Gerhardt Pearson claims Queensland Labor government used election to ‘run over the top of the people of Cape York’

Indigenous leaders have challenged former Queensland Labor premier Steven Miles’s claims there were years of extensive community consultation ahead of the 2024 nomination of Cape York for a World Heritage listing.

Gerhardt Pearson Picture: NewsWire / Dan Peled

An Indigenous leader has accused former Queensland Labor premier Steven Miles of running a “scurrilous” push to nominate Cape York for a World Heritage listing ahead of last year’s state election, dismissing claims there had been years of consultation with traditional owners to back the move.

LNP Environment Minister Andrew Powell announced on Thursday he had ordered a review of the nomination after complaints by Indigenous groups that the former state government had failed to properly consult traditional owners or investigate the economic impacts of the proposed listing.

The move to review the nomination, formally made by federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek after it was jointly prepared with the Miles government, was welcomed by the heads of two of Cape York’s most influential Aboriginal organisations.

Opposition Leader Steven Miles. Picture: Lachie Millard

Gerhardt Pearson, executive director of the Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation, accused Mr Miles and Ms Plibersek of overseeing a rushed and questionable consultative process to ensure the nomination was made before the October state election.

“This was a scurrilous exercise by ministers and their conservation champions to use the state election to run over the top of the people of Cape York,” Mr Pearson told The Weekend Australian.

“The review must be a thorough root-and-branch review into the World Heritage tentative listing of Cape York.’’

Richie Ah Mat, chief executive of the Cape York Land Council – the regional body representing traditional owners – also backed the review, saying he has “never supported a World Heritage listing” because it will block job-creating projects in declared areas.

“We welcome the review and believe future consultation has to be inclusive, it has to involve everyone, white fellas, black fellas, everybody that lives on the Cape,’’ he said.

Aboriginal rock art near Laura has been included in an area tentatively listed for inclusion in a push to get sections of Cape York added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Picture: Kerry Trapnell

Mr Powell said the Crisafulli LNP government was “not enamoured” with last year’s nomination to the UNESCO tentative list but a decision on whether to withdraw state support would be made after the review.

But Mr Miles on Friday accused the LNP government of already deciding to abandon the listing. He dismissed accusations the state had not properly consulted traditional owners across the peninsula.

“It is shocking to me that after 15 years of consultation, the LNP government, after just a couple of months, have decided to withdraw from the tentative listing of Cape York on the World Heritage list,’’ he said at a press conference.

“We implemented a tentative listing that was fully based on consent so only those landowners and traditional owners who supported World Heritage listing only had their lands included.’’

The nomination was made 15 years after then Rudd Labor government environment minister Peter Garrett, with the support of the Bligh Labor state government, began championing the listing of Cape York.

It stalled for several years, amid concerns among local Indigenous groups, and was then abandoned after the Newman LNP state government withdrew state support in 2013.

Last January, The Australian revealed the proposed listing had been revived after Mr Garrett and veteran environmentalist Don Henry were involved in meetings with traditional owners.

Other meetings and workshops were held in Cape York communities in the months leading up to the announcement of the nomination in June.

In a statement, Mr Pearson said Mr Miles’s claim that there had been 15 years of consultation was untrue.

“The suggestion that there’s been 15 years of consultation with traditional owners about World Heritage on Cape York is fanciful,’’ he said.

“Labor has historical form claiming that deals done in Brisbane with elites constitutes consultation on the Cape. Nonsense.

“More than a decade ago, when state and federal Labor along with their conservation mates decided they wanted the jewel of Cape York World Heritage listing, they would not agree to our proposed consent process.

“They shelved their aspirations when the Newman state government pulled out, but they kept their dream alive.

“Less than 18 months ago they and their conservation mates down south resuscitated it, but the so-called consultation process that briefly followed some months later was rushed, questionable in approach and practice, and involved only selected communities.

“As is generally the case when governments try to steamroll their ideological aspirations over communities, traditional owners have been left confused and concerned.”

Late on Friday, Mr Miles said there had been ongoing work within the Department of Environment on the proposed listing since it was first initiated during the first term of the Rudd government.

But he conceded that the process was only “reinvigorated” by his government.

“There’s been times when it had momentum and when it stalled, and it’s fair to say it was reinvigorated in the last couple of years,” Mr Miles said.

Seven areas of Cape York would be initially covered in the listing, including the Quinkan rock art site near Laura, the white sands of Wuthathi (Shelburne Bay) National Park and the granite plateau of Kulla (McIlwraith Range).

The tentative listing was based on natural and cultural values and would effectively lock up land from development.

There are 20 other World Heritage-listed areas in Australia, five of which are in Queensland.