Article by Invest Million
Rio Tinto Group (NYSE: RIO) Rio Tinto commends the Commonwealth Government and the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance for releasing a discussion paper today aimed at strengthening state and federal cultural heritage protection regulations. Rio Tinto is convinced that working with Traditional Owners to co-design a process will increase cultural heritage management and conservation, ensuring that it is acknowledged and appreciated for its intrinsic value.
Rio Tinto confirmed that it has heard the need for Rio Tinto to play a stronger role in the advancement of state and Commonwealth cultural heritage protection regulations. Furthermore, Traditional Owners, the National Native Title Council, the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, and its investors have all voiced this appeal, as has the Commonwealth Parliamentary Committee that investigated the demolition of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters. The Dhawura Ngilan Vision Statement reaffirms the call.
Additionally, Rio Tinto endorses improving cultural heritage protections at both the state and federal levels, including the reform process currently ongoing to guarantee that an event like the devastation of rock shelters in Western Australia’s Juukan Gorge never occurs again. These changes must guarantee that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are at the heart of decision-making when it comes to cultural heritage preservation.
Earlier, Rio Tinto and the Yinhawangka Aboriginal Corporation in Western Australia created a collaborative management plan last month. As part of the planned development of the Western Range iron ore project in the Pilbara, this plan assures the preservation of major social and cultural-historical values. It is the outcome of a close partnership between Rio Tinto and the Yinhawangka people.