The WA premier says many Aboriginal people are happy the state’s heritage laws will be axed because they didn’t like the division they sparked in the community.

August 9, 2023

West Australian Premier Roger Cook has shrugged off criticism from disappointed Indigenous groups after the state’s Labor government dumped month-old cultural heritage laws.

Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation (PKKP), representing the traditional owners of Juukan Gorge, said the government’s decision showed First Nations people and Indigenous culture weren’t a priority.

In response, Mr Cook said many Aboriginal community members had thanked him personally for the decision to repeal the controversial laws.

“Many of them found the Act difficult to work with and didn’t like the division that came with the public debate,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

“I understand that there’s disappointment within the PKKP – they were the most heavily impacted by the Juukan Gorge scenario.

“They were (also) the most heavily impacted by the deficiencies in the 1972 Act, which is the reason why we’ve made important amendments.”

Mr Cook said the government would continue to work with Indigenous groups on the amendments to the 51-year-old heritage laws, which are set to be reinstated once the 2021 legislation is repealed.

“We will (also) be putting in place a program to understand and map and better survey Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, particularly in the south of the state,” he said.

The 2021 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act laws came into effect on July 1 in response to mining giant Rio Tinto blowing up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara region in 2020.

The legislation sailed through the lower and upper houses within two months before being introduced on July 1, 2023, replacing the 1972 laws.

It caused a backlash among pastoralists, with about 30,000 angry farmers signing a petition for the new laws to be axed or modified in the weeks after they came into effect.

Mr Cook announced the decision to axe them on Tuesday.