Western Australia's heritage department has asked the City of Busselton for more information on proposed works overlapping a registered Aboriginal heritage site.
On July 29, City of Busselton councillors voted five to three to back the clearing on the basis of a report that made no mention of the Aboriginal Heritage Act or of consultation with Traditional Owners.
The WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) confirmed on Friday (September 4) it was yet to provide the City of Busselton with advice.
"The Department is reviewing a request for advice from the City of Busselton regarding proposed works along Vasse-Yallingup Siding Road and is seeking further information from the City," a DPLH spokesperson said.
The 27 native trees along Vasse-Yallingup Siding Road are slated for removal under a WA Government Black Spot road safety project grant, for which the City of Busselton applied in July 2022.
The funding application was based on crash data from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020, a five-year period covering nine recorded crashes.
The speed limit on the road was cut from 110km/h to 90km/h in June 2019, more than three years into that period, and Main Roads WA recorded five crashes on the road in the five years to December 31, 2025.
The City of Busselton applied for a further reduction to 80km/h in March 2025, and that request is still pending 18 months on.
Part of the clearing overlaps Marybrook 1, a registered Aboriginal heritage camping site. The council's endorsement was subject to the clearing permit surviving an appeal.
Under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972, altering or destroying a registered site without ministerial consent is a criminal offence. DPLH consultation policy sets the expectation that Traditional Owners will be consulted before a clearing notice is lodged.
National Indigenous Times first raised the consultation question with the City of Busselton on August 10 and revealed on August 17 that Traditional Custodians had not been consulted.
Karri Karrak Aboriginal Corporation, which represents Wardandi Traditional Owners in WA's South West, told this publication this week the Corporation is "actively engaging with the City of Busselton and won't be providing any further comments at this time".
The City of Busselton's new CEO Annie Riordan, who started in the role on August 24, issued a statement addressing the project's status.
"The project remains in abeyance and will be reviewed in due course," Ms Riordan said.
"No trees will be removed and no road works will be carried out relating to this particular project pending the outcome of the internal review and the outcome of the appeal process.
"The appeal process is managed by the State Government and there is no statutory timeframe for this to be completed.
"The City has sought external advice from DPLH in the first instance and will be guided by them with regard to any further obligations the City may or may not have."
DPLH referred questions on the status of the appeal to the Office of the Appeals Convenor.
