The state of Western Australia will repeal its 2021 Aboriginal cultural heritage protection laws, introduced after the destruction of the ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters, in response to opposition from landowners, the state's premier said on Tuesday.
The indigenous group whose shelters were legally destroyed by mining giant Rio Tinto in 2020 said it was outraged by the decision to remove this protection. There is evidence of human presence in these shelters dating back 46,000 years.
State Premier Roger Cook has reported that the 2021 legislation would be removed after widespread opposition from farmers and cattle herders and a 1972 law would be reinstated and amended to ensure the protection of important sites.
"The Juukan Gorge tragedy was a global shame, but our response was wrong, we took it too far, unintentionally causing stress, confusion and division in our community," Cook said.
The amendments to the 1972 law will be "simple and effective" and prevent something like Juukan Gorge from happening, he said.
Landowners had taken up arms over what they considered to be onerous and costly regulation laid out in the 2021 law.
However, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) aboriginal group condemned the decision, saying it had lost faith in the state government to protect aboriginal cultural heritage and called a return to the old 1972 law a shame.
"The PKKP is outraged that they and traditional owners in Western Australia have come full circle, and the Cook government is reverting to the laws that allowed the destruction of Juukan Gorge," the group said in a statement.
The change, which comes just five weeks after the new legislation went into effect, comes amid growing angst in the state over indigenous rights.
Support for federally backed plans to set up an indigenous advisory body in parliament that Australians are expected to vote in a referendum later this year has been falling nationally.
The destruction of the rock shelters of Western Australia's Juukan Gorge in construction work for an iron ore mine caused deep distress to indigenous groups and a global outcry that eventually cost the CEO, chairman and senior executives their jobs. from Rio Tinto.
The case triggered a national investigation, forced miners to review their practices, and brought tougher governance requirements from investors.
The PKKP said over the weekend that the 2021 law, while not perfect, was an improvement over the 1972 regulations.
Rio Tinto sent a letter to aboriginal groups, including the PKKP, assuring them of its commitment to protecting cultural heritage, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The miner said in a statement that it would continue to work with the state government to advocate for greater protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage.
WAfarmers chief executive Trevor Whittington told Reuters the 2021 legislation was not suitable and his group was waiting to see what the amendments entailed. “Every new agricultural activity that we undertake would require a new patrimonial survey,” he said of the 2021 legislation. “It was unfeasible,” he said.
Cook, however, dismissed those claims, saying that under the 2021 law, farmers or other property owners were only required to carry out a heritage survey if they planned to carry out an activity that would impact somewhere on known cultural heritage.
One of the key complaints Aboriginal groups had about the new law was that they had no veto power and that the final decision on heritage destruction was made by a government minister. Under the 1972 legislation, which ran until June, miners or landowners could appeal a minister's decision, but indigenous groups could not. "We will make sure they have the right to appeal if a decision is made," Cook said.
