On the fifth anniversary of the Juukan Gorge incident, Mining looks at how the mining industry is working with Traditional Owners to prevent future occurrences.
The destruction of the Juukan Gorge site in May 2020 called into question how the mining industry engaged and collaborated with Traditional Owners. Multiple inquiries have since found that Australia’s existing cultural heritage protection regimes are not fit for purpose.
“Traditional Owners and the mining industry have done the hard work to find common ground and now it’s over to the government to honour its commitment to our people,” First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance co-chair Leon Yeatman said.
“We may not agree on everything all the time, but on this, we agree it is time to act. These cultural sites are not only sacred to Aboriginal people, they should also be sites of national pride as proof of the world’s oldest continuous culture.”
While initial responses from governments were strong, including meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the Federal Government to co-design new laws, efforts to drive reform forward are yet to translate into tangible results.
Working together to change this, Traditional Owners, represented by the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, and the Australian minerals industry, represented by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), have collaborated to agree on principles that can clear a path for the re-elected Albanese Government to provide lasting protection of the country’s cultural heritage.
Much has been learned since the destruction of Juukan Gorge.
As a starting point, Traditional Owners and MCA member companies have improved agreement-making processes and renewed their shared focus on localised outcomes for host communities – but the existing laws have not kept pace with these advancements between Traditional Owners and industry.
“Over the past five years the mining industry has worked to regain the confidence and trust of Traditional Owners and the communities they represent,” Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said.
“Our industry places enormous value on our connection and relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people all across Australia. This is a coming-together moment.”
In a statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the destruction at Juukan Gorge, the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation said the destruction caused significant distress to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura community and lead to global condemnation and a parliamentary inquiry into the state of heritage legislation in Australia.
