News
NEW HERITAGE LAW FARCE PUTS WA ON ROAD TO NOWHERE
It was like a scene from a Fellini movie. The setting is a bleak modernist concrete and bitumen tangle intruding into an ancient landscape. The principal characters are a gaggle of self-satisfied politicians performing a ritual with hardly an elector (certainly not a non-Labor one) in sight. But now Fellini strikes. Two men are arguing about their conflicting rights to the once-tribal land on which a freeway behind them has been built. And, watching, one old school news reporter who’s been around long enough to understand the significance of what’s unfolding before him.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt ducks questions on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has become the latest Albanese Government Cabinet Minister to distance himself from WA’s contentious Aboriginal heritage laws.
In Perth for a meeting of State and Territory agriculture ministers, Mr Watt called time on his press conference on Wednesday amid a flurry of questions about the refreshed Act.
The new regime has caused particular angst and confusion among growers and primary producers who in some cases are now required to consult more closely with local knowledge holders prior to making major changes to or additions to their properties.
Gas code a spanner in the works for new supply: small producers
Decisions around reviving stalled projects, such as Cooper’s OP3D and Senex Energy’s Atlas project in Queensland that were put on hold when the intervention was announced, were being watched closely as a test for the code, said Rick Wilkinson, head of the Adelaide-based industry consulting firm EnergyQuest. “If these projects don’t proceed quickly a downside risk for supply will have materialised,” he said. Ian Davies, CEO of Senex, owned by South Korean steel giant Posco and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Energy, said on Monday the company was still working through the detail of the code.
Blazing row erupts between two Indigenous elders over the smoking ceremony to mark the opening of a new highway – as transport minister runs away: ‘Did you pick the wrong one?’
Western Australian Transport Minister Rita Saffioti, who is also Deputy Premier, and other officials were preparing to cut the ribbon at the new stretch of the $232million Mitchell Freeway, in Perth, on Sunday. A smoking ceremony had been organised for the event with Whadjak Noongar man Steve Jacobs appointed the honour of carrying it out. The ceremony was abruptly interrupted when another Indigenous man gatecrashed the event with an argument ensuing over who had the right to conduct it. Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart in June launched a scathing attack on the legislation, claiming it cause havoc. She predicted the new regulations will cause ‘unintended consequences’, with even the addition of a granny flat to a property being subject to delays. ‘Many are concerned that some elements of this Act have not been consulted on broadly enough,’ Ms Rinehart said in a Brisbane speech. ‘There is a risk of unintended consequences, even property developers are raising concerns, not just the mining industry. ‘These unintended consequences could extend further too, with all West Australians who own a block larger than 1100sq/m needing to be aware of their potential obligations under the Act.
Geraldton tree planting event in honour of late QEII cancelled by Indigenous elders
On Saturday, Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn claimed on his Facebook page the tree-planting event at Wonthella Bush Reserve was “shut down” because of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, which came into effect on July 1. Mr Van Styn told The West Australian on Sunday the city had checked online beforehand for Aboriginal heritage at the site and found no problems, but halted the event after one of the local traditional owners turned up and said the reserve was a significant site for her family. However, a member of the family told The West Australian she was not concerned about the planting of the trees but rather what she believed was the renaming of the land to honour Queen Elizabeth II.
CORE LITHIUM CHIEF CALLS FOR SPEEDIER APPROVALS
Core Lithium chief Gareth Manderson says accelerating approvals for new mines must be a priority for governments as the industry faces looming shortfalls in the supply of the battery metal. Gina Rinheart’s Hancock Prospecting this week warned approval times continued to rise across the board, urging the Federal Government to cut red tape to boost volumes of lithium, rare earths, copper and various other minerals to meet net-zero commitments.
Hancock Prospecting calls for magnetite ore to be carved out of Government’s
Hancock Prospecting group chief executive Garry Korte has called for magnetite ore to be carved out of the Federal Government’s safeguard mechanism as he warns of “unintended consequences” of the policy. Billionaire Gina Rinehart’s company is concerned that magnetite iron ore is not distinguished from hematite under the Government’s safeguard mechanism despite its potential to help the steel industry lower emissions. Mr Korte said the creation of a separate magnetite iron ore variable under the safeguard mechanism was critical to encourage investment in magnetite in Australia. “Without (the variable), the safeguard mechanism will result in the offshoring of investment and reduction in value-add opportunities in Australia,” he told The West Australian.
Make or break gas code poised for release as Australian east coast faces shortfall
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen will release the full text of the mandatory code of conduct governing the country’s gas industry within days, a document that will go a long way to determining whether several new developments materialise. Australia’s east coast gas market is facing a material shortfall in the next few years as traditional supplies run dry and proposed new developments struggle to secure regulatory and social licences. Senex Energy, owned by South Korea’s Posco and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, earlier this year suspended its proposed $1bn Atlas project in Queensland, while Cooper Energy has delayed a go-ahead to expand its Otway gas project off Victoria.
‘It’s time to stop this madness’: Ordinary Australians paying for ‘green dreams’
IPA Executive Director Scott Hargreaves says ordinary Australians are “paying the price” for “green dreams”.
Saxon Davidson On How WA Is Hardest Hit By Worker Shortage Crisis On 6PR
On June 23, IPA Research Fellow Saxon Davidson joined Oliver Peterson on 6PR’s Perth Live to discuss new research showing Western Australia is hardest hit by worker shortages.
Farmers ‘absolutely ambushed’ by WA’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act
IPA Deputy Executive Director Daniel Wild says farmers feel “absolutely ambushed” by Western Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act and feel they haven’t been consulted properly.