‘Perfect storm’ hit Juukan caves’ people

Rio Tinto should negotiate a restit­ution package with the traditional owners of the destroyed Juukan Gorge caves and the WA government should establish a permanent memorial, a parliamentary inquiry recommends.

The Juukan caves in Western Australia. Picture: PKKP Aboriginal Corporation

Rio Tinto should negotiate a restit­ution package with the trad­itional owners of the destroyed Juukan Gorge caves and the West Australian government should establish a permanent memorial for destroyed Aboriginal heritage sites, a parliamentary inquiry into the incident has recommended.

But the inquiry committee was divided over whether there should be a broader moratorium on the section 18 permissions that gave Rio Tinto the legal rights to destroy the caves, with Liberal senator Dean Smith warning that such a step could jeopardise jobs at a crucial time for the economy.

The interim report from the federal committee, tabled in parlia­ment late on Wednesday, called for Rio Tinto to fund a full reconstruction of the shelters and commit to a permanent morator­ium around the area.

The committee also recommended that all mining companies in WA commit to independent reviews of their agreements with Indigenous groups and not exercise rights to destroy other cult­u­ral sites until they are reassessed.

Rio Tinto’s detonation in May of the Juukan Gorge caves prompted an outcry from the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura traditional owners and triggered a firestorm of global con­troversy that cost chief executive JS Jacques and two of his most senior executives their jobs.

The mining giant had secured legal approval for the destruction under WA’s Aboriginal Heritage Act, which was under review by the WA government at the time.

A salvage excavation at the rock shelters before the detona­tion had recovered stones, animal bone fragments and ash from beneath the cave floor that showed the shelters had been inhabited as far back as 46,000 years ago.

The corporate failures that led to the destruction of the rock shelters are not unique to Rio Tinto, the report says. “The committee has heard evidence of significant systemic issues across companies operating in Western Australia and nationally,” it says.

“Similar to Rio Tinto, other mining companies have taken advantage of the inadequate protections in state and commonwealth laws for commercial advantage at the expense of cultural heritage and traditional owners.”

The report is highly critical of Rio Tinto’s conduct, noting it had made the deliberate decision to destroy the caves instead of choosing plans that avoided the area. It had also failed to properly consult with the PKKP, lacked senior management oversight, and relied on “unfair” agreements and gag clauses. “Collectively, these deficiencies represent more than just a series of ‘unfortunate mistakes’ or mere ineptitude by individuals,” the report says.

“Rio Tinto’s conduct reflects a corporate culture which priorit­ised commercial gain over the kind of meaningful engagement with traditional owners that should form a critical part of their social licence to operate.”

On top of paying an unspecified amount of restitution to the PKKP people and restoring the shelters, the company should fund “appropriate keeping plac­es” for all artefacts and other PKKP materials held by Rio.

Senator Smith said he and the committee would continue to work to hold Rio Tinto accountable, but disagreed with calls for a broader moratorium on approvals under section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972, which were vital to development in WA.

The report says the WA government should establish a permanent exhibition or memorial in the Western Australian Museum for destroyed cultural sites.

Committee chairman Warren Entsch said multiple factors had contributed to the destruction: ‘The PKKP faced a perfect storm, with no support or protection from anywhere. They were let down by Rio Tinto, the Western Australian government, the Australian government, their own lawyers, and native title law.’’