Australia: Western Australia’s Premier Mr. Roger Cook has stated that the state will overturn recently enforced laws to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage sites following widespread opposition by farmers and small landowners.
The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act came into force on July 1 and was designed to prevent a repeat of the destruction witnessed at the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelter, which was demolished by the Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto during the expansion of an iron ore mine. The ancient rock shelter was one of the earliest known locations inhabited by Australia’s Indigenous people and contained some of the oldest artefacts.
Mr. Cook remarked that the five-week-old law has been too complex and divisive since coming into force, and the state government would scrap it and restore it as well as amend a 1972 law to ensure the protection of important sites.
I just wanted to update the WA community on an important issue.
The Juukan Gorge tragedy in the Pilbara in early 2020 was a global embarrassment – and it was clear that we needed to prevent something similar ever happening again. pic.twitter.com/qLfysN0c78
— Roger Cook (@RogerCookMLA) August 8, 2023
“The Juukan Gorge tragedy in the Pilbara in early 2020 was a global embarrassment, and it was clear that we needed to prevent something similar ever happening again,” Mr. Cook wrote on X.
“The Act that came into force last month was intended to prevent the destruction of significant Aboriginal cultural heritage in Western Australia, but the legislation had gone too far,” the Premier added.
“It has become clear that the Act went too far, introducing complicated regulations and ultimately placing the burden on everyday property owners. Simple and effective amendments to the older Aboriginal Heritage Act of 1972 would be adequate to prevent another Juukan Gorge incident,” Mr. Cook continued.
According to the Premier, the amended old law would allow property owners to continue to operate their properties “just as they have for the past 50 years.”
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