Inquiry into the destruction of Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge
The Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia to inquire into and report on, by 9 December 2020:
The destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia with particular reference to:
a.
the operation of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA) and approvals provided under the Act;
b.
the consultation that Rio Tinto engaged in prior to the destruction of the caves with Indigenous peoples;
c.
the sequence of events and decision-making process undertaken by Rio Tinto that led to the destruction;
d.
the loss or damage to the Traditional Owners, Puutu, Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, from the destruction of the site;
e.
the heritage and preservation work that has been conducted at the site;
f.
the interaction, of state indigenous heritage regulations with Commonwealth laws;
g.
the effectiveness and adequacy of state and federal laws in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage in each of the Australian jurisdictions;
h.
how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage laws might be improved to guarantee the protection of culturally and historically significant sites;
i.
opportunities to improve indigenous heritage protection through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; and
j.
any other related matters.