For those who were cynical about the aboriginal intervention and the reason for it, it is going to pay off for one ex coalition minister who claimed only altruistic motives were behind it.  This is only the beginning for the multinationals as they set in to ravage the beautiful Tiwi Islands.  After the accolades that Mal Brough received for his good work from the Australian public, he will now be rewarded by "someone", although he refuses to disclose who he is working for at present.

Mr Brough, the Howard government indigenous affairs minister who championed the Northern Territory intervention before losing his seat in the election, has been sighted on the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin, being escorted by the Tiwi Land Council.

Yesterday, he told The Australian reluctantly that he was seeking to make a profit from - and lend a hand to - the islanders in yet-to-be-finalised joint-venture projects on the islands.

"I've travelled up there several times," Mr Brough said from Queensland yesterday.

"If you can make economic development work, it'll become an unstoppable force for change. We've travelled to the Tiwis and put proposals to them and the aim of it is to try and help them realise their potential."

The township of Nguiu, on the Tiwis' western-most Bathurst Island, was the only community that signed up to Mr Brough's 99-year lease arrangements during his tenure as minister. The lease means Nguiu has effectively become public land, with no permit required to enter. Locals can now look to buy their own homes - and outsiders can scope the town for business opportunities.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23178334-601,00.html

I don't think you can accuse him of ulterior motives if he only got the job because he lost his seat at the election

How quickly did he get a job to negotiate the development of the Tiwi Islands?  The intervention was a farce and I believe it came after consultation with developers or the mining industry.  Why won't Brough disclose who he is working for?

The whole point of the intervention was to help the aborigines, yet a couple of months later - negotiations are being made for some project or another on what is now considered public land.  All we heard about during this intervention was "what a good bloke Brough was".  He was only doing his job and as Downer said - he didn't think the Liberals were going to win a year ago, so no doubt some of the ex ministers would have had feelers out.

To me this intervention was just insurance and an each way bet.  One - to impress the voting public on the offchance it might gain more votes and two - to help their mates either develop or mine this prime piece of real estate.  Of course there would be jobs for the boys if the Liberals lost the election and Labor has been guilty of this as well.  The difference is we are dealing with very vulnerable people and who knows exactly what these deals entail and whether our indigenous people will be the losers.