No timeline on Yindjibarndi request: Parliament | Tracker

No timeline on Yindjibarndi request: Parliament | Tracker:

In the letter to WA’s Registrar of Aboriginal Sites, Eureka’s principal archaeologist says “misleading information” from FMG may have influenced decisions without the full cultural significance of the area being known.

The letter claims FMG threatened to withhold payment of outstanding Eureka invoices amounting to $70,000 if a report was not edited.

Please note June blog stated:
In a formal complaint lodged to DIA on 9 June 2011, the principal Aboriginal custodian of James Price Point and Elder for the Goolarabooloo Jabbir-Jabbir people- Mr Joseph Roe-provided detailed photographic and video evidence of significant damage by archaeologists and seismic testers working for Woodside. They have been recklessly damaging burial sites, middens and ancient remnant rain forests and have stolen items of Cultural significance. Over the past week, three DIA Officers guided by traditional custodians spent more than nine hours meticulously taking evidence of significant damage done by Woodside contractors undertaking preliminary work for the doomed gas plant.

“The damage started in early May 2011 and continues to this day”, says Mr Roe. “My most important cultural responsibility as handed down to me from my Lulu (late grandfather) is to look after these sacred sites. They’ve never had vehicles driven over them. The actions of these contractors are a painful reality, disrespectful to our culture and our ancestors.”

To date nothing has become of the complaints.

All this damage breaches the WA Aboriginal Heritage Act (AHA) because it
occurred without consent of a Section 18 by the WA Minister for Indigenous Affairs and with the misuse of a Section 16 by Eureka. The Registrar, the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA) and the Aboriginal Cultural Materials Committee (ACMC) were informed and have know about the Songline and all the sites contained within, well before the damage.

DIA investigations were put on hold and no feedback about these damages has been received. No action to halt the damage has undertaken, or any attempt to mitigate this damage has been taken by the State or relevant gov departments. Eureka was asked to return all the stolen cultural items to Country by Joseph Roe both in writing and face to face consultations, but nothing has been returned or any correspondence answered. Meanwhile, Woodside can not claim ignorance about the existence of these sites as a defence, because they too, were informed face to face by Mr Roe.