Reforms pledge after sacred site destroyed

The federal government has labelled the destruction of the Indigenous sacred site Juukan Gorge ‘‘unthinkable’’ and pledging it will never happen again.

In May 2020, mining giant Rio Tinto blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan caves in Western Australia, devastating traditional owners and causing global outrage.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek yesterday presented the government’s response to a parliamentary report on the destruction of the ancient rock shelters in Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura country.

‘‘It is unthinkable that any society would knowingly destroy Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids . . . but that’s precisely what occurred in Juukan Gorge,’’ she told Parliament.

A parliamentary committee examined the matter and found the company had legal permission to destroy the caves under WA’s outdated Aboriginal Heritage Act.

Major federal law reform was needed to protect Australia’s cultural heritage, the committee said.

‘‘This report explains how we reached that shameful moment . . . (it) also tells the much bigger story of our national failure on Indigenous cultural heritage,’’ Plibersek said.

‘‘We acknowledge that we have to do better. We are committed to doing so, in partnership with First Nations Australians.’’

Ahead of presenting her response, Plibersek signed an agreement with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance to ensure Indigenous voices are present at every stage of the law reform process.

‘‘These reforms are not about stopping development or halting progress, they are about addressing our oldest imbalance,’’ she said.

‘‘We are always a better country . . . when we give everyone a seat at the table and we listen to all voices.’’

Plibersek said the government had accepted seven out of eight recommendations from the committee and would work through the final one with the alliance.

Opposition spokesman Pat Conaghan said the issues raised by the report needed serious attention and consideration.

‘‘They drew into very sharp focus the wider need for the modernisation of Indigenous heritage protection laws here in Australia,’’ he said.

But the Nationals MP said any work to improve cultural heritage law should not ‘‘demonise’’ the resources industry or impose ‘‘unacceptable risks to sensible sustainable economic development across Australia’’.