The Traditional Owners of a sacred cave destroyed by Rio Tinto in 2020 have threatened to disregard compliance-driven heritage requirements after reports the West Australian government will scrap its controversial Aboriginal cultural heritage laws in place for only a month.
WA Premier Roger Cook is under pressure to reveal its position after backlash led by the farming community and resources industry.
It is understood the WA government will revert to the 1972 laws covering Aboriginal heritage, which were in force when Rio destroyed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in 2020.
The site in the Hammersley Ranges, about 60km from Mt Tom Price, is sacred to Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Traditional Owners, and showed 46,000 years of continual human occupation and a 4000-year-old genetic link to today's Traditional Owners.
Several high-profile executives from Rio were stood down after the incident, which occurred after the miner was granted ministerial consent to blast the site under the now-infamous section 18 process from the previous 1972 laws.
PKKP chairman Terry Drage said Traditional Owners were "devastated and angered" by the reports, which first emerged over the weekend, and claimed they had not been consulted about the proposed change in legislation.
"The previous heritage act, which predates Native Title, permitted the wanton destruction of Juukan Gorge. While the new Act is not perfect, it is better than what it replaced," Mr Drage said.
"If the State Government had listened to community feedback during the consultation phase, we would not be in this mess. Fix the guidelines, which are the biggest problem, not scrap the Act."
Mr Drage said the Federal Government now needed to show leadership and proceed with the introduction of a new Australia-wide regime for cultural heritage protection.
"The preservation of our heritage sites is non-negotiable for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people," he said.
PKKP land and heritage management director Jordan Ralph said the corporation would not support the return to the older, deeply flawed Act.
"We do not support the old Act's Section 18 process, which is a permit for cultural heritage destruction. At this point in time, we are considering withdrawing from compliance-driven heritage surveys and negotiations until the State Government can deliver certainty and clarity around the future for all First Nations people," Dr Ralph said.
PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Grant Wilson said the WA Government had not even spoken to the corporation about their intentions to scrap the new laws.
"To make this worse, they have not picked up the phone to speak with us about their intention," he said.
"We have wasted a lot of resources over the past few years getting ready for the new Act, with very little support or consultation from the Government and they have pulled out at the first hurdle.
"Fortunately for us, we are negotiating strong co-management agreements with mining proponents, which provide each party the clarity that is lacking in the legislation. It now looks like we will be relying on our agreements to see us through this mess."
