WEAK HERITAGE LAWS FAIL TRADITIONAL OWNERS AND INDUSTRY ALIKE

Statement from Dr Jordan Ralph, Chief Heritage Officer of the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation.

Since 2020, the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation has been working hard with all mining proponents who operate on PKKP Country to ensure that our co-management principles are embedded within every agreement that we negotiate.

PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, like many other RNTBC’s in the Pilbara, has inherited a number of agreements that pre-date the grant of native title, and which are outdated.

We were bolstered initially by the introduction of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 which was intended to fix some of the deep flaws of the 1972 legislation. We remain angered and deeply disappointed that the state government repealed the legislation, bowing to misinformed lobby groups, and without any plan to re-introduce the ACH Act in an amended form. It is clear to us that the 1972 legislation that was reintroduced in 2023 is unwieldy, not fit for purpose and poses an unacceptable risk to heritage given the limited scope of the Act, as well as to landowners in terms of the potential for them to inadvertently breach section 17 of the Act.

Some of the strengths of the 2021 legislation were the broader definition of Aboriginal heritage, the mandate for Aboriginal people to be consulted with regard to their heritage, and the introduction of due diligence processes and other frameworks which afforded a greater level of protection and certainty to landowners.

In our regular discussions with miners, explorers and pastoralists, we know that overwhelmingly no one wants to disturb, damage or destroy heritage without agreement from Traditional Owners. Everyone wants to do the right thing. Traditional Owners and industry are both let down time and again by poor regulatory frameworks and poor standards for agreement-making.

PKKP were let down by the state government’s backflip on the legislation such that we have little trust in the government’s ability to support the interests of Traditional Owners or the interests of industry. In our approach since the repeal, we have taken control of heritage management on PKKP Country so that we are doing the work of the government and that our agreements make up for the flaws of the legislation.

Our group can do this because we have the resources and expertise. Other groups are not so fortunate. In our view, the state and federal governments owe it to Aboriginal Australians and to industry to build a strong regulatory framework that gives certainty to Aboriginal people that their important places can be protected, and which gives certainty to industry that their projects can proceed with a clear approvals pathway that respects Aboriginal heritage.