Opposition leader Shane Love calls for Aboriginal Affairs minister Tony Buti to be sacked from portfolio

Opposition Leader Shane Love has called for Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti to be sacked over the “rushed” implementation of revamped laws protecting Indigenous heritage sites, claiming the July 1 start date was an “artificial timeframe”. Mr Love said the minister had “shown time and time again” that he didn’t understand what’s in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act. The new act is set to take effect on July 1 and seeks to avoid a repeat of incidents such as Rio Tinto’s destruction of Juukan Gorge by requiring greater consultation with traditional owners. Farmers and native title groups have raised concerns that the infrastructure to administer the new rules is not ready. A petition to delay the act by the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA racked up nearly 18,000 signatures in nine days, a record in WA. “He doesn’t understand what he’s doing. It’s clear that a change needs to occur,” the Nationals leader said. “I want him removed from this particular portfolio and someone (put in his place) who has more ability to administer what is a very complex situation. “There is no need for this to be rushed in the way it is. “Nobody knows exactly what their obligations are. The government is pushing through with an artificial time frame that is actually causing unnecessary distress.” Mr Love asked Roger Cook in parliament on Thursday if he would remove Mr Buti from the portfolio over what he described as an “ill-advised” approach to the act. He also asked the Premier if he would delay the implementation of the act by at least six months and claimed his minister was unable to consult properly with stakeholders, including Indigenous groups. “Will you remove him from his portfolio immediately and install someone up to the task of implementing this act?” Mr Love asked. Mr Cook dismissed the claims his minister was ill-advised and said the act had support from major land users including Rio Tinto as well as the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies. “There is a range of views out there. And sometimes there are just some people that you will never capture because they have views beyond the actual interests of their industry that these things shouldn’t be implemented,” he said. “This legislation went through 18 months ago. I had meetings with stakeholders and with the department. “All the systems are in place and ready to go. And we very much look forward to seeing this new regime, which does the same thing as the old regime. And that is to protect Aboriginal heritage.” Mr Cook said the government was not creating new laws but simply modifying existing laws that already protected Aboriginal heritage. “There are consultations going on even today and that will continue to go on,” he said. “A lot of that consultation goes down to allaying people’s fears because there are people out there stirring up fear and providing misinformation in the community.” Nationals deputy Peter Rundle asked Planning Minister John Carey if he had sought advice from DevelopmentWA if the act would cause delays to developments. Mr Carey accused the Nationals of running a “scare campaign” and said developers already had to give consideration to Aboriginal cultural heritage. Mr Love said outside parliament that while the Nationals did not oppose the legislation when it was passed 18 months ago, but said the opposition’s ability to properly critique the bill had been “guillotined”.