News

Article by Josh Zimmerman, courtesy of the West Australian.

The controversial overhaul of WA’s Aboriginal heritage laws will be scrapped completely in a stunning development just one month after the changes came into effect.

Facing a wave of anger and anxiety — particularly among the State’s farming community — Premier Roger Cook and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti are poised to make the announcement within days.

The West Australian understands major resources companies and Indigenous groups were briefed on the decision on Friday.

It followed days of frantic meetings at the highest levels of Government to address an issue handballed to Mr Cook by the resignation of Mark McGowan that had threatened to swamp his fledgling premiership.

Dealing with the fallout from the heritage laws has divided Cabinet but the consensus ultimately was that the new regime was far too complex and could not be rescued through tweaks to regulations alone.

That left a full repeal of the laws rushed through Parliament in late 2021 as the only option considered suitable, with the State to revert to the 1972 laws the new system sought to replace.

After initially digging in his heels over the legislation, there has been a marked change in rhetoric from the Premier — and his ministers — in recent days.

The Government has spent the past fortnight insisting it was listening to feedback from a cross-sector implementation group representing miners, agricultural groups, property developers and Aboriginal corporations and would “immediately” make any changes deemed appropriate.

Farmers have planned to rally outside Parliament House protesting the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act on Tuesday, the day MPs return from the five-week winter recess.

During that time thousands of people have attended information sessions hosted by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage in locations across WA in an attempt to explain the new obligations.

The new laws introduced a three-tiered approach for ground-disturbing activities and place a far greater onus on landowners to proactively ensure their properties did not contain cultural heritage prior to embarking on development.

Concerns have been raised about the time and cost associated with completing that due diligence process and the narrow scope of exemptions, with the Act capturing any property bigger than 1100sqm.

The rollout of the laws was further hamstrung by the fact regulations explaining the intricate detail were not published until Easter — just three months before they came into effect.

Other key documents explaining how to carry out surveys and investigations were not publicly released until just days before the July 1 implementation date.

Both Opposition Leader Shane Love and Liberal Leader Libby Mettam have already pledged to tear up the updated heritage laws — which replaced 50-year-old legislation — if Labor was removed from power in 2025.

Shock polling by Utting Research placed the Liberals in an election-winning position last month and identified the deeply unpopular heritage laws as one of the key factors driving voters away from Mr Cook’s government.

They also played a prominent role in the Rockingham by-election to replace Mr McGowan, which saw Labor’s primary vote slashed by more than 30 percentage points to its lowest level since 1996.

Aboriginal cultural heritage law changes to be scrapped after overwhelming pressure on Cook Government

05.08.2023

The controversial overhaul of WA’s Aboriginal heritage laws will be scrapped completely in a stunning development just one month after the changes came into effect. Facing a wave of anger and anxiety — particularly among the State’s farming community — Premier Roger Cook and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti are poised to make the announcement within days.

Swimming world champ Kaylee McKeown reveals why she wouldn’t be in the sport if it wasn’t for Gina Rinehart – and opens up on her clash with teammate Cate Campbell

04.08.2023

McKeown, 22, won the women's 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke at the recent World Championships in Japan - and acknowledged that without funding from Rinehart, her glittering career in the pool would never have happened. 'She [Rinehart] is my life support, without her funding many of us wouldn't be in the sport,' McKeown told 2GB radio's Ben Fordham on Friday'Swimmers need sponsorship, and Ms Rinehart has supported me since I was 16. Fordham also revealed Rinehart personally funds 75 swimmers and 50 rowers - and over the past decade has provided $60million for Aussie Olympic athletes.

MINING BOOM IN CULTURAL EXPERTS

04.08.2023

An advertisement for a heritage principal at Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting says the position is needed to “ensure compliance with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021”. It says the successful applicant will “provide project specific and general advice to business regarding new ACHA 2021 requirements and guidelines including drafting reports, memos, and internal business advice related to heritage.” Implementing the new Act has led to widespread criticism by farmers and businesses, with complaints centred on high compliance cost burdens for landholders and the potential deterrent to investment and jobs. Shadow lands minister Neil Thomson questioned why the additional departmental positions hadn’t been established when the Act came into force on July 1.

GROUND ZERO FOR HERITAGE HELL

03.08.2023

While stressing he was “100 per cent supportive of the notion of protecting and preserving Aboriginal culture” , Mr van Kann said he felt the regime enacted by the Cook Government was “completely back to front” . “Surely we can protect heritage by the Government researching and publishing any area that is affected rather than saying all areas are until you prove that they are not,” he said.

CRISIS MEETINGS HELD WITH NATIONALS LEADER

03.08.2023

“We need to make sure Western Australians know that we can educate East Coast politicians, and we can block this in the Senate, (because) it will require legislation under the Act. “That’s why it’s important that we don’t give up, that we don’t just think ‘this is over’

NO REST FOR AUSSIE ACES WITH PARIS OLYMPICS ONLY A YEAR AWAY

02.08.2023

The celebrations never last long in swimming. Given a night off to party hard in Japan after dominating the world championships, Australia’s swimmers were also given a reminder that the hard work will start all over again once they get home. After finishing the championships as the number one team in the world – winning 13 gold medals and a record 25 in total – the Dolphins deserved their chance to let their hair down. And they sure did that, spotted kicking up their heels at some of the hottest night clubs in Fukuoka on Sunday. They had every reason to kick up their heels after eight days of intense competition because their performances - which included five world records – were exceptional.

THE GOLD STANDARD

01.08.2023

Australia’s most successful swim team has closed out the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in style to finish top of the medals table with a record haul that may never be beaten. After eight days of intense competition, the Dolphins proved themselves to be the best swim team on the planet – collecting 13 gold, seven silver and five bronze medals for a staggering total of 25As far as Australia’s head coach Rohan Taylor was concerned, the Aussies were the best.

AUSSIES COP GOLDEN SNUB

01.08.2023

“We (Australia) have always looked at, and I was brought up by the Don Talbot era, that gold medals were the most important. So from our perspective , we were the best performed team on the gold medal count. “And when you look at the website and you look at the medal tally, we sit on top of that. That is how I feel. But I’m not taking anything away from the US and they won the award based on the criteria that was there.”

FARMERS FEAR LEGISLATION COULD SEND THEM BROKE

01.08.2023

Farmers are worried they could go bankrupt or be sent to jail for falling foul of contentious new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws, a fiery South West community forum has heard. Another issue that emerged as a flashpoint for Waroona landholders at the packed-out Monday town hall meeting is the high cost of commissioning surveys and a 20-fold increase in the maximum penalty for breaking the rules — as well as the additional prospect of jail. “What I would like to know is why our property rights are being eroded? And I would like to know why, if this is so important to the country or the State, the State Government is not paying?”

‘HIDDEN’ HERITAGE LAWS STIR ANXIETY

01.08.2023

“We wake up in the morning and decide if something needs to get done, and then we get it done,” he said. “If we need to build a fence, we build the fence, but this sort of thing could delay us for months even on a simple thing like that. “There wouldn’t be a farmer around here who doesn’t want to see Aboriginal people in the area get ahead, but these rules are the sort of thing made by bureaucrats and environmentalists who have never spent time on the land.” -Jamie Warden, a fifth-generation farmer