JUUKAN GORGE CAVES
560. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the recent deplorable
destruction of Indigenous heritage at Juukan Gorge and the ABC online news article
titled ''Fears of another Juukan Gorge as concerns raised over Pilbara
rock caves near FMG mine''.
(1) Given what has happened to caves Brock-20 and
Brock-21 at Juukan Gorge, will the minister take personal responsibility
for the caves referred to in the article?
(2) Will the minister prevent further destruction of the
caves?
(3) Given that
the former registrar, Kathryn Przywolnik, has stated that the minister could
have stopped the destruction of Brock-20 and Brock-21, why did he not do so?
Hon STEPHEN
DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to me by
the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
(1)–(3) The
minister did not approve the destruction of the Juukan caves, was not aware of
the approval to destroy the caves and was
not asked to intervene in their destruction. As the honourable member is aware,
Rio Tinto had a valid section 18 consent issued for development of pit 1
at the Brockman 4 mine. The minister is not aware of the statement by the
former registrar, but as the honourable member well knows, neither the Minister
for Aboriginal Affairs nor the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee can
review or revoke a section 18 consent once it has been issued. In considering
whether to grant consent to a section 18 notice that may impact an Aboriginal
heritage site, the minister takes into consideration the recommendation of the
ACMC and the general interests of the community.