WA’s 2021 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act will be scrapped after just five weeks in operation, returning to the act first introduced in 1972. Image: Gypsy Denise, via Wikimedia Commons
Western Australia’s 2021 Cultural Heritage Act will be scrapped after just five weeks in operation, a decision which has been welcomed by farming and industry groups and criticised as a backwards step by the Traditional Owners the act purported to protect.
The 2021 introduced a tiered approval system in which minimal developments would not require external approval, however, significant developments would need to be approved by a local Aboriginal organisation, with heritage surveys conducted at the landowners’ expense.
The most vocal criticisms of the 2021 act came from farmers, who felt that the new system was confusing and restrictive.
John Hassell, president of WAFarmers, said that the decision to repeal the act was “a really good outcome.”
“Farmers are paralysed with fear with regards to doing any operations on their farm,” he said.
“On freehold land we should be able to develop our farms to do the jobs that we need to do to make a living without fear or favour whilst still protecting cultural heritage but not to be dictated to and not to be penalised for it.”
The Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Services body, which was established under the act to facilitate and negotiate land use proposals, will also be scrapped as the WA government reverts to the preexisting 1972 act.
Under the 1972 Cultural Heritage Act, when landowners requested to damage or destroy heritage sites, they required Section 18 approval from the minister – meaning that the minister had to sign off on all requested changes, no matter how minor.
This system was in place when mining giant Rio Tinto destroyed the 46,000-year-old culturally significant site at Juukan Gorge in 2020, an action which was approved under Section 18.
Under the previous act, developers had a right to appeal decisions made under Section 18, but Traditional Owners did not – something the government plans to amend, giving a right of appeal to native title party whose cultural heritage is impacted.
However, Traditional Owners of Juukan Gorge and Aboriginal groups in WA have criticised the repeal, feeling betrayed by the government’s action and the lack of consultation which preceded it.
Chairman Terry Drage of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) Aboriginal Corporation said Traditional Owners were devastated and angered by the decision.
“The previous heritage act, which predates Native Title, permitted the wanton destruction of Juukan Gorge. While the new Act is not perfect, it is better than what it replaced,” said Drage.
“If the State Government had listened to community feedback during the consultation phase, we would not be in this mess. Fix the guidelines, which are the biggest problem, not scrap the Act.”
WA Premier Roger Cook apologised publicly for the “poor rollout” of the new laws, saying that they were introduced as a response to the Juukan Gorge tragedy, but that they “took it too far.”
“When I became premier eight weeks ago, I made a promise to the people of Western Australia. A promise that I would always govern in the interest of all Western Australians and that I would lead a government that uses common sense and above all listens to people,” said Cook.
“Today I’m delivering on that commitment.”
Grant Wilson, chief executive of the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, said they were not consulted or even informed of the government’s plans to repeal the law.
“To make this worse, they have not picked up the phone to speak with us about their intention,” said Wilson.
“We have wasted a lot of resources over the past few years getting ready for the new Act, with very little support or consultation from the Government, and they have pulled out at the first hurdle.”
