WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple questions validity Rio Tinto’s approval for destruction of Juukan Gorge after new evidence surfaces
WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has found stipulations in the Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972) that were not correctly adhered to which may render the decision to approve the destruction of Juukan Gorge void.
Speaking generally Mr Chapple has labelled this development as “monumental” in respect to Heritage law in WA and it may affect dozens of other projects across the state.
“We have very clear regulations in the Heritage Act that state two members of the ACMC must be ex-officio when limited to a quorum of five - there were three ex-officio for the assessment of Juukan Gorge”
“It’s transcribed in the original Committee of the whole discussion from 1972 -- clear as day --secondly there is a requirement that an appointed anthropologist be on the Committee, this appointment had not occurred and therefore one was not present on that day”
“Finally, the committee chair declared that ‘he held joint shares in BHP and that family members worked for a subsidiary of Rio Tinto in Africa’ in 2011 and that he ‘maintains a small shareholding in CRA’ in 2013 which should have precluded him from the decision making process”
“It’s may invalidate the approval offered by the Minister at the time and countless others which have the potential for huge ramifications throughout WA”
Mr Chapple claims this is another example of the systemic issues within the Aboriginal Heritage Act and the ACMC generally.
“We have no idea how many of these decisions were potentially invalid due to failures of procedure that are clearly outlined and this is just another reason why the system needs to be replaced and decision making put in the hands of Indigenous stakeholders not government bodies”
