TIWI Islander Dennis Tipakalippa said he was “the happiest man alive” after staring down gas giant Santos in the Federal Court of Australia. 

The Senior Lawman’s landmark legal victory – halting drilling at a massive gas project northwest of Darwin – will have national and global implications, his lawyer said. 

Federal Court Justice Mordecai Bromberg ruled recently that the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) should not have approved Santos’s drilling off the Tiwi Islands. 

Mr Tipakalippa, who launched the legal action against the regulator’s decision, said the judgment made him the happiest man alive. 

“The most important thing for us is to protect our sea-country,” he said. 

“We want Santos and all mining companies to remember – we are powerful, we will fight for our land and sea-country, for our future generations no matter how hard and how long.”