Power to the people after Cook Government’s ‘spectacular backflip’ on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act

Hundreds of farmers who turned out to a rally at Parliament House have been left feeling vindicated after WA Premier Roger Cook announced he would scrap Labor’s deeply unpopular new Aboriginal heritage laws. The 700-strong group of farmers and pastoralists from across WA gathered on Tuesday afternoon to demand major changes to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, which took effect just five weeks ago. But they received more than they had hoped for, with Mr Cook acknowledging just an hour earlier the legislation “went too far” and confirming it would be repealed. Cheers erupted after WA Opposition leader Shane Love informed the crowd — many of whom had yet to hear the news — of the Government’s “spectacular backflip”. “That was (the result of) a rejection of you of what has been a failed Act, a bad piece of legislation that was rammed through this place and should never have been foisted on the community,” he said. “You deserve an apology, you got one today from the Premier, but we’re there to make sure that this never happens again.” Some travelled hundreds of kilometres to attend the rally organised by WAFarmers, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association and the WA Grains Group. “The pressure that you have put on, and the pressure that communities right across Western Australia have exerted on the Labor government, have led to a complete backdown,” Mr Love said. “This a great testament to people power... you’ve been able to exert such pressure that the government has buckled under it.” ‘STILL A LONG WAY TO GO’ WAFarmers president John Hassell said farmers had been “paralysed with fear” and described the now doomed Act as “an unworkable piece of legislation”. But he said farm lobby groups would not give up the fight until the new Act — intended to replace legislation from 1972, which it will now revert to — was officially repealed. “There are some serious problems with (the old legislation) as well and the government’s made some concessions there, but there is still a long way to go,” Mr Hassell said. “Our very strong feeling is that the legislation is not changed until the legislation is changed, so we are not giving up.” PGA president Tony Seabrook — who described the backflip as “a great result” — said the rally was the biggest demonstration of its kind by the State’s farmers since 1981. “I spoke to (Aboriginal Affairs) Minister (Tony) Buti late yesterday afternoon, and he was at that point still trying to sell us some amendments to this Act,” he said. “So the turnaround has actually happened last night, and it’s happened on the back of the fact that everyone here today was going to be here. “The PGA has always taken a very hard line on this piece of legislation; we’ve never stepped away from the fact that we were not prepared to amend it, we wanted it withdrawn, and this has actually happened because in the end, the government realised that the position was untenable. “I’m absolutely certain that massive pressure was brought to bear from the Eastern States by the Federal Government because of the harm that it’s been doing this Voice referendum. “There’s no doubt whatsoever that we need to do a great deal to help our Indigenous brothers... but this act, and The Voice, will not do that.” Mr Seabrook warned there were “those on the left” who would now try to introduce amendments to the 1972 legislation that farmers and pastoralists “will not be happy with”. But he said the PGA would stand up for the sector’s interests “to the absolute end”. “We will unrelentingly keep on fighting, and I’ve no doubt that this isn’t over yet, not by a longshot,” he said. WAGG chair and Coorow farmer Alastair Falconer labelled the Act “a massive overreach and a slap in the face to the farming community”. “Heritage is important in all societies and as farmers we take this seriously; we are stewards of our properties, and we look after it to the best of our abilities,” he said. “Yet the only option, which was finally realised today after much denial and arrogance, was to scrap the Act and start again. “I look forward to the government seeing sense and starting this process again.” THE MINISTER FRONTS THE CROWD Dr Buti was met with both cheers and jeers when he fronted the crowd to apologise for the “anxiety” the legislation and its bungled roll-out had caused. “Democracy is served well when people show their interest and concerns, and I can assure you that it was never the intention… to cause (the) distress and concern that has eventuated with the 2021 legislation,” Dr Buti said. “The intention of the 2021 legislation was to ensure that we didn’t have a repeat of the Juukan Gorge disaster which every Western Australian was very saddened by. “Obviously, we overreached. We have listened to the concerns of the West Australian community — all parts of the West Australian community — that’s why we have announced that we are repealing the 2021 legislation.” Dr Buti said he would now focus on ensuring the 1972 Act would be amended to “work in a way that is of benefit for all Western Australians”. “Farmers have worked their lands for sometimes generations, you have an acute sense of heritage, I know that you don’t want to destroy heritage of any type,” he said. “So I look forward to working with you and moving forward so we can have a regime that you can feel comfortable with, and that you can enjoy your livelihood and the industry going forward.” WA Liberals leader Libby Mettam described the “disastrous” 2021 Act as “the worst piece of legislation ever introduced into this Parliament” and “an incredible overreach on private property rights”. “It is fortunate that we have seen a rethink from this government… but the action and the attention does not stop here,” she said. “Look what this Cook Labor government just tried to get away with. “That’s why we need to keep the pressure on this government... who are increasingly out of touch with the needs of ordinary hardworking Western Australians.” Shadow heritage minister Neil Thomson — who in June sponsored a nearly 30,000 signature petition calling on the Premier to delay the introduction of the new Act — said the backflip could not have been achieved without people power. “As parliamentarians, we cannot represent you without your support, so thank you,” he said. “Thank you for bringing yourself here today, thank you for signing the petition, thank you for having your voices heard... so that this government was held to account.” ‘A WIN’ FOR LANDHOLDERS Murchison House Station pastoralist Calum Carruth — who drove about seven hours to attend the rally — described the Government’s backdown as “a win” but said it was important to continue holding it to account. “It’s a good outcome, but we need to make sure we’re actually in in the room and being listened to (next time),” he said. “Having gone to all of the supposed co-design process consultation sessions for the Act, we found that nothing changed. “Everything we said fell on deaf ears; they basically just threw us all together and told us what they were going to do.” Mr Carruth said his biggest concerns with the 2021 Act were its “potential for abuse” and “open-ended” nature. “There was no end point on any of the negotiations... and that was a bit scary,” he said. “No one wants to damage heritage, but (it is concerning) if they’re going to keep on inventing new heritage.” Asked whether Mr Cook and Mr Buti should stand down, Mr Carruth said the move would be “a bit extreme”. “Let’s just go back to crafting laws, and we’ll get it right (this time) and see what happens next election,” he said. Brian White, who farms at Cervantes and Miling about two hours north of Perth, felt attending the rally was the only way of making his voice heard. “Labour governments don’t ever seem to do much for country WA, and obviously we don’t have the voting power anymore,” he said. “We’ve got to try and stand up for ourselves before we get eroded away all together.” Though his sights are now firmly set on saving the embattled live sheep trade, Mr White said he was “happy to see common sense prevail”. “It was just unworkable the way it was, so hopefully they can draft up something that is suitable,” he added. “We all want to preserve natural heritage, whether it be Australian, Aboriginal or anything else, but the way that they were going about it was divisive.”