Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002:front:0:p12
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2016L00002
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 33014–35803

and leased to the Director of National Parks to continue being managed as part of Kakadu National Park. At the time of preparing this plan the land claim to the Goodparla area is still ongoing. The land may become Aboriginal land during the life of this plan and will be leased to the Director.

In 1997 the High Court found the Proclamation for Stage Three of Kakadu was invalid in relation to a number of mining leases including Coronation Hill and El Sherana. Following negotiation of a settlement with the holder of the Stage Three mining leases (Newcrest Operations Ltd), all affected areas were eventually incorporated into the park by a proclamation under the EPBC Act in May 2007.

In 1997 the Mirarr people, acknowledged as the traditional owners of the Jabiru township land, made a native title claim under the Native Title Act 1993 to the township area and two adjoining areas of the park. Agreement to settle the claim was reached in 2009. Under the agreement the claim areas would be granted as Aboriginal land under the Land Rights Act. At the time of preparing this plan the settlement has been partially implemented by the granting of the two areas adjoining the town to the Kakadu Aboriginal Land Trust and leased-back to the Director. The claim over the town area should be resolved during the life of this plan.

The Koongarra Project Area, which had been excluded from the declaration of Stage One of Kakadu in 1979, was incorporated into the park by a proclamation under the EPBC Act in February 2013.

     1.4                 Park values and local, regional, national and international significance

As well as being important to Bininj/Mungguy, many things about Kakadu are special and important to other people. However, there are some attributes of the park which are fundamental to the park's purpose and significance. These cultural and natural (or country) values are summarised in the park values statement and reflect aspects of the park that are recognised through World Heritage, Commonwealth Heritage and Ramsar listings.

This values statement (Table 1) identifies and separates the cultural and country values of the park because each have distinct threats and management priorities. Identification and separation of the cultural and country values assists in planning and management for them.

For Bininj/Mungguy, there are no local language words that equate exactly with the Western concepts of 'culture' and 'country'. For Bininj/Mungguy the word 'country' not only refers to the landscape but also captures the rich interconnections between land and people – they are inseparable. Professor of Anthropology, Deborah Bird Rose, describes this concept in the following way:

   'Indigenous people talk about country in the same way they talk about a