Traditional custodians say they're relieved bulldozers have stopped land clearing at a significant site in Darwin at least for now.
Defence Housing Australia has agreed to halt the work at Lee Point, known by the Larrakia Danggalaba people as Binybara, until August 11 following an emergency injunction to extend an earlier deadline of July 17.
But traditional owners like Larrakia woman Lorraine Williams say there wasn't appropriate heritage assessment of the site before clearing began and are pleading with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to speak with them.
"We would like to talk to you about the importance of the area, the plants and the animals here, not just for Aboriginal people but for all Territorians," she said.
"No one wants to see this place destroyed.
"Help us protect a site that was named after a Larrakia woman, an ancestor, that will have positive outcomes for future generations of Larrakia people."
The proposed development includes 800 new homes, a tourism activity centre containing restaurants, cafes, hotels, self-contained apartments and shops and a community hub with a primary school, childcare facility and sports facilities.
On Monday a group staged a protest outside Ms Plibersek's Sydney office calling on her to intervene.
Lawyers from Environmental Justice Australia, acting on behalf of Larrakia Danggalaba man Tibby Quall, won the original reprieve on land clearing by making an emergency application under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
This temporarily stopped bulldozers clearing approximately 110 hectares of savannah woodlands home to Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, including 400-year-old trees and endangered Gouldian finches.
"Without our land, we can't survive. It makes us who we are," Mr Quall said.
"The bulldozers will destroy our connection to the land. They will destroy the Kenbi Dreaming track, which holds our lores and customs."
Mr Quall said the area proposed for development includes Dariba Nunggalinya - Old Man Rock, a sacred site.
"It's from the beginning of the world, that's how long Aboriginal people have been here," he said.
"You can never remove a sacred site.
"In our culture, we maintain things in life, we don't destroy it because it's part of our soul and spirit."
Mr Quall argues that the development will injure and desecrate a significant Aboriginal area containing both tangible and intangible Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Lawyer Bruce Lindsay said there were 'significant problems' with a number of reports submitted with the development proposal.
"Instead of sitting down with traditional owners, these reports were based on quick desktop analysis and field surveys done in less than two days," he said.
"It's deeply concerning that these surveys were done without involvement of Larrakia people and without properly visiting the site.
"Recent planning documents suggest traditional custodians can identify and retrieve archaeological items before the land clearing starts - that's tokenistic and, frankly, offensive."
