Paul Cleary book Title Fight lays bare native title scrap between Yindjibarndi and Fortescue Metals Group

From the moment journalist and author Paul Cleary met Yinjibarndi leader Michael Woodley, he knew there was something special about him. His curiosity about Woodley and his determination to defend the spiritual significance of country is the crux of his latest book, Title Fight, chronicling the fierce litigation for land rights between mining giant Fortescue Metals Group and the Yinjibarndi within the lucrative Solomon Mine Hub. For 10 years, Cleary followed the story of Woodley and his people, who endured a 13-year battle with FMG regarding claims of unfair agreements and damage and destruction to sacred sites. Their fight reached the Federal Court, which in July granted the Pilbara traditional owners unprecedented exclusive rights to land in the region. Although legal proceedings are still taking place, they appear destined to result in significant compensation for the traditional owners after years of earning just several cents per tonne of iron ore in royalties. Cleary said the Yinjibarndi’s determination and cultural strength inspired him to document the journey through the courts. “I remember interviewing Michael over the phone for the first time and I thought he was really something,” he said. “The complexity of the contest is just incredible, and I don’t know how people like Michael Woodley have been able to stay on top of it, but they clearly have. “There is a view out there that is kind of paternalistic that Aboriginal people can’t stand on their own two feet and that there is no real regard for self-determination. Their story shows what Aboriginal people can achieve when they are determined and they have strong leadership.” Some 670,000 words of legal and tribunal judgments were drawn upon to document the story, which Cleary said demonstrated the unwavering resilience of traditional owners. “The scale of the litigation is unbelievable. It just goes to show that if you are an Aboriginal organisation and you want to really stand up for yourself and you’ve got a really adversarial party against you, you have to go to great lengths,” he said. “The really concerning thing about what is happening here is a decade ago some of the big companies were really trying to make big strides in trying to support Aboriginal people to do good deals, and I think the problem here is FMG have shown what you can get away with.” A major outcome of the case was a ruling which acknowledged the “spiritual harm” caused by lack of consultation with traditional owners. Cleary said he hoped readers would gain insights into the importance of connection to country for First Nations people and that although mining of land would continue, respect for culture and heritage must be fostered. “It’s insulting that Aboriginal people have had to endure so many impacts on their country and so much destruction of their cultural heritage which some people have no idea about because it is out on remote areas,” he said. “The spiritual harm is more significant in a way than the economic harm. “We clearly haven’t got the balance right in terms of respecting Aboriginal rights and development, and that is driven by the sheer scale and need of development. When I first started looking at this issue I thought ‘why are we in such a mad rush to develop?’. If the economists and Treasury and Reserve Bank are right, this period is a mining super cycle and it is going to go on for 20 or 30 years.”