Jeffrey Lee

Jeffrey Lee AM (* 1971 in the Northern Territory , Australia ) is the last living member of the Djok Aboriginal clan in the Northern Territory. Lee became well known in Australia for refusing to sell Koongarra , his ancestral land, or to give permission to mine uranium . Jeffrey Lee has a native title of 12.5 km² of land, which contains a uranium deposit with approximately 14,000 tons of uranium , which is worth five billion AUD (approx. 3.65 billion €). He works as a ranger in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory , for which he receives 1,000 AUD (approx. € 730) every two weeks.

Koongarra

Nourlangie Rock on the edge of Koongarra

Koongarra is adjacent to the Kakadu National Park , one of the few places in the world, both in the list because of their importance UNESCO - World Natural and in the UNESCO World Heritage listed.

The 12.5 km² Koongarra area borders on Nourlangie Rock , one of the most visited places in the Kakadu area with hundreds of spiritual places, burial places, rock carvings and engravings dating back more than 20,000 years and other significant places of dream time , the should also be integrated into the park. In the imagination of the Aborigines, the rainbow snake created this land and in it rests a huge blue-tongue skink that must not be awakened.

Uranium has been mined in Kakadu National Park itself since 1981. The Ranger uranium mine , now operated by Energy Resources of Australia and in which the Rio Tinto Group holds a majority stake, is entirely within the park. Problems arise again and again during floods because uranium-containing sludge is transported into the neighborhood. According to a study in 2004, uranium anomalies were found in the groundwater of the Koongarra and Ranger 3 deposits . The Mirarr and environmentalists prevented the nearby uranium mine Jabiluka from operating on their traditional land in a protest that attracted worldwide attention in 1998.

Politics and economics

Jeffrey Lee offered this land to Peter Garrett , Minister of the current Labor Government (ALP), in 2010 on the condition that it be integrated into Kakadu National Park. The ALP in the Northern Territory, which has ruled since 2005, wanted to restrict the expansion of uranium mining, which the previous government of the Liberal Party (LP) had forced, and already indicated at that time that another government could reverse this policy. The offer was therefore rejected. Parts of the opposition party of the LP are in favor of uranium mining in the uranium mines Ranger and Jabiluka. There are thoughts in the LP about how uranium mining could be made possible after Jeffrey Lee's death. Peter Garrett stated in 2010 that the ALP would follow Lee's proposal if it wins the upcoming election.

Lee might be one of the richest men in Australia, but he's humble and reserved. In one of the few interviews he gave in 2007, he stated: “I'm not interested in money. I've got a job. I can buy tucker; I can go fishing and hunting. That's all that matters to me. ”(“ I don't care about money. I have a job. I can buy food; I can fish and hunt. That's all that is important to me ”).

Lightning Man (Namarrgon) (top right) and his wife Barrginj (center left). Namondjok is the big figure.

He works in Kakadu National Park at Nourlangie Station, where he talks about Bush Tucker and the dreamtime of the Lightning Man . Lee was - in his own words - for a long time under enormous pressure from the French AREVA group , the world's largest group for nuclear technology , which wanted to mine the uranium there.

The Australian Conservation Foundation , the largest Australian environmental foundation criticizing uranium mining in Australia , welcomed Lee's offer and in 2010 called on the Australian federal government to press ahead with the integration of Koongarra into the park.

Senator Scott Ludlam of the Australian Greens welcomed Lee's proposal as "wonderful news for locals and all Australians" and stated that he and the Greens are part of the ALP government support the integration of the Koongarra area into the park.

Since 2005 Koongarra Pty Ltd , a subsidiary of AREVA, has been in negotiations with the Aborigines and the Northern Land Council . In 2007 the Australian Labor Party abandoned the long-proclaimed restriction on three uranium mines.

Both the French COGEMA and AREVA, which have been mining the Koongarra uranium deposit since 1995, are currently not advancing the Koongarra project.

Web links

• The Age: Interview with Jeffrey Lee: Who wants to be a billionaire? I dont.

Individual evidence

1. ^ New Uranium Mining Projects - Australia . Koongarra . Retrieved February 24, 2011
2. ↑ ^{a b} Antinuclear Australia News . Labor govt will back Aboriginal Jeffrey Lee against nuclear giant AREVA . Retrieved February 24, 2011
3. ↑ Angela Giblin (2004) ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 3.05 MB): Alligator river Uranium Deposits (Koongarra, Narbalek, Ranger One), Northern Territory . Retrieved February 27, 2011 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Lindsay Murdoch: Land of riches given over to Kakadu , in The Age of May 29, 2010. Retrieved on February 24, 2011
5. ↑ Antiuclear Australian News : Liberal MP in Northern Territory plans to betray Aboriginal Jeffrey Lee . Retrieved February 24, 2011
6. ↑ Nicole Lee : Kakadu National Park . ABC Alice Springs dated June 4, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2011 (audio output in English)
7. ↑ Australian Conservation Fondation ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Traditional Owner's generous offer to Kakadu. Statement dated June 7, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2011  
8. ↑ Scott Ludlam  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Greens praise move to protect Koongarra from uranium mining, August 10, 2010. Accessed February 27  
9. ^ Australian Government: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities : Koongarra. Retrieved February 26, 2011
10. ↑ Glenn Milne: ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Labor abandons "three mine" policy . Sunday Times Perth, April 27, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2011  
11. ↑ Michaal Mills : Areva respects Garrett's views on Koongarra uranium deposit . Australian Mining as of May 31, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2011