Article by Josh Zimmerman courtesy of the West Australian.
Roger Cook says West Australians “should not be scared” of new Aboriginal heritage laws — but warns anyone who blatantly flouts the new rules will incur hefty fines.
As the updated Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act came into play on Saturday , the Premier played down concerns new regulations were creating confusion for industry, farmers and homeowners.
“People should not be scared of any new laws,” Mr Cook said. “What they should do is equip themselves with the necessary information they need to make sure they can discharge their obligations under the Act.”
He said the Government would adopt an “easy as we go” approach to new regulations .
“Over the first 12 months we are going to reflect pretty much the same approach as we took with the new workplace safety laws,” he said.
“And that is to be collaborative and educative. “Making sure we work with the community so they can get used to the new arrangements for those who haven’t been working in this manner around Aboriginal cultural heritage and providing them with information as they step along.”
Fines would be imposed for anyone who deliberately flouted the law, he said. “Now, that doesn’t mean that if people blatantly abuse these laws they won’t be punished under these laws,” he said. “They are significant fines that reflect the fact that we want to continue to protect Aboriginal culture and heritage.”
Outrage over Rio Tinto’s destruction of Juukan Gorge led the State Government to review its Aboriginal and cultural heritage laws. Although the updated laws are mostly aimed at stopping big industry from replicating the Juukan Gorge disaster, homeowners with properties of more than 1100sqm can also be caught up in the new regulations, as well as farmers.
WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said the start of the new laws marked the “start of some of the most uncertain regulatory times for businesses and landowners in this State”. “I worry the Aboriginal cultural heritage regulations will hurt investment and productivity in WA,” she said.
“Sadly, these laws are fast becoming divisive and disruptive, and that falls squarely on the poor handling by Premier Cook and his Aboriginal affairs minister who has been missing all week.
“Many miners, farmers and other businesses that work on the land are aware that these laws will mean extra red tape and cost for them, but there are a raft of residential landowners that are either unaware or, like everyone, uncertain of how they will be affected.”
The Cook Government’s failure to set up “one-stop shops” for consultation ahead of the implementation of the new laws also means major projects may be forced to instead seek approval from multiple “knowledge holders” — adding to fears of lengthy delays.
The considerably more complex consultation process could blow out the time frame to set up an initial meeting from what should be three weeks to as many as 10 weeks.
Premier Cook said he was “not concerned” by those delays. Quizzed about projects in the resource-rich Goldfields — where native title claims have not been settled and multiple competing knowledge holders exist — Mr Cook said each would need to be consulted.
