WA planned to scrap controversial Aboriginal heritage laws weeks after they were introduced

Indigenous cultural heritage laws that came into effect in Western Australia just over a month ago are reportedly on the verge of being scrapped following a backlash from farmers.

The WA Labor government foreshadowed the turnaround at a briefing with major resource companies and indigenous groups on Friday.

An announcement from WA Premier Roger Cook is expected ‘within days’, The Western Australian reported.

The reported backflip comes a month after Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act laws that were introduced to prevent the destruction of sacred sites came into effect.

However, a senior Labor frontbencher would not confirm the cancellation, suggesting instead that there may still be a viable way to fix the flawed system.

The leader of the Yes vote campaign for the Indigenous Vote in Parliament has praised the “brave decision” to let go of the laws, which he says have become entangled in the referendum debate.

Yes campaign manager Dean Parkin believes scrapping the controversial cultural heritage laws will make it easier to sell The Voice to WA parliament.

Yes campaign manager Dean Parkin (left) has welcomed the news that WA could scrap Aboriginal cultural laws. He is pictured with the Head of Indigenous Affairs and Strategic Inclusion at National Australia Bank, Eveanne Liddle

“It is clearly a matter for the Western Australian government to sort out the issues surrounding cultural heritage legislation,” Parkin told reporters at the Garma Festival in the Northern Territory on Saturday.

“But from our perspective it definitely gives us a clearer path from now to the referendum to be able to focus very precisely on that very simple matter of recognizing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first peoples of this country through of a voice.

“Unfortunately, some of those issues have gotten caught up in that cultural heritage debate in WA.”

Kimberley Land Council CEO Tyronne Garstone echoed Mr Parkin’s comments.

“Aboriginals in WA have never supported them (the laws),” he said.

In short, the rollout of the bill was terrible, and the implementation was even worse. This was a courageous but correct decision by the Prime Minister.

It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave his strongest and most impassioned defense of the vote at the Garma Festival on Saturday.

The prime minister (pictured on Friday holding a spear in the air) has vowed not to delay or postpone the referendum

Labor frontbencher Stephen Dawson said the WA government has yet to decide the fate of the troubled laws.

“No decision has been taken by the government at this stage,” the emergency services minister told reporters in Perth on Saturday.

“I’m not denying anything, what I’m saying is that discussions between the state government and the various stakeholders about the legislation and the way forward continue.”

The minister would not be drawn on a timeline, he just said the government would decide “in the future”.

The new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act laws came into effect on July 1, after the WA government resisted calls from pastoralists and the opposition to delay their implementation.

WA’s previous laws dated back to the 1970s, notably allowing the state’s Minister of Aboriginal Affairs to authorize land users to disrupt cultural heritage sites.

Rio Tinto received ministerial approval in 2020 when it blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters, sparking global condemnation and devastating traditional owners.

However, a senior Labor frontbencher declined to confirm whether Prime Minister Roger Cook (pictured) would abandon the laws, suggesting there may be a way to get them resolved

Work on the laws began when Rio Tinto destroyed the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020, sparking a global controversy

The new system did away with the Section 18 approval process and emphasized agreements between land users and traditional owners.

But there were major concerns about compliance requirements, some of which had only been made clear days before the laws went into effect.

The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation said they were devastated, angry and betrayed after the reports.

While the laws weren’t perfect, they were better than what they replaced, company president Terry Drage said.

“Fix the guidelines, which are the biggest problem, not scrap the law,” Mr Drage said.

He called on the federal government to continue with an Australia-wide cultural heritage protection regime, saying preservation of heritage sites was non-negotiable for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Dr. Jordan Ralph, the company’s director of land and heritage management, said the organization is considering withdrawing from heritage investigations and negotiations until the state government can provide clarity to First Nations people about the future.

Chief executive Grant Wilson added that the company has not yet spoken to the government about its intention.

“Fortunately for us, we are negotiating strong co-management agreements with mining advocates that provide each side with the clarity that is lacking in the legislation,” Wilson said.

“It now looks like we will rely on our agreements to get us through this mess.”

More than 25 new local Aboriginal cultural heritage services were established to manage sites in particular regions.

The laws, which were proposed and enacted under former Prime Minister Mark McGowan (pictured), have created unnecessary bureaucracy, according to farmers in the state.

Opposition leader Shane Love (pictured) has said he hopes the laws will be scrapped. the move was said to be the “biggest backflip of a government in many years.”

The government had marked a ‘light touch’ approach in the first 12 months to ensure stakeholders understood their obligations.

However, the laws, proposed and enacted under ex-Prime Minister Mark McGowan, have proved controversial for Cook, who has been winding down his leadership since taking office in June.

Critics argued they were too complex and landowners feared their operations would be affected.

Government agencies also expressed confusion over their requirements under the legislation.

Landowners concerned about the new laws planned to meet in the state parliament on Tuesday to advocate for changes to protect property rights.

WA opposition leader Shane Love said while he hoped the reports were true, the move is the “biggest setback by a government in many years.”

“What we have seen is a government that has rammed through a piece of legislation and failed to implement it… its own members are calling it a failure,” he told reporters in Perth on Saturday.

Love said he looks forward to getting back to the drawing board and working on new laws that “actually protect heritage,” but also protect businesses and landowners’ property rights.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud welcomed the expected scrapping of the changes and called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to rule out federal Aboriginal heritage reforms that would replace WA laws.

The WA laws were an overreach “requiring cultural surveys to even dig a hole,” he said.