Roger Cook accuses ex-Aboriginal boss David Collard of being ‘irresponsible’ over tree planting debacle

It was “irresponsible” and “inappropriate” for the former boss of an Aboriginal corporation to attempt to leverage new Indigenous heritage laws in pursuit of a share of millions of dollars in grant funding. This was the assessment of Premier Roger Cook — although he insisted the dispute was a “fight over Federal Government funding” and had “nothing to do with Aboriginal cultural heritage”. Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation chief executive David Collard has left the organisation after revelations that he allegedly threatened to withhold approvals under the contentious new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act until his group received a quarter of a $10 million Commonwealth grant for restoration of the Canning River system. The South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare was aware of Mr Collard’s position — which they said had been relayed by a Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions officer — when making the decision on Friday to postpone the planting of 5500 shrubs and trees along the banks of the river at the weekend. About 120 volunteers were prepared to take part in the two separate tree plantings but were informed in an email from SERCUL that the events were not going ahead because of “sudden problems surrounding the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act”. Responding to the debacle on Tuesday, Mr Cook slammed Mr Collard’s alleged actions. “It’s irresponsible. It’s inappropriate,” he said. “From time to time, you see people will use some law to try to bully people or to get a particular outcome. “That’s not the fault of the laws. That’s the fault of the person that’s undertaken those behaviours.” Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti, who personally phoned SERCUL and a number of southern council mayors to explain the situation, said on Monday that no one had the power to cancel a tree planting event, which is a low-level activity and does not need a permit. Mr Buti described the cancelled tree planting as an “isolated instance” that had come about as a result of a “rogue individual”. “Even though it’s had an unfortunate consequence of an event being cancelled, it has brought to light that no one has the authority under the Act to cancel these events,” he said. When contacted by The West Australian, Mr Collard declined to comment in detail but said misinformation was “being bandied around at the moment”. “I will not put up with any of this,” he added. SERCUL chair Stephen Johnston has said there was a high level of uncertainty about the implications of the heritage laws for community environment activities — but Mr Cook disputed the Government’s messaging over the legislation had been poor. “I think people just really need to make sure that they equip themselves with the information they need to make the decisions they need to make,” the Premier said. “This was not an issue around Aboriginal cultural heritage. It was a fight over Federal Government funding.” Under the new Act, which places a far greater emphasis on early and genuine consultation with traditional knowledge holders than was previously required, Aboriginal corporations are set to play key roles in determining the presence of cultural heritage and negotiating management plans where applicable. Asked whether he was confident other Aboriginal groups would not seek to inappropriately leverage the new heritage laws, Mr Cook said: “Look, I can’t speak for every individual or how they might say what you’re doing is contrary to this Act or another Act.” “Those conversations go on everywhere. I think it’s important that people equip themselves with the information they need by continuing to talk to the department to answer their questions, so that they can make decisions on behalf of their organisations.” In a statement released on Monday, WAC said: “A scheduled planting of seedlings was cancelled over the weekend, following a discussion with Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation’s former CEO, David Collard. “The newly formed Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation confirms that matter is not related to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021.” Asked about the comments allegedly made by Mr Collard threatening to withhold heritage approvals, a DBCA spokesman said they came during a conversation at a water forum last Monday. “DBCA has a long and successful history of working with traditional owners, local government and community groups to deliver initiatives to protect and restore the Swan Canning Riverpark,” he said.