The Tiwi Islands

An important story is unfolding in Australia’s remote north - one that questions how far this country has come since colonisation.

The common thread that runs through this story is the enormous influence of one white man, John Hicks, who has used his 20 year tenure as Executive Secretary/CEO of the Tiwi Land Council, to benefit  big business and government.

This is a story of federally condoned environmental vandalism by one of Australia’s top 200 companies, Great Southern (GSL). The great wilderness forests of the Tiwi Islands are being rapidly clear-felled to make way for plantations of fast growing Acacias, to be exported as woodchip. Described as a partnership between Great Southern and Tiwi people, this is an investor driven tax scheme that returns little to the Tiwi community, whilst destroying traditional hunting grounds and sacred sites. It is alleged that rare and unique patches of rainforest have been cleared despite agreements for 400m buffer zones. The old growth hardwood logs are marketed and shipped from a purpose built, ABA funded port, to China. Tiwi have been told these hardwood trees are worthless, whilst Great Southern’s marketing and shipping company, Pentarch boasts of the shipments being worth $100million US over 5 years. Tiwi people received absolutely nothing from the first 6 shipments.

The project is targeting the best quality, most productive eucalypt forest ecosystems on Melville Island - thereby putting at risk many native species, as described by a recent scientific research paper. It has been suggested the plantation is only an excuse to get hold of the beautiful forest timbers, mainly Darwin Stringybark, Melville Island Bloodwood, Darwin Woollybutt. Worth more than the acacia plantations will ever be, Pentarch dishonestly markets these species as Red Tiwi “plantation” timbers.

The proponents are seeking Commonwealth approval for up to an ADDITIONAL 50,000 ha (500 square kilometers) of native forest clearing - which if approved would wipe out a large proportion of the high quality eucalypt forest habitat on the Tiwi Islands. Recent DEH-approved clear felling of 10,000 hectares of Tiwi native forest makes this project comparable to the total native forest clear felling currently occurring in the whole of Tasmania: ~12,000 ha/yr.

This project has major  Commonwealth greenhouse gas policy implications given that clear felling and burning of mature native forests and their replacement with immature, short-rotation woodchip crops is a major greenhouse emitter – via carbon release from soils and vegetation.

The Tiwi Land Council, has not ensured reasonable numbers of Tiwi are employed by GSP/Pentarch as promised since the advent of the clear-felling. GSP regularly employs up to 150 backpackers from Darwin rather than Tiwi workers. Evidence from these backpackers suggests that they are poorly treated. There is evidence that environmental practices are poor and that OHS concerns are disregarded.

Tiwi Islander concern about the lack of transparency and accountability resulted in a community petition (September 06), signed by over 500 Island people over two days - including many Traditional Owners - calling for an inquiry into the Tiwi Land Council and for John Hicks’ resignation. This petition was presented to Federal Parliament in October 2006 but was dismissed with contempt by Minister Brough.

As well as the use of alleged secretive cash rewards and payments, Hicks runs the Tiwi Land Council from offices in Darwin with only non Tiwi staff. Despite Hicks being called before a Senate Estimates committee November 2006, there remain many unanswered questions about financial dealings and mismanagement of the Tiwi Land Council.