After an eight month delay to the Defence Housing Australia project at Darwin’s Lee Point, bulldozers are expected back at the site on Monday 8th of April.

 

Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, has recently rejected a last-minute cultural heritage application, made by Larrakia Traditional Owners in July 2023, attempting to save Binybara / Lee Point in Darwin from development. The contentious development by Defence Housing Australia has caused community outrage for years.

Read more: Lee Point Camp in Darwin is a Place of Decolonial Climate Activism

What’s the problem?

Binybara / Lee Point is a stretch of old-growth savanna woodland in the northern suburbs of Darwin that connects Casuarina Coastal Reserve (soon to be national park), the Northern Territory’s most visited park, with Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve. This 27km stretch of bushland is the last wildlife corridor in Darwin and the hollows present in the old-growth trees are essential habitat, especially for the many species of birds found there.

 

 

The area is so abundant in biodiversity that there are more bird species found at Binybara / Lee Point than in Kakadu National Park, the largest national park in the country. The most notable species is the rainbow-coloured and endangered Gouldian finch. 

 

Gouldian finch | Photo by Laura Wolf on flickr

 

In 2019, Binybara / Lee Point was earmarked as a new defence housing suburb, with plans to bulldoze over 100 hectares of savanna woodland for the development.

Darwin’s Traditional Owners, the Larrakia people, were not consulted on the plan and are adamantly against the development. Alongside environmentalists, birdwatchers, and locals, the Larrakia have been fighting to save Binybara / Lee Point for years.

In 2022, development plans were put on hold when birdwatchers discovered hundreds of Gouldian finches living at Binybara / Lee Point. At last count, the estimated number of Gouldian finches in the wild was less than 2,500. 

Environmental Minister Tanya Plibersek agreed to reassess the development in light of the new findings, as birdwatchers from around the country flocked to Darwin to witness the rare bird. Biodiversity Watch estimates that 10,000 visits were made to Binybara / Lee Point between May and August 2022, with an estimated 48% of these visits being made by tourists. 

However, just weeks ago, Ms Plibersek announced that the original housing plans could go ahead with a few small tweaks such as a 50-metre buffer zone around a dam frequented by the finches. Plibersek acknowledged that the development would still have ‘significant’ impacts on the Gouldian finch.

 

Photo by Laura Wolf on flickr

Trees Have Already Been Felled

In July 2023, bulldozers began work at Binybara / Lee Point and were met by a blockade of protestors where 11 arrests were made.

On Thursday 6th of July, Larrakia Traditional Owners submitted an emergency application to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to halt the bulldozing in order to prevent the desecration of Aboriginal cultural heritage at Lee Point. Upon this application, Defence Housing Australia was asked to cease and desist bulldozing until Monday 17th of July in order for the application to be assessed.

Last week, Minister Plibersek rejected the application. Bulldozers are expected back at the site on Monday 8th of April.

 

Buffalo Creek in Casuarina Coastal Reserve

What can I do?

Join Binybara Camp

If you’re in Darwin, the Larrakia are calling for the community to rally at Binybara / Lee Point on Sunday 7th of April at 4:30pm to organise for the coming days.

Contact a Minister

If you don’t live near Binybara / Lee Point, give a minister a call and tell them the Darwin community doesn’t want Defence Housing Australia to develop Binybara / Lee Point. 

Environmental Minister, Tanya Plibersek – (02) 6277 7920
Defence Minister, Richard Marles – (02) 62777800
Assistant Minister for Defence, Matt Thistlethwaite (responsible for Defence Housing Australia) – (02) 62774840

Follow Larrakia Locals

Follow @uprisingofthepeopleltd and @envirocentrent for on-the-ground information on what’s happening at Binybara / Lee Point.

 

Feature photo by Laura Wolf on flickr

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