With the campaign to Save Wallum approaching the three-year mark, Saturday’s powerful community gathering clearly demonstrated that the determination of the local community and Bayside residents to protect this land is not waning.
The community event was put together by local artist and Save Wallum supporter Coda Dhuwa and led by cultural leader Numal Bungaree, with approximately 100 people gathering on picnic blankets to hear updates on the multiple processes that could determine the future of the Wallum site in Brunswick Heads.
Supporters gathered around a fire at Bayside Park, to reconnect with each other and with the Wallum landscape. The messages on the day came through loud and clear: Wallum stands, the community is still here, the campaign to protect this culturally and ecologically significant place is far from over, and the level of passion and commitment to this cause is unwavering.
Conversations were had about the application for long-term Commonwealth protection of the Wallum site by Traditional Owners, under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHP) 1984, due to the site’s cultural significance. Al Oshlack, renowned local legal advocate, who was in attendance, updated the crowd on the broader use of the s10 and s9 ATSIHP Act. He said the timeline for final reporting could take another 12 months.
Landmark case by the community
The extraordinary level of community support that has made Save Wallum’s Federal Court case possible was also discussed at the event. While Save Wallum’s legal team, including barristers Jonathan Korman and Richard Reynolds and lawyer Natalija Nikolić, have all worked hundreds of hours pro bono (i.e., not been paid), the unavoidable hard costs of taking a major environmental case through the Federal Court, including court fees, expert evidence, and associated expenses, have totalled $300,000. Every dollar of those costs has been met through community donations.
‘This landmark court case simply could not have happened without both our extraordinary hard working legal team and our passionate community,’ Svea Pitman, Save Wallum spokesperson informed the crowd. ‘People have donated five dollars, fifty dollars, hundreds and sometimes thousands. We have run markets and sold significant volumes of merchandise and educational materials to meet these campaign costs.’
The Federal Court case, considering Save Wallum’s application for a permanent injunction under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999, is awaiting judgment, possibly sometime this month. It is expected the community will be given 3-4 days notice of the EPBC trial outcome announcement, which will be live broadcast on YouTube as a matter of public interest.
The EPBC temporary injunction has now been in place for over two years. Possible Federal court outcomes were discussed at Saturday’s gathering; broadly, the Court could grant the permanent injunction sought by Save Wallum, dismiss the application, or make other orders reflecting its findings including referral of the Wallum development to the Federal Environment Minister for a full assessment of potential impacts on the various threatened species.
If the Court finds in favour of Save Wallum, relevant development works could be restrained unless and until any required Commonwealth environmental approval is obtained. If the application is dismissed, the current protections arising from the Federal Court proceedings may come to an end, subject to the exact orders made by the Court and any further legal avenues available.
Save Wallum emphasised that the eventual judgment will need to be carefully considered before its full implications are known.
‘We are still anxiously awaiting Justice Perry’s findings in this matter, and none of us can predict the outcome,” Ms Pitman said, ‘But so far we have kept Wallum protected, Wallum is still here, and five nationally threatened species received their day in court. It’s not often we hear from advocates of frogs and potoroos in our Federal Court! We have brought together scientists, lawyers, First Nations people, and thousands of community members around one extraordinary cause: to save this rare and incredible place from destruction.’
Saturday’s gathering reinforced that the Federal Court proceedings are only one part of the continuing Wallum story. There are also ongoing issues at the state planning level and with Byron Shire Council regarding B4 and non-compliance with this consent condition.
Questions were then fielded by Numal Bungaree and Svea Pitman as those attending had the opportunity to query various aspects of the campaign work to date and possible ways forward.
As the event concluded, Numal Bungaree reminded the group that this campaign has become about more than stopping one development – networking and skill sharing between groups is also underway, including with the Iron Gates crew in Evans Heads.
Howie Cook ended the gathering with a beautiful live performance of The Wallum Song, joined in chorus by the crowd. Local indigenous artworks collected by Oral Roberts from various Bundjalung artists were then on display for those in attendance to purchase as part of the ongoing fundraising.
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