Earlier this month, Santos received the final approval from the Queensland Government for our Mount Tabor biodiversity offset project, formalising our partnership with the Bidjara people from southwest Queensland.
In a first for Santos’ Indigenous partnerships programs, the final approval means the rich environment that covers over 5,000 hectares in southwest Queensland will be conserved, in partnership with local traditional owners.
Santos Managing Director and CEO, Kevin Gallagher, said the final approval has cemented a partnership with the Bidjara people that has been many years in the making.
“We’ve been working closely with the traditional owners of the Mount Tabor property, the Bidjara people, for some time, to develop this project,” Mr Gallagher said.
“With this final approval, I’m pleased we can continue to work with the Bidjara people to protect and even improve this environmentally rich land for many years to come, while ensuring the Bidjara people can reap the financial benefits of the partnership.
“This partnership stems from a long-standing and positive relationship going back many years and we look forward to that relationship strengthening as we work together to protect the environment and cultural values of the area, for many years to come.”
Santos is proud to work with 23 Traditional Owner Groups and six Aboriginal Land Councils in our operations right across Australia. We also work closely with indigenous populations right across our operations, including clan groups and landholders in Papua New Guinea and Alaska native corps.
The partnership will allow for the regeneration of native vegetation and the development of ecological habitat to support a broad range of native and threatened fauna species, providing biodiversity offsets for GLNG over multiple years of development in the Fairview field.
Santos has been working closely with the traditional owners of the Mount Tabor property for many years, listening and working together to secure the future of the Bidjara people and protect the land for future generations.
