People involved		Normandy Mining Ltd. Crocodile Hotel Our departure from Kakadu was delayed by a flat tyre. Whilst the tyre was being repaired we retreated to the Crocodile Hotel where they were given a tour by the management. We heard details of the agreement between the management company that ran the hotel for the Gagudju Association who own it along with Cooinda and Bowalli Visitors Centre and other facilities in the park.   Woodcutters Mine We then travelled to Woodcutters Mine which is owned by Normandy Mining Ltd. At the mine we were received by Mike Fisher, Resident Manager, and Michael Delosa, Environmental Superintendent.We were taken on a tour of the mine where we saw mining operations including the open cut and siltation dams.   Afterwards Mike Fisher provided an overview of mine operations and explained how Normandy only acquired the mine in March 1994 and since then has begun negotiations with traditional owners about the use of their land. The outcome of this has been the Finniss River Land Trust Woodcutters Agreement that is to run from 1st January 1995 until mine closure, expected early next year. The Agreement allows for mining activities, payment of royalties to the traditional owners, opportunities, for employment and training, protection of sacred sites, environmental protection and rehabilitation, instruction on Aboriginal culture to mine staff and arrangements for the cessation of mining activities. The Agreement to traditional owners has already resulted in half a million dollars in royalties, although it has to be said that this has yet to reach the local community. So far the community has benefited from employment through contracted labour and the community based Amangal Aboriginal Corporation have provided contractual services for environmental rehabilitation that they hope will provide longterm employment in the service of other mines in the area.   Rhonda Calma-Holt, representing the McGregor Verburg local descent group of the Kungarakan lineage, joined us at the meeting and presented a community perspective. She explained how years of dispossession and disempowerment had had severe adverse impacts on the local community and through the agreement they hoped to address some of these. They looked to the agreement to protect their lands, particularly the cultural significance of the Kamali creek and the underground waterways found deep in the mine that they regard as the pathways of ‘creative beings’. From a position of being powerless they feel they are now in a position to negotiate about mining operations to protect their lands and enjoy some benefits that accrue from it. However, unfortunately a history of disunity had separated local communities such that Normandy was only in discussion with the McGregor Verburg descent group. We were told that this was partly due the fact that some payments passed through the Northern Land Council had been unequally shared between groups such that they were no longer on good terms. Normandy accepted that it would have to become more proactive and engage in discussions with all groups that had association with the land. We were impressed with the openness of discussion about the negotations going on between the parties to the agreement, and even more so by Rhonda’s analysis and commitment to lead her people to a better future.