Mining companies press for weakening of Aboriginal heritage regulations

Crackdown on ‘big business’ of heritage urged, ANNABEL HEPWORTH THE AUSTRALIAN, MARCH 06, 2014 THE Productivity Commission is urging reforms to Aboriginal cultural heritage processes amid complaints by miners that heritage surveys have become a “big business” costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The landmark final report, made public yesterday, finds that the exploration sector has been hit by rising costs and falling productivity.

It calls for the reform of rules that are inhibiting exploration and imposing unnecessary burdens on explorers and sparked industry demands last night that more be done to cut the red and green tape that holds back projects.

The commission points to frequent complaints by explorers about the cost and time in doing cultural heritage surveys, which many believed had created an industry for archeologists, anthropologists and lawyers.

Different companies could be forced to resurvey the same site because of “inconsistent and inadequate” listing of heritage sites……….

The West Australian government told the inquiry escalating costs of Aboriginal heritage surveys were a “significant disincentive”……..But the Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation told the inquiry it rejected any suggestion “to the effect that Aboriginal people are using the cultural heritage process for financial gain” and that costs in heritage survey work were for a specialised service that assisted, rather than hindered, exploration………

Last night, the mining and petroleum industries rounded on the report to demand cuts to red and green tape. Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Brendan Pearson said industry wanted a one-stop shop approach to managing heritage.

The office of Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said the government would consider all the detail. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/crackdown-on-big-business-of-heritage-urged/story-fn59niix-1226846388770#

March 7, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized

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