through inadequate communication.
12.4 Assessment of risks and opportunities to the environment 12.4.1 Human rights breaches Any human rights breaches for this project are likely to be unintended and should be avoided with appropriate human resource management and a Code of Behaviour for workers. Potential breaches include labour issues such as inequitable access to jobs by women, paying less than the Award rates to workers or work experience students, racism in the workforce and discriminatory work practices. These should be managed with cross-cultural training, appropriate human resource management and strict codes of conduct for all workers. The Central Land Council, as the prescribed representative body for native title holders, is responsible for ensuring that native title holders have provided free, prior and informed
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consent in relation to this project. This is a separate process from consultation or preparation of this ESIA. Traditional owners have been engaged in exploration jobs, surveys for EIS studies, Aboriginal Protection Authority sacred site clearances and several ‘on country meetings’ and the company believes they have been kept well-informed. While it is important to put in place measures to avoid these breaches of human rights, with appropriate management the likelihood of them occurring is rated as LOW (#55). 12.5 Mitigation and management Means of avoiding, mitigating or managing human rights breaches include:
• Central Land Council identifying native title holders with a right to negotiate and managing negotiations on their behalf; • cross-cultural training for all workers, including management; • consideration of potential human rights issues in human resource planning and practice; • Codes of Behaviour that address any issues that could lead to breaches; • appropriate grievance procedures and remedies for workers to raise any concerns; • good communication to traditional owners about all aspects of the project timing, scale, likely disruption and implications.
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13. Cumulative Cumulative impacts are those where multiple projects compound the economic and social risks and opportunities. Predicting cumulative impacts is difficult given the uncertain timelines of other potential projects. They may be positive if projects happen to be sequenced in a way that allows workers and contractors to build capacity and transition from one project to the next.
Other potential projects that could operate in a similar timeframe to Ammaroo include the proposed Mount Peake titanium and vanadium mine site near Barrow Creek and Arafura Resources’ Nolans rare earths project near Ti Tree.
Avenira, formerly Minemakers, is an Australian-based company engaged in exploration and development of the Wonarah Project, south of the Barkly Highway. Its current focus is its Baobab project in Senagal.
Other potential cumulative impacts would include pastoralists’ concerns at the number of mining and exploration companies working on their properties and concerns that the NGP will increase oil and gas exploration activity to provide onshore gas to the pipeline.
The success of the Ammaroo Phosphate Project also signals the start of exploitation of a large phosphate resource in the region. Issues raised by neighbouring pastoral property Elkedra related more to the implications of the Ammaroo project for future development, including:
• land access agreements for exploration on their property; • increased numbers of vehicles on station tracks, increasing the risk of erosion and wear and tear on fragile soils; • implications for water demand and the collective pressures of mining and horticultural development on the Western Davenport Water Catchment; • reduced grazing land from clearing and impacts on aquifers; • people trying to access waterholes for fishing and camping.
Table 13-1: Cumulative impacts Summary of cumulative impacts
2017 2018 2019
Verdant Construction Construction
Jemena Construction Construction, operations Operations
Bootu Creek Resumed operations
TNG Mount Peake Approvals Construction Production
Arafura Resources Construction
Avenira Limited Exploration
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The likelihood of cumulative impacts is difficult to assess, given the uncertain timelines for other projects and potential localised nature of most projects. However, this risk (#56) is assigned a LOW significance rating.
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14. Summary In general, the start-up phase of the Ammaroo project is assessed as being of a smaller scale than other regional resource projects given that it will use strip-mining techniques and a relatively small workforce.
This Economic and Social Impact Assessment identifies that the key opportunities from the project will arise from procurement activities (which should provide a good match with local capabilities), and jobs for local Aboriginal people (as long as expectations are realistic about the likely take-up rates).
Key negative risks arise from increased industrial traffic on poor local roads, which has implications for pastoral productivity, other road users and road safety for both mine workers and the public. On the other hand, any upgrading of local infrastructure such as roads will deliver social and economic benefits.
The ESIA identifies that the key opportunities from the project will arise from procurement of local services and supplies (which should provide a good match with local capabilities), and jobs for local Aboriginal people (as long as expectations remain realistic about the likely take-up rates).
Key negative risks arise from increased industrial traffic on poor local roads, albeit for a short time, which may have implications for pastoral productivity, other road users and road safety for both mine workers and the public. On the other hand, any upgrading of local infrastructure such as roads will deliver social and economic benefits.
This assessment finds a total of eight opportunities of significance and 27 potentially negative risks (this does not include pressure on road transport and road safety risks which are covered under Transport and Human Health and Safety).
Of the negative potential risks, there were none with an overall HIGH or EXTREME rating, eight attracted a MEDIUM significance risk rating and 19 were assessed as LOW.
The eight medium ratings were:
• local content targets not met due to lack of capacity or skills (#40) • increased pressure on emergency services, particularly from road trauma (#43) • not meeting expectations of local Aboriginal jobs (#44) • mental health issues or workers living away from home (#49) • reduced community cohesion and tensions over distribution of royalties and benefits, including from rumours (#52) • increased crime, vandalism and thefts from company facilities or in the region as a result of project mobilisation (#57)
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• destruction of sacred sites or special cultural areas leading to reduced spiritual or cultural connections (#77) • pressure on transport infrastructure during construction (118)
For those negative impacts considered unlikely, risk ratings may remain high simply because of the consequences of them occurring, particularly where there is loss of life or sacred sites.
Many impacts are intangible and hard to control, with the level of uncertainty reflected in some ratings.
A small number of issues have been included despite being ranked as not significant, more as a precautionary measure to ensure they are monitored and do not emerge as more substantial impacts.
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15. Economic and Social Impact Management Plan An Economic and Social Impact Management Plan is attached, outlining key risks and opportunities identified in the SIA, mitigation and enhancement measures, indicators by which to measure and report on identified and emerging issues and a list of Verdant commitments, including ongoing communication and engagement with the community.
16. Qualifications of the consultant Jane Munday’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology and Indonesian), a Master of Business Administration, a Certificate of Public Participation and Advanced Certificate in Community Engagement with the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and a Graduate Diploma of Public Sector Executive Management. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (2016) and is enrolled as a PhD Candidate with the Northern Institute of Charles Darwin University, researching qualitative approaches to social impact assessment.
Jane specialises in community engagement and social impact assessment, having coordinated communication and community engagement for a number of resource projects over the past 10 years across the Northern Territory.
She is a member of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), has attended four international conferences, and completed two-day courses in Social Impact Assessment (Canada, 2013) and Human Rights and Social Impact Assessment (Italy, 2015). She is a Member of the Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ).
Jane has lived in the Northern Territory since 1994, working for Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of the Chief Minister in executive management communication positions. In 2004, she established Michels Warren Munday, which specialises in strategic communication, community engagement, social research and writing. She sold the business, now rebranded as True North Strategic communication, but continues to work as a senior advisor. Jane has worked on many resource and major projects during their regulatory approvals phase and has won several national community engagement and communication awards.
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