BHP chair Ken MacKenzie steps up to agree for better Indigenous mining discussions
BHP has agreed to last minute changes offering better negotiating access to Indigenous people before mining.
BHP will face one less hurdle at its annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday evening after shareholder activist groups withdrew a motion calling on the company to adopt a moratorium on mine development that would disturb heritage sites until new laws protecting them are adopted.
The motion, lodged by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, called on BHP cease any activities that would “disturb, destroy or desecrate” heritage sites and was set to be debated at the mining major’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday.
But the ACCR withdrew its push after BHP reached an agreement around the way it would approach sites important to traditional owners, with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance — a coalition of key Indigenous groups including the National Native Title Council, The Kimberly Land Council, the Northern Land Council and other organisations across the country.
The agreement sets out a framework for BHP’s future approach to disturbing heritage sites, with the company agreeing to support changes to state and federal laws to make sure mining developments have the “free, prior and informed consent” of traditional owners before agreements are struck.
While work is believed to be ongoing over the framework, BHP said it had also agreed to set up places to keep artefacts removed from sites slated for development to “better reflect traditional owners’ values, culture and pride”.
The corporate activist’s push to improve BHP’s approach to dealing with heritage issues comes after months of criticism of Rio Tinto’s decision to destroy 46,000-year-old heritage sites at Juukan Gorge in WA’s Pilbara region without properly notifying traditional owners, prompting a storm of political and community criticism of the Australian mining industry.
Rio’s destruction of Juukan Gorge has forced the WA government to reconsider decades-old mining and Aboriginal heritage laws, and forced an industry-wide rethink of companies approach to existing development and royalty agreements.
First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance co-chair Kado Muir said he was confident the work with BHP would lead to improved cultural heritage protection across Australia.
“We have been heartened by the constructive approach BHP have adopted to our discussions with them. Together we are determined to drive industry reform and legislative change that improves both agreement-making and the protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage which is of immense value to all Australians,” Mr Muir said.
The ACCR withdrew the motion at the request of the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, but ACCR executive director Brynn O’Brien said the decision came only after BHP reached an “eleventh hour” agreement after BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie became directly involved in discussions.
“For too long, Native Title holders have been gagged, creating a lock of secrecy on negotiations with mining companies. Among other things, this resolution has achieved the lifting of these gags in relation to BHP’s agreements,” she said.
