A review into the proposed World Heritage listing of parts of Cape York has been extended after it was revealed the consultation process was led by former Cape York Land Council CEO Dion Creek, who is now facing serious fraud charges.
The update was first reported by The Australian, which revealed Mr Creek oversaw the $1.2 million taxpayer-funded consultation with Traditional Owners that underpinned the region's nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in mid-2024.
Mr Creek, 39, has since been charged with 38 offences, including fraud, stealing, making false declarations, and computer hacking.
The alleged offences were committed during his time as CEO of the Land Council, from September 2022 to August 2024.
The Queensland government awarded the consultation contract to the CYLC in October 2023.
Consultations were conducted until April 2024, ahead of the federal government's formal submission of the World Heritage nomination in June.
Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell told The Australian the review had been extended due to concerns about the accuracy of the consultation process.
"There are concerns about the consultation process and what happened ahead of the nomination," Mr Powell said.
"We are going back to traditional owners who, according to this process, had indicated they supported World Heritage listing to test and confirm what is accurate."
Mr Powell said the review was now expected to take significantly longer than originally planned.
It remains unclear whether the consultation contract is part of the state government's review or the ongoing police investigation into Mr Creek's conduct while leading the organisation.
Court documents show that Mr Creek's fraud charges include the alleged dishonest application of property, false declarations, and hacking into CYLC systems.
One of the hacking charges reportedly involved accessing documents connected to civil litigation and a separate domestic violence matter.
Mr Creek was replaced as CEO in August 2024 following his arrest.
Cape York Land Council chair Mr Richie Ah Mat was appointed acting CEO at the time and has since formally taken over the role.
Mr Ah Mat had previously expressed concern over the nomination process and remains opposed to the World Heritage listing.
"We welcome the review and believe future consultation has to be inclusive, it has to involve everyone — white fellas, Black fellas, everybody that lives on the Cape," he said.
