A former vice-president of Aboriginal relations at Rio Tinto said the miner's reputation as a global leader in heritage management may never recover after it blasted the Juukan Gorge in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
Key points:
- Former Rio Tinto executive says the destruction of Juukan Gorge followed a 'lot of stupid actions'
- Rio Tinto blew up to the 46,000-year-old Indigenous sacred site to access iron ore
- Rio Tinto has apologised for the destruction and three senior executives have resigned
"I think it's very damaging," Paul Wand told 7.30.
"It's hard to say how terminal it is, but if it is to recover it's going to take a long time.
"[The blasting of the heritage sites] happened by a whole lot of stupid actions, in my belief, that led to people taking their eye off the ball, not having accountability for relationships with the communities."
Mr Wand was a pivotal figure in Rio's efforts to change its approach to traditional landowner engagement in the late 1990s.
'Immeasurable loss, profound grief'
The traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people, have finally told their side of the story in a lengthy submission to a Senate Inquiry that is examining the chain of events that led to the destruction of the 46,000 year-old sacred site.
The owners said the incident has caused "immeasurable cultural and spiritual loss and profound grief".
It has been revealed that in the days leading up to the blasts Rio laid more than 100 additional explosives in the gorge, despite the fact that traditional owners had made contact and raised concerns.
Rio engaged experts to see if it was safe to remove the explosives and managed to remove a small number that would have damaged nearby heritage sites the company didn't have permission to destroy.
It was determined it wasn't safe to remove the remaining explosives that ultimately destroyed the rock shelters.
'Wilful destruction'
In its evidence to the inquiry, Rio revealed it was considering three other options for the Brockman 4 mine expansion that would have avoided damage to the rock shelters, but it chose a fourth in order to pursue an additional $135 million in iron ore.
The PKKP weren't made aware of the other options.
Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, Professor Marcia Langton, has also given evidence to the inquiry.
"It's wilful destruction of places of enormous significance, religious significance to the traditional owners and of global importance to human history.
"I am very disappointed that Australian laws don't cover this category of cultural property crime."
Rio Tinto told the inquiry senior executives were not aware of the significance of the site until after the blasts.
Archaeological surveys commissioned by Rio before the explosions revealed the site's importance, but executives hadn't read those reports.
"Rio Tinto has unreservedly apologised to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people for the destruction of the Juukan rockshelters. This should not have occurred," Rio Tinto said in a statement to 7.30.
"We deeply regret the damage that has been done to our partnership with the PKKP and we are working with them to understand how we can respectfully progress a process of remedy."
Mr Wand said he was "gutted" by the events because there has been "an enormous amount of work done over the previous 25 years, by people within the Rio Tinto organisation, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people".
CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has resigned over the incident. Iron ore chief executive Chris Salisbury and corporate relations head Simone Niven will also be stepping down.
Rio Tinto said it had taken a "number of recent actions to strengthen our approach to heritage and communities engagement, including a commitment to increase employment opportunities for Indigenous Australians".
Royal commission needed
Former WA Premier Colin Barnett, whose government granted Rio approval to destroy the sites in 2013, is calling for a royal commission into the issue.
"I certainly regret the fact that the Juukan site has been destroyed," Mr Barnett told 7.30.
"But bear in mind that approval was seven years ago and a lot of scientific work has taken place since then. So yes, my government has nothing to be proud of and the current government has been in power for three years and it happened under their watch.
"I think this is above the political process and indeed needs the powers of a royal commission to access all information to subpoena witnesses and the like."
WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt said calls for a royal commission are premature while the Senate Inquiry was ongoing.
"I must say, we know what happened," he told 7.30.
"I think the world now recognises that was not appropriate but that was all authorised under the [WA Aboriginal Heritage] Act.
"That's why we need to have a new regime that has the capacity to consider new information as it comes along."
The WA Aboriginal Heritage Act is currently under review.
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