Home

Traditional owners voiceless in Rio probe

Michael RamseyAAP
A crunch board meeting looms at Rio Tinto over the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters.
Camera IconA crunch board meeting looms at Rio Tinto over the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters.

Traditional owners of ancient cultural sites destroyed by Rio Tinto feel they've been left voiceless after parliamentary hearings on their country were delayed indefinitely because of Western Australia's travel restrictions.

The Senate committee examining the blast had planned to visit the land of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people as part of their inquiry.

But the McGowan government has declined to provide MPs with the necessary exemptions, citing the need for additional caution around remote Aboriginal communities.

The PKKP people have expressed frustration, saying special allowances should be made to enable the visit due to the importance of the inquiry.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

"We are extremely disappointed at the open-ended decision to defer the committee's visit to WA to see first-hand the destruction caused by Rio Tinto at Juukan Gorge," PKKP Aboriginal Corporation chair John Ashburton said on Thursday.

"To date, Rio Tinto and others have been given a voice and public stage to present their views on the disaster. The same courtesy has been denied to us by this delay."

Mr Ashburton said the committee should reschedule the visit as a matter of urgency so PKKP representatives could present their submission and MPs could see the full impact of the destruction before site rehabilitation works commence.

"Prolonging this investigation only serves to further deepen our hurt and anguish about the irretrievable loss of connection to our ancestors and our country," he said.

Committee chair Warren Entsch said MPs would soon commence further remote access public hearings but were determined to eventually meet with PKKP representatives.

"It is vital that we hear directly from those most affected, the traditional owners of this country, and that can only be done in a meaningful way on country," he said.

Rio's board is expected to meet within days amid speculation about the future of chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques and other executives.

There are growing calls from shareholders for Rio's leadership to face greater consequences for the destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters earlier this year.

Rio had approval for the Juukan blast but subsequent evidence indicated traditional owners were not told the company had examined multiple options for expanding its Brockman 4 site that did not involve damaging the rock shelters.

The company received an expert report in 2018 which assigned the caves "the highest archaeological significance in Australia".

A Rio board review last month determined there was "no single root cause or error" behind the incident.

Mr Jacques, Perth-based iron ore chief Chris Salisbury and corporate relations executive Simone Niven kept their jobs but had their bonuses cut.

Industry super funds have said the response does not go far enough.

Mr Jacques met with PKKP representatives this week. The Sydney-based CEO will be penalised almost $A5 million in incentives in 2020.

His total remuneration in 2019 was STG5.79 million, including fixed pay and bonuses.

Meeting notes released to the committee reveal that days before the caves were destroyed, Mr Salisbury queried the risk of an injunction against the blast.

He was told Rio had engaged legal firm Ashurst and "preparations were underway".

Staff also discussed potential legal issues if the blast affected potential sites that were not covered by the section 18 approval.

Rio has committed to helping establish a "keeping place" on PKKP country for artefacts and other items salvaged from the rock shelters, some of which are being stored in a shipping container.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails