Exmouth landowner fears property could be rendered ‘worthless’ by WA’s new cultural heritage laws
A landowner in WA fears the property he purchased less than two years ago may be rendered “worthless” by the state’s new cultural heritage laws.
WA News
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A landowner in Western Australia’s Pilbara region says he fears the property he purchased less than two years ago may be rendered “worthless” by the state’s new cultural heritage laws.
Speaking to The West Australian on Monday, the anonymous landowner said he had been quoted more than $20,000 for an Aboriginal heritage survey on the 4000 square metre uncleared residential block, located within 20 kilometres of Exmouth on the Cape Range peninsula.
The man said his family planned to build a house on the property, which will also require an access road, but because it is larger than 1100 square metres it does not receive an automatic exemption under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act.
Under the new laws, which came into effect on July 1 and have been the subject of widespread confusion and debate, individual landowners face penalties of up to $1 million as well as jail time for damaging a cultural heritage site.
According to the WA Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, nearly the entire Cape Range peninsula is deemed “culturally sensitive” as part of the “Warnangura Cultural Precinct”.
Under “place type”, the area’s online directory listing reads, “Artefacts / Scatter; Ritual / Ceremonial; Creation / Dreaming Narrative; Engraving; Midden; Rock Shelter; Water Source.”
The landowner told The West Australian he had approached a third-party survey company and was provided a quote for just over $20,000, comprising $4150 for archaeology, $4500 for ethnography, $4300 for knowledge holder fees, $4300 for logistics plus nearly $2000 for sundries including an engagement fee and travel allowance.
Have you been affected by the new cultural heritage laws? Contact the author at frank.chung@news.com.au
The man, who is Aboriginal himself, told the newspaper he had “complete respect” for the traditional owners and was happy to pay, but he was angry at the Labor government which had “financially benefited” from the property sale.
“When the property was sold the government received the stamp duty, the Shire of Exmouth released the property and yet there is potentially an encumbrance on there,” he said.
“I don’t even know if we’re allowed to build on it. Let’s just say you get the survey and it’s identified it has cultural heritage — the land could be worthless. There is an unknown that exists.”
He said the government should not have allowed land to be released without forewarning of the potential implications of the new laws.
“Upon purchasing the property I believed I had a legitimate expectation to be build in accordance with all laws without other government fees and laws imposed retrospectively — this appears to be contrary to our current land ownership system,” he said.
“The isolation of the property means it incurs an incredible expense [for a survey], which from my perspective was unforeseen when I bought the block. My perspective is that it shouldn’t have been available for sale without that criteria met.”
According to the Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA), real estate agents have a statutory obligation to tell prospective buyers about facts material to a transaction.
“The Act becomes a material fact when a property is 1100 square metres or greater, and agents must inform potential buyers if a property is subject to the Act,” REIWA said in a recent fact sheet.
“They do not need to tell you if the property is exempt or whether any prospective plans you have for the property will require a [Due Diligence Assessment]. It is up to you to do your own due diligence into whether your plans would be allowed under the Act.”
But a spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti said the owner’s obligations were the same as those that existed under the previous 1972 Act. “If the survey determines that there is no cultural heritage on the site, then no approval is required,” he told the newspaper. “There is no compensation or buyback scheme for land users under the Act.”
Reacting to The West Australian’s story, state Liberal leader Libby Mettam said it showed the new cultural heritage laws “have gone too far”.
“No one should have their property rendered ‘worthless’ because of these new laws,” she wrote. “The WA Liberal Party knows this is ridiculous. That’s why, if elected in 2025, we’ll fix this mess created by Labor.”
Labor under former Premier Mark McGowan won a historic landslide victory at the 2021 state election, claiming 41 out of 59 seats in a total wipe-out for the Liberals that saw the party reduced to only two lower house members — Ms Mettam and David Honey.
Critics of the new cultural heritage laws claim they were “rammed through” parliament by Labor without proper consultation.
An e-petition to state parliament — sponsored by Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook and Liberal upper house member Neil Thomson — calling for the laws to be delayed for at least six months attracted nearly 30,000 signatures.
But despite the widespread backlash from farmers and landholders, upset over what they said was the rushed implementation and lack of clarity on the regulations, the state government refused to push back the July 1 start date.
Instead, Premier Roger Cook and Mr Buti announced there would be a 12-month delay in compliance penalties in favour of an “education-first” policy.
Over the weekend, a tree planting event in Geraldton to honour the late Queen Elizabeth was shut down amid concerns from a local Aboriginal family.
City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn claimed in a Facebook post on Sunday that the event was “shut down” due to the Act — although Nhanhagardi and Wajarri woman Donna Ronan later denied invoking the new laws, and Mr Cook said the works “could not have been stopped” by any provision in the legislation.
Mr Van Styn hit back at the government on Tuesday, telling news.com.au he was “flabbergasted” at those statements and saying it was “proof that the government has not read the legislation it rammed through parliament”.
“Nobody knows when the [Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Services] will be created or in which form they’ll be created, there is no clear pathway,” he said.
“In the interim, as per the departmental guidelines, we are to consult the local knowledge holders. When a local knowledge holder is standing on site saying ‘stop’, that’s a pretty clear direction … It’s disturbing that we now have a Premier and a Minister saying that we should have disregarded the concerns of local knowledge holders and proceeded.”
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