A fractured relationship between the traditional owners of the Northern Territory's Kakadu National Park and the Commonwealth, could see some repair with the signing of a new lease on the iconic park. It includes an economic development fund that will give traditional owner groups greater say over how funding is spent.
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00:00A new lease agreement has been all but finalised between traditional owners here in Kakaroo
00:07National Park and the Commonwealth Government.
00:10It's the first time the lease has been renewed in around 30 years and traditional owners
00:14say it's something they've been calling for for a long time.
00:18The NLC, the Northern Land Council, say they're really pleased with the results that they've
00:21been able to reach.
00:23They've been outlining some of the terms of that agreement, including the development
00:28of an economic development fund.
00:30They'll be receiving around $9 million more per year for the next four years for the lease
00:35of the park and they'll also be taking around 50% worth of profits that come from the camping
00:41passes and parks passes that tourists have to pay for when they visit Kakaroo National
00:45Park.
00:46Another big element of this lease agreement is the reopening of Goonlam Falls, which has
00:52been closed for several years after Parks Australia built a path near a sacred site
00:58which caused the area to close down.
01:01The traditional owners of the area say that they're looking forward though to working
01:05with government and reopening Goonlam Falls to the public this May for the dry season
01:10as that relationship continues to improve.
01:12We've also spoken to tourism operators here in Jabiru who say that the reopening of Goonlam
01:17was going to be great for business.
01:19Ever since COVID they've struggled to recover and the closure of those falls hasn't helped
01:23either.
01:24So they're looking forward to welcoming more people to Kakaroo National Park as it turns
01:28into a new era and a new relationship between traditional owners and the government.