The traditional owners served the injunction to a Northern Land Council meeting that was set to progress Hancock's shale gas plans on Aboriginal land along the Roper River. The permit itself covers a total of 12,843sq.km.
More than 350 members of the Mangarrayi and Alawa Aboriginal Land Trusts covering the Roper River, Mataranka and Bitter Springs, plus the historic Elsey Station in the NT, joined to bring the legal action together in Mataranka.
They say Hancock affiliated companies Jacaranda Minerals and Minerals Australia "did not adequately consult" with them over shale gas hydraulic fracturing plans and its potential impacts on land and water.
The NT Government approved the permit in March 2015, but traditional owners are contesting the validity of the agreement, arguing neither the company nor the NLC explained the scale and risks of an operational shale gas field during the consultation process.
They also argue that no interpreters were used to explain the complex techniques involved, and claim that an overwhelming majority say they were locked out of consultation process entirely.
Hancock noted that The Guardian reported NLC CEO Joe Morrison on July 29 as saying that the consultations with the traditional owners were "extensive" and that all consent and non-consent decisions regarding the exploration permit were "fully informed".
Morrison was also quoted as saying that "competent bilingual traditional owners" assisted the NLC with delivering information, and that "the information given at consultation meetings was extensive, but neutral".
"Traditional owners were fully informed about the process of fracking and about all known possible environmental consequences," Morrison said.
"That TOs took this information on board is evidenced by their decision to refuse exploration over approximately 50% of the land applied for, including all watercourses, communities, living areas and sacred sites."
Hancock told Energy News in a statement that company representatives attended a 2013 meeting organised by the NLC for final approval of the exploration deed for EP 154 where the explorer explained its proposed long-term exploration processes and "allowed the traditional owners the opportunity to as questions of what may be involved".
The company also said the NLC undertook extensive surveys of the areas of significance to the traditional owners in 2013, utilising both traditional owners themselves and NLC anthropologists.
After this, the traditional owners vetoed exploration over more than half of the original application for EP 154 (58% of the Mangarray Land Trust area), including all major streams and rivers.
When the permit was granted, this area was excluded from the permit and Hancock said it "respected the traditional owners' right to control exploration activities over their land".
"The decision of the traditional owners to exclude a large portion of the area from the permit was viewed as indicative of them having understood the information provided and having actively participated in the process," Hancock told Energy News yesterday.
The excluded area is under a five-year moratorium, during which time Hancock is not allowed to consult with the traditional owners on the area.
Hancock also told Energy News that the exploration permit conditions imposed do not give any approval for any fraccing activity.
The company's proposed exploration program for 2016 in EP 154 includes limited seismic surveys and drilling of a single slim line core hole to obtain geological information to assist interpretation of seismic data.
The location of the drill hole is an area of low-permeability shale with no productive aquifers and is more than 50km from the Mataranka area limestone aquifer and related springs.
"Throughout this process, [Hancock] has acted in accordance with all of its legislative requirements in communicating and dealing with the traditional owners of the region and co-operated fully with the NLC," the company said.
"[Hancock] believes that further exploration and investment has the potential to bring significant benefits to the region."
Pastoralist backing
The region's pastoralists, food growers and tourism operators also joined traditional owners in protesting the Roper River plans which they describe as the "lifeblood" of the region.
The group refused to attend the NLC meeting and instead simply handed a letter to the NLC CEO Joe Morrison, calling for the meeting to be abandoned until a fair consultation process was followed.
Mangarrayi traditional owner and resident of Elsey Station, Simone Baker, said they were not told that their land could be opened up for "thousands of fracced gas wells".
"Our old people were asked to sign documents that may have been for gas mining but were never properly explained. When people said no the Land Council seems to have heard yes," she said.
"We want the Land Council to listen to the people - this has been a bad process over a bad fraccing deal and we are saying no to any agreement with Gina Rinehart's fraccing company."
Senior Mangarrayi traditional owner Shelia Conway said her group was concerned for its water, fishing and cattle if the exploration went ahead.
"The gas company didn't explain to us what would happen after exploration. Some people were told the impact on the land would be a hole the size of a billy-can," she said.
"We had no idea it could involve hundreds or even thousands of gas wells across our country."
Little Roper Stock Camp owner Des Barritt, who runs a buffalo and cattle tourism business that borders the Roper River on Elsey National Park, supports the traditional owners' stand.
He said he employs many local Indigenous people, and that "the slightest chance" of contamination to his water from fraccing would destroy their livelihood.
