Kimberley Land Council slams new Aboriginal Heritage Bill for putting heritage ‘in hands of mining companies’

New and long-awaited Aboriginal heritage legislation could be delayed further amid growing opposition to the draft bill from Indigenous groups. About 30 protesters gathered with the Kimberley Land Council on the steps of Parliament yesterday to demand that Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson rewrite the “flawed” Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2020. The protest followed a vote on Monday by an alliance of WA native title representative bodies and service providers calling for the Bill not to be presented to State Parliament in its current form. The WA Alliance, which represents five Indigenous groups including the KLC, claims it has not been properly consulted over the new legislation. The State Government released a draft of the legislation in September last year, with plans to introduce the Bill to Parliament in the second half of the year. It will revamp the outdated Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972, removing the controversial Section 18 approvals process that allowed Rio Tinto to destroy the ancient Juukan Gorge shelters in May last year. The new laws aim to give traditional owners a greater say on the management of heritage on their lands, providing them with the same appeal rights as land users. But KLC acting chief executive Wayne Bergmann called for the bill to be “thrown out”, saying it put Aboriginal heritage “in the hands of mining companies”. “It gives industry the power and authority to make choices of whether they think there’s any Aboriginal heritage values without talking to any Aboriginal people,” he said. “We can’t believe in this day and age that anyone would even draft such legislation.” Mr Bergmann also warned the new legislation would give industry the power to circumvent the concerns of traditional owners by deeming an area “low risk”. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Stephen Dawson insisted the new bill would put Aboriginal people “at the centre of decision making”. “Both Aboriginal parties and proponents will be afforded the same rights of review for key decisions made under the Bill,” he said. “As the law stands currently, appeal rights are only afforded to proponents, not traditional owners.” The minister claimed that he had met KLC officials “multiple times” in Perth and in Broome. He promised that “many revisions” had been made to the Bill since it was presented to stakeholders for consultation in September last year. “The draft legislation was shaped through more than 100 workshops and information sessions attended by more than 1400 people, 150 targeted and individual stakeholder meetings and more than 380 submissions,” he said. Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Warren Pearce, pictured, said his members wanted to see a Bill presented to Parliament that could be supported by industry and Aboriginal groups. “The reality is we’re coming at it from different points of view and we’re not all going to get all the things that we want but we need to move forward from the outdated legislation we have,” he said. The WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy declined to comment.