Aboriginal Affairs & Heritage

Aboriginal Issues

Robin Chapple says Aboriginal Minister has approved another Juukan Gorge level destruction.docx

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple queries section 18 greenlit by Aboriginal Minister to destroy sites of “Juukan-level-significance”

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has found that the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs approved a Section 18 application for the destruction of caves showing 43,000 years of Indigenous habitation at Rio Tinto’s Silvergrass operation.

 

Mr Chapple found, through Questions Without Notice this week, that the Minister was not aware of the Heritage value of the area despite publically available information on the high cultural significance of the sites.

 

The Minister called for the question to be submitted as a Question On Notice stating he would need to consult his department which Mr Chapple spoke generally of as ‘bizarre’ considering the information readily available to the Minister.

 

“The documents outlining the cultural value of the caves at Silvergrass are publically available on the Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System, so why is the Minister asking a simple question to be put On Notice?”

 

“This is a situation almost identical to the devastating events of Juukan Gorge with the exception that this was approved entirely on the current Ministers watch”

 

“Questions On Notice require eleven sitting days of Parliament for response, it’s likely we would not get this answer in time for inclusion in the current Northern Australian Federal Inquiry into the destruction of Juukan Gorge”

 

Mr Chapple is calling on Rio Tinto to retract their Section 18 approval for destruction of Heritage granted by the Minister for their Silvergrass operation.

Robin Chapple slams FMG's applications Heritage destruction at Juukan unconscionable

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple incensed over second Juukan level section 18 greenlit by Minister

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has found that the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Wyatt approved the Section 18 application for the destruction of caves showing 43,000 years of Indigenous habitation at Rio Tinto’s Silvergrass operation.

 

Mr Chapple found, through Questions Without Notice this week, that the Minister was not aware of the Heritage value of the area despite publically available information on the high cultural significance of the sites.

 

The Minister called for the question to be submitted as a Question on Notice stating he would need to consult his department which Mr Chapple spoke generally of as ‘bizarre’ considering the information readily available to the Minister.

 

“The documents outlining the cultural value of the caves at Silvergrass are publically available on the Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System, so why is the Minister asking a simple question to be put On Notice?”

 

“This is a situation almost identical to the devastating events of Juukan Gorge with the exception that this was approved entirely on the current Ministers watch”

 

“What the Minister may not realize is that if Questions On Notice require eleven sitting days of Parliament for response, then we would not get this answer in time for inclusion in the current Northern Australian Federal Inquiry into the destruction of Juukan Gorge”

 

Mr Chapple is calling on the Minister to retract the Section 18 approval for destruction of Heritage offered to Rio Tinto and make efforts to better familiarise himself with the wide range of documents and information at his offices disposal.

 

Robin Chapple questions validity Rio Tinto’s approval for destruction of Juukan Gorge after new evidence surfaces

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple questions validity Rio Tinto’s approval for destruction of Juukan Gorge after new evidence surfaces

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has found stipulations in the Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972) that were not correctly adhered to which may render the decision to approve the destruction of Juukan Gorge void.

 

Speaking generally Mr Chapple has labelled this development as “monumental” in respect to Heritage law in WA and it may affect dozens of other projects across the state.

 

“We have very clear regulations in the Heritage Act that state two members of the ACMC must be ex-officio when limited to a quorum of five - there were three ex-officio for the assessment of Juukan Gorge”

 

“It’s transcribed in the original Committee of the whole discussion from 1972 -- clear as day --secondly there is a requirement that an appointed anthropologist be on the Committee, this appointment had not occurred and therefore one was not present on that day”

 

“Finally, the committee chair declared that ‘he held joint shares in BHP and that family members worked for a subsidiary of Rio Tinto in Africa’ in 2011 and that he ‘maintains a small shareholding in CRA’ in 2013 which should have precluded him from the decision making process”

 

“It’s may invalidate the approval offered by the Minister at the time and countless others which have the potential for huge ramifications throughout WA”

 

Mr Chapple claims this is another example of the systemic issues within the Aboriginal Heritage Act and the ACMC generally.

 

“We have no idea how many of these decisions were potentially invalid due to failures of procedure that are clearly outlined and this is just another reason why the system needs to be replaced and decision making put in the hands of Indigenous stakeholders not government bodies”

Robin Chapple furious over State Governments ignorance of Aboriginal "gag clauses"

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple furious over State Government’s ignorance of Aboriginal “gag clauses”

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple slammed the State Government yesterday in response to Parliamentary questions over the existence of gag orders in Indigenous Claim Wide Participation Agreements with mining companies.

 

The State Government responded to Questions Without Notice on the topic stating they were “not aware” of these suppressive legal devices despite them being present in Claim Wide Participation Agreements between Traditional Owners and mining companies across the State.

 

“How can the department, whose sole purpose is to represent and protect Indigenous Peoples and Culture, claim to remotely function if they are unaware of gags that directly challenge that”

 

“The fact that the State Government has gone on record now to say they didn’t know about these clauses is ludicrous”

 

“Not only do these clauses exist but they are one of the fundamental issues of how the Government has failed Indigenous West Australians and these agreements need to be exposed for the unconstitutional travesty they are”

 

Mr Chapple has called for a moratorium on the now infamous Section 18s that have allowed for destruction of heritage, exemplified by the destruction of caves at Juukan Gorge citing these agreements as precursors to such incidents.

 

“Without these agreements, Indigenous people would be free to publically expose a company’s wrong-doings, but as long as the gag clauses exist in these agreements Traditional owners will be silenced”

 

“The new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill has made no mention of these gag orders or how it would approach them, I genuinely fear we will have another 50 years of the suppression of Aboriginal voices if it doesn’t address these agereements”

 

Robin Chapple says submissions window for new Cultural Heritage Bill too short

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple says submission window for Indigenous consultation on Heritage Bill “too short”

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has criticised the state governments allotted time frame for Indigenous consultation and public comment on the draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2020.

 

Mr Chapple, speaking generally, referred to the window as “too short a time” between consultation with Indigenous groups and the closing of public comment being just over a week apart.

 

“The window offered is simply too short to allow the already understaffed and overwhelmed Indigenous bodies and communities to formulate comprehensive submissions amongst all their other regular work”

 

“I question the motivation behind the rush to bring this Bill into Parliament without opportunities for full and fair consultation with Traditional Owners in a manner where all valid concerns can be then made into a submission”

 

“The lasting impact of this proposed legislation will be enormous and shape heritage for decades to come - any corners cut will have a devastating impact on the ability of Indigenous West Australians to protect heritage in the future”

 

Mr Chapple strongly recommends a longer time frame of public comment before submissions close on the 9th of October and a comprehensive breakdown of key points for the general public unfamiliar with legislation.

MEDIA CONTACT

Colin Ebsworth,

Communications Advisor - 0449 911 427

Colin.ebsworth@mp.wa.gov.au

 

 

Robin Chapple says State government must change attitude towards claim wide agreements

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple says the state government must change its attitude towards State Agreements Acts

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple is concerned that the state government has not learned its lesson on the use of State Agreement Acts amid the recent rushed legislation to block Clive Palmers 30-billion-dollar lawsuit.

 

Mr Chapple says WA state governments have vested too much power into State Agreement Acts and that the legislation is not appropriate in this day and age given how difficult it is to amend.

 

“I, like many members of the Legislative Council, do not like such agreements they are anti competition, monopolistic and woefully outdated for how modern business should be conducted”

 

“I am deeply concerned that the current government has not learned the lesson of the past few weeks and will continue to consider State Agreements as a viable approach to business, which they clearly are not”

 

“We cannot have an effective economy and market when there are clear barriers to others – and who’s amending requires further legislation and immense strain on government and parliamentary resources”

 

Mr Chapple voiced serious concerns over the use of these Acts in the future stating that in the next inevitable instance of a State Agreement Act being brought into litigation, that WA may not be as lucky.

 

When the Iron Ore Processing (Mineralogy Pty. Ltd.) Agreement Bill 2002 was being debated, Mr Chapple raised concerns about the legislation and moved that the Bill be referred to the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairsso as to be exposed to a higher degree of scrutiny. This motion from The Greens (WA) was supported by One Nation, however, Labor, Liberals and The Nationals blocked the referral.

MEDIA CONTACT

Colin Ebsworth,

Communications Advisor - 0449 911 427

Colin.ebsworth@mp.wa.gov.au

 

 

Robin Chapple says Rio's scapegoating won't fix heritage issues

 

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple says Rio’s scapegoating doesn’t address core issues of Heritage

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has voiced concerns that the removal of three Rio Tinto corporate heads does not address the core issues plaguing WA Aboriginal Heritage.

 

Mr Chapple stated that Rio’s actions were only made public because of Indigenous groups breaking the repressive gag orders of their claim wide participation agreement with the mining body.

 

“If it wasn’t for the PKKP letting the world know what Rio had done we never would have known and there are so many more of these gag agreements out there from far more companies than just Rio”

 

“If we want to fix what is broken with Heritage in WA we need more than to fire three people from one company because this is bigger than the single instance of Juukan Gorge”

 

“How many more similar acts of destruction are occurring across WA that we will never hear about because of the way these agreements are structured?”

 

Mr Chapple places the fault on the Aboriginal Affairs Minister being able to override the Aboriginal advisory body on heritage concerns using the Aboriginal Heritage Acts notorious Section 18’s.

 

He also criticized the unfair claim wide agreements which silence Indigenous people trying to speak out against destruction of Heritage.

 

“As long as these agreements exist we can never know the full extent of the damage being done within our state and we will never be able to properly address it”

 

“I’m aware that there is a new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill being drafted but if it allows for these agreements to continue or for decisions on Heritage to still be the decision of the Minister and not Aboriginal people– then our First Nations People’s will never see justice”

 

Notwithstanding the Ministers concerns he has approved a number of contentious Section 18’s with various mining companies since the destruction of Juukan Gorge.

MEDIA CONTACT

Colin Ebsworth,

Communications Advisor - 0449 911 427

Colin.ebsworth@mp.wa.gov.au

 

 

2020-09-02 Robin Chapple criticises short window for consultation on Aboriginal Heritage Bill

WA Greens MLC Robin Chapple says submission window for Indigenous consultation on Heritage Bill “too short”

 

WA Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple has criticised the state governments allotted time frame for Indigenous consultation and public comment on the draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2020.

 

Mr Chapple, speaking generally, referred to the window as “too short a time” between consultation with Indigenous groups and the closing of public comment being just over a week apart.

 

“The window offered is simply too short to allow the already understaffed and overwhelmed Indigenous bodies and communities to formulate comprehensive submissions amongst all their other regular work”

 

“I question the motivation behind the rush to bring this Bill into Parliament without opportunities for full and fair consultation with Traditional Owners in a manner where all valid concerns can be then made into a submission”

 

“The lasting impact of this proposed legislation will be enormous and shape heritage for decades to come - any corners cut will have a devastating impact on the ability of Indigenous West Australians to protect heritage in the future”

 

Mr Chapple strongly recommends a longer time frame of public comment before submissions close on the 9th of October and a comprehensive breakdown of key points for the general public unfamiliar with legislation.

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