In just a few years, hundreds of millions of dollars will stop flowing into multiple communities across Northern Australia. Mining giant Rio Tinto is preparing to wind up one of its largest operations in Gove, but Aboriginal clan groups are hoping the end of royalty payments won't come at too great a cost. A warning, this report contains images of aboriginal people who have died, used with permission.
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00:00 As a young boy, Jawa Yunupingu watched the diggers roll in to begin mining bauxite on
00:07 his people's lands and shipping it out for export.
00:14 It doesn't mean a thing to me that export works here. Back in the days when we first
00:21 moved out here, we'd be seeing a lot of them coming in and out from the harbour and we'd
00:27 be saying, "Ah, there goes a boat full of our money."
00:31 Now 64 years old, the Gumut clan leaders nearly seen the mine's full cycle. It's machinery
00:37 to fall silent by 2030 when Rio Tinto ceases its GOV operations in the remote Northern
00:43 Territory.
00:44 I've always told them that when it's ready for you to leave, we can help you pack up.
00:49 We can help you pack up and let you go. You can sail in the sunset.
00:57 It's not just mining that will end. Royalty payments signed off in a landmark deal with
01:02 Rio Tinto, reported to be worth $700 million in 2011, will also finish, leaving once compensated
01:09 clan groups wary of what comes next.
01:13 And I just hate to see my people from this community line up at Centrelink.
01:23 The Gumut invested big portions of their royalty's share to fuel economic self-empowerment in
01:29 their community.
01:30 This timber mill among the tools purchased to fire up a local workforce. However, today
01:37 just one Yolngu worker has shown up, with others often away at funeral ceremonies for
01:44 weeks at a time.
01:46 But we do need workers to come in, especially Yolngu to come in and work here.
01:53 There is progress. For the first time in a decade, Charles Darwin University is opening
01:58 a campus in the region. Its main bid, to help the Yolngu urgently prepare for the future
02:04 post-mining.
02:06 We've got a couple of generations of families now that have lived off royalties or relied
02:10 on royalties or been accepting of royalties, which means they haven't needed to skill themselves
02:15 for employment.
02:17 In spite of the millions in mining royalties, East Arnhem Land remains one of Australia's
02:22 most disadvantaged local government areas, which this Arnhem Land author believes doesn't
02:27 reflect well on the miners.
02:29 The legacy from mining here looks pretty poor at the moment. We've got the highest death
02:36 rate in Australia.
02:38 Rio Tinto declined multiple requests to be interviewed for this story, but said in a
02:42 statement it was working with traditional owners on a post-mining future.
02:47 By providing benefits like employment, training and supporting regional economic development,
02:52 we can provide lasting value and positive outcomes to communities.
02:57 Here on the Gove Peninsula, the arrival of mining royalties also created deep divisions
03:01 between clan groups over who gets what share and why. With the mining companies soon to
03:07 pack up and go, traditional owners are hoping the end of royalties can mark a new chapter
03:12 of unity for the region.
03:14 We can both work together towards our next generation and stop that, save our money.
03:24 Whether enough's been done to cushion the blow, only time will really tell.
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