In late May of 2020, mining company Rio Tinto was discovered to have blown up a 46,000 year old Aboriginal rock shelter, located at the Juukan Gorge, for the purpose of expanding their mining site. This destruction was very much so deliberate, as the mining giant was given permission to destroy the area back in 2013 by official ministerial from the Western Australia government. A year after the permission was granted, archaeologists had discovered human hair, which was 40 centuries old, thus the beginning of their realisation to how old the site really was. Unfortunately, regardless of this discovery, Rio Tinto continued on with the destruction, with the excuse that they were unaware of the cultural history behind it.
Rio Tinto Chief executive, Chris Salisbury, published a formal apology days after the destruction, saying; “We are sorry for the distress we have caused. Our relationship with the PKKP matters a lot to Rio Tinto, having worked together for many years. We will continue to work with the PKKP to learn from what has taken place and strengthen our partnership. As a matter of urgency, we are reviewing the plans of all other sites in the Juukan Gorge area.” Despite the apology, with the approval from the PKKP cooperation that they believe that the apology was genuine and sincere, it was later discovered that Salisbury was, in fact, apologising for the distress they have caused from the public, and not the actual destruction itself.
Why this destruction is a demonstration of the flaws in Australia’s priorities, is because it contradicts the Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972). The act was made to ensure protection and safety for all Aboriginal land, and the culture. The site was discovered to have connections with the Puutu Kunti Kurrama people; the traditional landowners. The destruction had caused an overwhelming amount of distress from their community, worrying that more Aboriginorigial sites will be under threat, including Moon Dreaming. As the land owners of Juukan Gorge are the only ones that are able to approve of the destruction, the traditional landowners are unable to do anything to prevent the construction from happening, and so, the community produced a documentary (est 2015), which was funded by the mining company.
A petition on Change.org has been made to hold Rio Tinto into account of their actions, and for the Western Australian Government to review the Aboriginal Heritage Act, in order to not repeat the same mistake once again
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