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It was like a scene from a Fellini movie. The setting is a bleak modernist concrete and bitumen tangle intruding into an ancient landscape. The principal characters are a gaggle of self-satisfied politicians performing a ritual with hardly an elector (certainly not a non-Labor one) in sight. But now Fellini strikes. Two men are arguing about their conflicting rights to the once-tribal land on which a freeway behind them has been built. And, watching, one old school news reporter who’s been around long enough to understand the significance of what’s unfolding before him.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has become the latest Albanese Government Cabinet Minister to distance himself from WA’s contentious Aboriginal heritage laws. In Perth for a meeting of State and Territory agriculture ministers, Mr Watt called time on his press conference on Wednesday amid a flurry of questions about the refreshed Act. The new regime has caused particular angst and confusion among growers and primary producers who in some cases are now required to consult more closely with local knowledge holders prior to making major changes to or additions to their properties.

Western Australian Transport Minister Rita Saffioti, who is also Deputy Premier, and other officials were preparing to cut the ribbon at the new stretch of the $232million Mitchell Freeway, in Perth, on Sunday. A smoking ceremony had been organised for the event with Whadjak Noongar man Steve Jacobs appointed the honour of carrying it out. The ceremony was abruptly interrupted when another Indigenous man gatecrashed the event with an argument ensuing over who had the right to conduct it. Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart in June launched a scathing attack on the legislation, claiming it cause havoc. She predicted the new regulations will cause ‘unintended consequences’, with even the addition of a granny flat to a property being subject to delays. ‘Many are concerned that some elements of this Act have not been consulted on broadly enough,’ Ms Rinehart said in a Brisbane speech. ‘There is a risk of unintended consequences, even property developers are raising concerns, not just the mining industry. ‘These unintended consequences could extend further too, with all West Australians who own a block larger than 1100sq/m needing to be aware of their potential obligations under the Act.

10 July 2023.

On Saturday, Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn claimed on his Facebook page the tree-planting event at Wonthella Bush Reserve was “shut down” because of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, which came into effect on July 1. Mr Van Styn told The West Australian on Sunday the city had checked online beforehand for Aboriginal heritage at the site and found no problems, but halted the event after one of the local traditional owners turned up and said the reserve was a significant site for her family. However, a member of the family told The West Australian she was not concerned about the planting of the trees but rather what she believed was the renaming of the land to honour Queen Elizabeth II.

The first major test for the Cook Government has not gone well, judging by the level of backlash over the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act from miners, farmers and Indigenous groups. The shambolic rollout was on full display this week, with the Government continuing to tweak the laws right up to the 11th hour amid growing pressure but opposing calls for a delay. Some of that tinkering — particularly the commitment for a “light touch” approach to enforcing the new rules for the next year, an implementation group and an “education first” approach — will allow companies to go about their business without the fear of a fine hanging over their head. The Government also agreed to a one-year reprieve for more rigorous requirements to Indigenous heritage surveys after hastily taking down guidelines following concerns from industry, as revealed by The West Australian. Why all this had to be done the week before the new system was due to be brought in defies logic.

“Canberra Hill is not a wealth creator or nation builder, but a user and waster of taxpayer funds, an inefficient disperser of taxpayers’ funds, and its record shows a place which fails to understand economic realities,” she said. “This lack of economic realities has resulted in policies which restrict our pensioners, students and even veterans from working as much as they may choose, while there is a widespread worker shortage, a worker shortage crisis, affecting many businesses and supplies.” At a time of record revenue, thanks to mining, one would expect government services to be provided abundantly and efficiently. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case. Notwithstanding the money flowing into state government coffers, the standard of the provision of services, which is the key role of state governments, has never been so poor.