Lithium boss calls for clarity amid WA heritage law debacle
Kalgoorlie | Pilbara Minerals chief executive Dale Henderson says West Australian companies are desperate for clarity as the WA government prepares to scrap new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws.
The WA Labor government has thrown the resources industry into chaos by flagging plans to scrap the laws essential to the approval process for mining and oil and gas projects in the state. Having worked on the legislation for five years, the government is going back to the drawing board just five weeks after rolling out the new laws.
Pilbara Minerals CEO Dale Henderson: “It’s really important legislation, and it’s important that it’s correct and serves the purposes intended.” Christian Sprogoe
Mr Henderson, the boss of one of the world’s biggest lithium producers, said: “I think there’s change under way [of the law], which presents uncertainty. I think like most groups, we’re just looking for certainty around what the changes are.”
The WA cabinet was set to meet on Monday to talk through its options after a backdown on legislation worked on by Rio Tinto and Woodside director Ben Wyatt, before he quit politics in February 2020, that alarmed the farming community and sections of the mining industry.
It is understood Premier Roger Cook intends to revert to the 1972 law that was in place when Rio Tinto destroyed rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in 2020, in a move that traditional owners have labelled a betrayal.
The WA government notified select stakeholders last Friday of the backflip.
The new laws, which apply to all parcels of land exceeding 1100 square metres, have been linked to declining support for the Labor Party and an indigenous Voice to parliament in WA.
Mr Henderson said the new legislation, introduced on July 1, had been a
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