EIANZ welcomes the Committee of Northern Australia’s Interim Report to the Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. We believe it is an important step forward and we support the committee’s statement that ‘never again can we allow the destruction, the devastation and the vandalism of cultural sites as has occurred with the Juukan Gorge—never again’.

It is the Institute’s hope that the impact on heritage and cultural values of Juukan Gorge, and distress to the Traditional Owners, can serve to drive a better understanding of Aboriginal heritage and how and why they need to be protected well beyond the life of any individual project.

EIANZ considers that destruction of significant cultural heritage sites such as Juukan Gorge is irrevocable. The values of such sites are irreplaceable and important, not only to PKKP Traditional Owners who have a deep spiritual and cultural connection to their cultural heritage, but also to the broader public and future generations, who have lost an important part of their history and the nation’s story.

Read the full parliamentary report here >