Traditional owners have reached an agreement with Rio Tinto after the destruction of sacred rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia.
Juukan Gorge is a 46,000-year-old sacred site where two rock shelters were blown up by Rio Tinto in 2020 to access higher grade iron ore, despite warnings from traditional owners.
The destruction sparked national outrage and spearheaded a parliamentary inquiry into the issue, which recommended new protections for thousands of heritage sites across the country.
After more than two years of negotiations, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto have signed a remedy agreement.
Neither organisation would disclose its financial terms.
Under the agreement, Rio Tinto will provide financial support for the creation of the Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation.
PKKP chairperson Burchell Hayes said the PKKP had chosen not to disclose the financial terms of the agreement and urged people not to use the term compensation when referring to it.
"Nothing can compensate for or replace the loss suffered at Juukan Gorge, so this is an outcome-orientated legacy to ensure something positive will come from it for years to come," he said.
Mr Hayes said the foundation had been designed to deliver benefits to ongoing generations of traditional owners.
"Despite the continuing pain and loss suffered, there had been a conscious decision to work with Rio Tinto on creating something enduringly positive that could come out of the tragedy," he said.
Mr Hayes said the foundation, to be led and controlled by traditional owners, would focus on education, training opportunities and financial independence through businesses development.
He said it would also amplify the group's voice on heritage, culture, land and advocacy to help challenge the barriers faced by traditional owners.
Rebuilding relationship
In a statement, Rio Tinto said the agreement formed part of its commitment to rebuilding its relationship with the PKKP people.
"In addition to supporting the creation of the Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation, remedy discussions have centred on agreeing a new approach to co-management of country as well as the ongoing rehabilitation of the rock shelters and their surrounds at Juukan Gorge," the statement said.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said it was an important step towards remediation.
"We fell far short of our values as a company and breached the trust placed in us by the PKKP people by allowing the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters," he said.
"As we work hard to rebuild our relationship, I would like to thank the PKKP people, their elders, and the corporation for their guidance and leadership in forming this important agreement."
Concerns remain for heritage
First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance co-chairperson Kado Muir said any initiative to support the protection of cultural heritage and empower traditional owners was always a positive.
Mr Muir said dealing with mining companies directly was the best option for traditional owner groups.
"The only way that we really try and get effective outcomes on the ground is in direct negotiations and agreements with mining companies, and I think that's what PKKP have been successful in doing here," he said.
"In this case, there seems to be a recognition that advocacy is a very important part of effectively practising the rights to speak for country, and gag clauses do not allow us to exercise that particular aspect of our native title rights."
However, Mr Muir said future destruction could still occur despite the state government's efforts to reform heritage protections.
Under new laws set to be enforced by mid-2023, the controversial Section 18 approvals process, which allowed Rio Tinto to blast Juukan Gorge, will be abolished.
The Aboriginal Affairs Minister will still have the final say when proponents and traditional owners cannot reach an agreement.
Mr Muir said this would not stop another disaster.
"[The] real, clear and present danger for a lot of traditional owners is there are … mining companies and state government agencies and other developers holding a piece of paper that gives them the permit or the authority to destroy the Aboriginal sites," he said.
"If nothing, that's a clear message that no one's learned anything from this disaster that was Juukan."
Minister defends Section 18
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti said while he recognised the limitations of the Section 18 process, it needed to remain in place while the state's new cultural heritage laws were rolled out.
"Recent Section 18 consents have enabled extensive infrastructure works like bridge repairs, water pipeline upgrades and new homes to proceed, with the support of the relevant Aboriginal groups," Dr Buti said.
"Without this process in place over the past two years, many of the state's key economic recovery projects and essential utility upgrades simply would not have proceeded."
Mr Buti said he would continue the government's approach of refusing any Section 18 applications where native title holders had not been appropriately consulted.
The government's new suite of laws — which passed Parliament in December last year and have drawn significant criticism — will result in the minister having final say where agreements between mining companies and native title holders cannot be reached.
