When in 1991 BHP failed to secure approval to mine at Coronation Hill, which would have meant overriding Aboriginal religious concerns and threatening Kakadu's World Heritage wetlands, the Government's decision was presented as a body blow to the mining industry. Yet with full industry support BHP (later the Coronation Hill Joint Venture) doggedly continued to push its case in a calculated challenge to environmental and social justice principles which had been gaining prominence through the…
