Dear friends,

My name is Laniyuk and I am a young Larrakia woman who has been working to amplify the voices of Larrakia people to Protect Lee Point from being destroyed by Defence Housing Australia. Thank you for signing our petition!

Lee Point is a sacred place that holds deep significance for me, my family and all Larrakia people. Our families have walked up and down those lands for generations. It is one of the last places in Darwin we are able to take our young people to learn how to fish, learn culture and be with Country. It means so much to have your support in protecting our sacred lands. 

On 1 April, Defence Housing Australia is scheduled to continue their destruction of Lee Point. Right now, contractors will be getting bulldozers ready to plough through ancient Larrakia land that has been cared for by our people for generations. These bulldozers will destroy our places of healing, ceremony and Dreaming.

It’s a crucial time for politicians to hear directly from the growing movement of supporters like yourself, working in solidarity with Larrakia people. Public pressure pushed the NT Government to delay destruction before, and together we can do it again. But with only two weeks until destruction starts, we need your help to fill the inboxes of three key government Ministers.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT LEE POINT? 

Send an email now to one (or all three!) of these key decision makers:

• NT Minister for Planning, Infrastructure and Logistics, Joel Bowden: Minister.Bowden@nt.gov.au 
• Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek: Minister.Plibersek@dcceew.gov.au 
• NT Chief Minister and Minister for Defence Industries Eva Lawler: chief.minister@nt.gov.au

The message will be received best if you are able to write the email in your own words but here are some prompts to get you going! We have four main focuses we’d love your support in communicating:

• Lee Point is sacred Larrakia land: For countless generations Larrakia people have practised culture and ceremony at Lee Point. Today it is one of the last remaining areas in central Darwin where Larrakia families can come together and teach their young people about who they are and where they come from. Lee Point is home to an abundance of native foods, Creation Stories and is a hub of Larrakia culture and knowledge. Destroying this area is detrimental to the transferral of this knowledge to Larrakia children - harming Larrakia language, kinship and culture.
• Larrakia people do not consent to this area being destroyed: The majority of Larrakia people disagree with Defence Housing’s proposal to destroy this area of land. Larrakia Nation has officially withdrawn its support for the project and Larrakia Elders have been calling for Lee Point to be protected. Lee Point must be returned to the care of Larrakia people.
• Lee Point is a beautiful coastal bushland teeming with life, song and Spirit: It is home to trees that are older than the colony of Australia and the habitat of threatened native species such as the Gouldian Finch and the Black-Footed Tree-Rat. The climate is damaged and the government needs to be making decisions to protect ancient bushland like Lee Point - now and long into the future.
• The houses that are being built are not for Larrakia families: We know that up to 50% of the 800 houses that Defence Housing Australia are planning to build at Lee Point are reserved for the military and the rest are for private buyers. The government claims that this development will help solve Darwin’s housing crisis. However, according to the 2021 Census, the average weekly income for an Aboriginal person living in Darwin is $670 or $34,840 per year. Indigenous people make up 87 per cent of the Northern Territory's homeless population. Given these realities, can the Minister provide proof that these houses will be affordable to the average Aboriginal person in Darwin? Can the Minister tell us how these houses help solve homelessness for Aboriginal people? Will any of these houses be set aside for Larrakia families? 

Double your impact by calling their offices and sharing your concerns. You can use the same talking points from above:

• Minister for Planning, Infrastructure and Logistics, Joel Bowden:
  +61 (08) 8999 6620
• Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek: 
  (02) 9379 0700
• NT Chief Minister and Minister for Defence Industries Eva Lawler: 
  +61 (08) 8999 5397

The more people that pile on pressure this week, the more likely they’ll listen to us. After you've sent your email or made a call, can you also forward this email to friends and family and encourage them to take action?

“As a young Larakkia person, being a Traditional Owner and growing up on Larrakia country we have a responsibility to the land, to our people, to our ancestors to look after this land” - Larrakia woman Hayley McAdam

Almost 10,000 people like you have signed our petition. If we keep channelling community energy behind Larrakia people’s enduring commitment to care for this sacred land, together we can see the return of Lee Point to Larrakia People.

Thank you for your support, 

Laniyuk