Western Australia said Tuesday it is axing a five-week-old law to protect Indigenous sites, introduced after Rio Tinto blew up a 46,000-year-old sacred rock shelter in the state.
The decision to repeal the legislation was condemned by Indigenous groups, who complained of insufficient consultation and said their needs were being ignored.
The resource-rich state brought in the Aboriginal Heritage Act after the Anglo-Australian mining giant admitted in 2020 that it had destroyed the rock shelter to expand an iron ore mine in Juukan Gorge, Western Australia.
The site contained some of the oldest artefacts found in Australia and was considered sacred by the Indigenous Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people of Western Australia.
Register to read the full article.
Already have an account? Sign In.
Register for free for:
- Access to ten free articles per month
- Our weekly roundup of top stories
- Monthly newsletters on topics of your choice
Subscribe for:
- Unlimited article access each month
- Crosswords and puzzles on Canadian holidays
- Full newsletter access
