KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian government’s decision to repeal maligned Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) laws was unlikely to affect investor sentiment, Resources Minister Bill Johnston said on the sidelines of Diggers & Dealers.
The state government this week repealed the Aboriginal heritage laws were introduced on July 1, saying the legislation ‘went too far’ and was ‘too prescriptive and complicated’.
Instead, the state government has proposed amendments to the 1972 Aboriginal Heritage Act which would prevent a repeat of the Juukan Gorge incident.
Johnston told journalists on Wednesday that while the majority of mining companies had not raised issues with the new ACH laws, the government had fielded concerns from the exploration sector.
“Exploration companies raised a range of issues, and I think it shows strong leadership from Premier Cook that he was prepared to listen, apologise where he thinks a mistake has been made, and move on. And I think that industry respects that.
“I think the industry is very pleased that the Premier is prepared to listen and act decisively, like he was,” Johnston said.
“We work very hard to support the mining industry in Western Australia. We understand that the biggest support we can give is to the exploration sector. That is why we so strongly support the exploration incentive scheme because it is key to exploration in Western Australia.”