My grandmother’s country is under threat and the minister for environment is silent

My grandmother’s country is Kulumbirigin Country Larrakia, known more commonly as Darwin.

My fathers and aunties have told me how their grandparents and parents lived at a place called Binybara, also known today as Lee Point, long before white people knew it existed. Even after 1869 (when white people invaded Darwin), my family went to Binybara, where we hunted, gathered and lived. My father told me that in the school holidays, he and family would camp there and collect food.

Recently, I wrote an open letter to Minister for Environment Tanya Plibersek, which called for an immediate stop to land clearing works in Binybara for development by Defence Housing Australia (DHA). This is how the letter ended:

I just have one last thing to say before the bulldozers do the unthinkable: please come and talk to us, in person. Let us show you Binybara. Let me show you the nagandji nagandji (brahminy kite) and the gouldian finches and the century-old trees.

I really hope before the sun rises and falls again that my binji (stomach) will not hurt so much and that the nagandji nagandji can rest assured that you’ve made the right decision.

Binybara is a place of cultural significance for our people. There have been many arrests, and many, many phone calls from across the nation from concerned citizens. We know Australians care about Country. We have seen bodies on the line and tears shed for Country, and solidarity thousands of kilometres away.

Since I penned that letter, the bulldozers did descend, and it was worse than I imagined. Over four long days, we witnessed the bulldozers tear down some of the century-old trees, which, beyond having cultural connections, also serve as homes to the endangered Gouldian finches.

But then my family, the Batcho family of the Danggalaba clan from Kulumbirigin Larrakia, put in an emergency application under Section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act and managed to temporarily stop work. My eyes welled with relief. But before we and the Country could breathe, the next day we heard that land clearing had resumed, despite our application and the legal agreement halting the works.

We truly believe that the spirits of the Australian people know that protecting Country is our obligation. My totem, the nagandji nadanji (Brahminy kite — sea eagle), has been flying overhead and following me around for weeks now. My old people are trying to tell me something, I thought. They are here to look out for me. The nagandji nagandji is reminding me to stand strong and defend our country, our home.

We have less than 30 days to stop Defence Housing Australia from destroying our Country for defence and community housing on Crown land at Lee Point. The project is funded by taxpayers; you and I, the Australian people. After that time, the DHA and Minister Plibersek can decide to continue clearing the land, doing irreparable damage to the biodiversity and cultural significance of that place.

We have proposed alternatives to the government: build the houses elsewhere, closer to public transport, to the defence barracks, to schools. That will be effective community housing. We have not heard a peep out of Plibersek; only the DHA has reached out, agreeing to halt the works until early August 2023.

As I wrote to the minister for environment:

As the kite flies, I am reminded that as a human on this land I must use my resources to protect my home. I fear that I am running out of resources. The only thing I have left is my voice. So, I am writing this letter to you, to the people of Australia.