1、The piece of land in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia that will soon hold one of the biggest sugar mills in the southern hemisphere belongs to the Miriuwung Gajerrong people.In order to win the tender, Shanghai Zhongfu, trading as Kimberley Agricultural Investments in Australia, had to
2、 consult deeply with the traditional landowners.West Australian Minister for Regional Development and Land, Brendan Grylls, was a major decision maker in awarding Shanghai Zhongfu the tender.Mr Grylls says he was more than satisfied with the companys efforts:Ive been really impressed by the efforts
3、thats been undertaken by Shanghai Zhongfu to understand the local issues. This project has a very strong component of traditional owner involvement in it and some strong requirements for traditional owner employment and opportunity development. Shanghai Zhongfu have been regular visitors to the Kimb
4、erley over the course of this project and theyve been quite smart in bringing in local expertise into their bid for the project, so I think theyve done that well.The first stage involved a 300 million Australian dollar investment by the West Australian Government into building roads, channels and ir
5、rigation infrastructure.Many local indigenous people were employed on the first stage and had never had a job before, but are now trained in heavy machinery work.Councillor John Moulden is the Wyndham Shire President, which oversees the local area of Kununurra, which has a population of six thousand
6、 people.He says that Shanghai Zhongfus offer, chosen over 13 other tenders, of employment and business opportunities was vital in their winning the tender for stage two.One of the outcomes the MG people were looking for were economic opportunities for themselves, so my understanding is that the proj
7、ect that Shanghai Zhongfu has many opportunities for the indigenous people and that will be in the land clearing and preparation of farms and the operation of the proposed sugar mills. This is what theyve been working for. The aboriginal people here have largely been outside the mainstream economy a
8、nd I think they see this as really their best opportunity to get some meaningful employment for their people.It was certainly in Shanghai Zhongfus best interest to make a concerted effort to satisfy the demands of the Miriuwung Gajerrong people.The company will invest 700 million Australian dollars
9、over six years to build a sugar industry in the region with an initial 250 million to build the sugar mill.Chinese companies have been operating in the mining sector in Western Australia for almost two decades.But this kind of long term agricultural development is one of the first in the country whi
10、ch involves such a deep level of complex consultation with traditional land owners.Councillor Mouldon explains:Its not a straight economic deal if you understand me. Its not like a business to business talking about developing an iron ore mine where harder heads will prevail. This is about the futur
11、e livelihood of a very disadvantaged part of our society. I think its terribly important that everybody treats each other with great respect and understanding and I think that probably sets it apart from many other straight business deals, probably without precedent I would think. It is a very compl
12、ex project that involves really tough issues like native title, land rights, compensation even indigenous politics when it comes down to it. Its very, very complex.This is just the beginning of long term relationship.In order for the project to start Shanghai Zhongfu still needs to reach an agreement with the traditional land owners over how much land will not be developed and remain under their control.For CRI, Im Alexandra Blucher.
