First Nations group raises concerns about shipping channel project, Port of Brisbane denies wrongdoing
The port has denied any wrongdoing, saying it did engage with First Nations groups, but was not required to undertake formal consultation at this early stage.
The Minjerribah Moorgumpin Elders in Council (MMEIC) represent members of the Quandamooka people of North Stradbroke and Moreton Island.
The group has raised significant concerns about a proposal by the Port of Brisbane to dredge 96.5 million cubic metres of material out of Moreton Bay to create a wider and deeper freight passage for ships.
The bay is crucial to the physical and spiritual wellbeing of the Quandamooka people, as it has been for millennia, and MMEIC is worried the churning of the seabed and dumping of waste material has the potential to harm fragile ecosystems and cultural sites.
"Development proposals for the bay must be transparent and give Quandamooka, and all traditional owner groups that rely on the bay, enough time to have our concerns heard and understood.
"This didn't happen with this proposal."
Port of Brisbane's Channel Enhancement Project is a 25-year plan to widen and deepen the existing navigational channels leading into the port.
The company said the $3.5 billion project is crucial to ensuring the country's third largest container port can cater for future shipping needs, which is likely to include much larger vessels.
If approved, the work will involve using a Trail Hopper Suction Dredge to "vacuum up" sea floor material to be deposited in what are known as dredge material placement areas (DMPA).
There are currently no DMPA large enough to support the millions of cubic metres of material involved in this project, and so the company expects it will need to create a new site in the bay.
MMEIC spokesperson Pereki Ruska said the Quandamooka people are worried about the health of local fisheries, the seagrass beds relied upon by animals such as the dugong, and important cultural sites.
"The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) acknowledges that First Nations groups have a right to be fully engaged in those processes, projects and activities that may impact the bay.
"Especially things like the proposed expansion project."
Given the potential for environmental damage, and the proximity to protected areas within Moreton Bay, the Port of Brisbane referred the proposal to the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) for assessment under the EPBC Act in August 2024.
As part of the referral process, proponents are required to consult with impacted First Nations groups.
In its referral documents, the Port of Brisbane told DCCEEW it had "already undertaken significant stakeholder consultation on this project … including with relevant Indigenous stakeholders and government departments".
"Feedback from this initial engagement has provided overall broad recognition and acceptance of the project rationale and assessment processes to be undertaken," it said at the time.
MMEIC said it was not approached by the Port of Brisbane before this document was lodged, and did not speak with officials until months afterwards.
The Port of Brisbane said its consultation with Indigenous people came through discussions with another Aboriginal group that represents Quandamooka people, the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabbee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC).
"[Port of Brisbane] met with QYAC, the prescribed body corporate under the Native Title Act, who are responsible under that legislation for managing the native title rights and interests of the Quandamooka People following the determination of 4th July, 2011," a spokesperson said.
"QYAC is also the cultural heritage body for the Quandamooka Estate in accordance with the State Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003."
However, MMEIC and QYAC are just two of several Aboriginal groups in the region.
"[QYAC] are not and have not always been representative of all Quandamooka people, and not all Quandamooka families signed off on the authorisation of the Quandamooka claim," Ms Ruska said.
In 2022, following the destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge caves by mining giant Rio Tinto, the federal government acknowledged the need for more comprehensive and widespread consultation with Indigenous groups impacted by development or mining.
Dr Cohen Hird, a Trawlwoolway man who studies Indigenous rights and respectful engagement with First Nations communities, said the DCCEEW was working on developing a First Nations Engagement Standard.
In the meantime, it has released interim standards under the EPBC Act.
"The Australian standards say First Nations people should be engaged early and often, from the work put together after the Juukan Gorge incident," Dr Hird said.
"All of those people [who are impacted] are considered rights holders, not necessarily just the prescribed body corporate, so it's important to consult widely.
"The proponent must initiate that engagement."
MMEIC said Port of Brisbane only engaged with them after its elders approached them.
It believes the failure to consult with them before lodging their referral to DCCEEW, under the EPBC Act, constitutes grounds for Port of Brisbane to have to re-submit that application.
However, Dr Hird said until legally enforceable standards are introduced, the interim guidelines remain largely "aspirational, not enforceable".
"I think the interim guidance in the EPBC Act is a step in the right direction, but only if it's followed in practice," he said.
In September, both the state and federal government accepted Port of Brisbane's referral and determined the project a "controlled action".
The Port of Brisbane said it would now begin the creation of an environmental impact statement.
"The port will also need to make a notification to seek formal endorsement of Aboriginal parties for the Channel Enhancement Project to prepare a Cultural Heritage Management Plan," the port said.
"Since late last year … Port of Brisbane has met with MMEIC representatives in-person and online and has made offers for project briefings in writing at least six times.
MMEIC said the determination of a "controlled action" by the DCCEEW — which means the project's environmental impact statement will be assessed at both a state and federal level — was a significant step, and it should have had the opportunity to speak before it was made.
"They're already a number of steps ahead of where we would like them," Ms Ruska said.
"And quite frankly, where they should be, had they had followed processes."
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