Western Australia Considers Aboriginal Heritage Protection Bill Despite Criticism

JAKARTA - The resource-rich state of Western Australia will on Wednesday introduce to parliament a bill to protect Indigenous heritage during development applications, 18 months after the destruction of a culturally significant cave site by Rio Tinto miners, sparked widespread anger.

The bill, which has been under revision for three years, will focus on reaching an agreement with Aboriginal groups and obtaining full, prior and informed consent for development, the state prime minister's department said in a statement.

However, it has come under pressure from Aboriginal groups who have protested the bill, saying they were engaged for adequate consultation, and still leave the final decision on protecting their heritage in the hands of the government.

"This is a devastating day for Aboriginal heritage," said Tyronne Garstone, chief executive of the Kimberley Land Council (KLC).

"Basically, this bill will not protect Aboriginal cultural heritage and will continue a systematic pattern of structural racial discrimination against Aboriginal people," he continued.

KLC is one of three groups to release a statement this week, calling for a final decision on the impact on Aboriginal culture and heritage to "lie with Aboriginal people, not industry or government."

Western Australia's cultural heritage laws have been in the spotlight since Rio Tinto, with written permission from the state government, demolished a rock sanctuary in Juukan Gorge that shows evidence of continuous human settlement 46.000 years ago to mine iron ore.

To note, Juukan Gorge contains the remains of a 4.000-year-old hair belt that suggests genetic links to the area's traditional owners, as well as evidence of their use as a sanctuary that stretches back to the last Ice Age.

Amid a public uproar, three senior executives including then-chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques, left the company and parliament launched a national inquiry that found regulations had to be overhauled to account for better approvals.