Aboriginal Australians worried about north development plan

Aboriginal Australians have expressed concerns that a government plan to develop the country's north will undermine their land rights.

The government research paper outlines an ambitious 20-year plan for the largely undeveloped region.

It includes proposals for new roads, airstrips, dams and changes to land-use laws to allow more development.

But one Aboriginal leader said he feared the proposal was a "Trojan horse" to undermine native title.

The government's white paper was a "welcome focus on the north" said Noel Pearson, an influential Aboriginal leader from Cape York in far north Queensland.

"But this approach is full of threat and full of opportunity," said Mr Pearson.

Speaking on Australia's ABC TV on Friday, he said: "Our concern is that governments, including the Commonwealth, see this as a Trojan horse to undermine Mabo."

He was referring to the landmark 1992 court ruling recognising native title in Australia.

Native title recognises the traditional rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to land and waters they can prove a long-standing connection to but does not extinguish freehold title or pastoral leases.

Mr Pearson warned the government it must negotiate with Aboriginal people, who make up a large part of the north's population and own much of the land under native title.

He said there was a big chance developers would try to "sideline" Aboriginal concerns and that they would end up with "scraps off the table" of any major development.

The government's plan, launched officially on Friday, includes a A$600m ($545m; £343m) roads package to upgrade transport infrastructure, and a A$200m water infrastructure fund.

Land-use laws in the north have led to long delays and cost blowouts in construction and mining projects over the past decade, so the white paper includes support for native title bodies and new surveys to start simplifying land arrangements.

Governments have talked in the past of opening up the north of Australia to more development, especially agriculture.

However, monsoonal weather in some parts of the region, very dry weather elsewhere, and poor soils have been seen as barriers to successful large-scale farming.

The government hopes to attract billions of dollars in cash from overseas investors.