Sam Pillay
A multi-million dollar gold mine at Lake Cowal with an estimated yield of $1.2 billion threatens to desecrate a sacred site of the Wiradjuri people of West Wyalong-Parkes.
Lake Cowal is the largest inland lake in NSW and the Wiradjuri comprise a geographic third of the state's traditional land ownership.
The Coalition to Protect Lake Cowal and Friends of the Earth (FoE) have long supported the Wiradjuri in a battle to save claimed untold bird-life in a similar gold mining operation at north Parkes.
Ancillary work has begun — the laying of water pipelines and construction of an electricity transmission line — despite opposition.
Barrick Gold, a Canadian conglomerate that has connections with the Bush dynasty in the US, has obtained a section 90 (s90) "consent to destroy" under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
Wiradjuri Elder Neville Williams told 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly that the traditional owners were awaiting a court decision after they challenged legal breaches in early June, alleging discrimination.
Williams said the company was trying to play off 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ of the Wiradjuri people in a policy of divide and rule. "There was another Wiradjuri person who was not allowed on one of the archaeological inspections. There is an attempt to shut out the traditional owners."
FoE national liaison officer Binnie O'Dwyer told GLW that s90 was a contentious legal loophole open to "breach and abuse".
"The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is the protector of aboriginal heritage in NSW; yet it never refuses an application for an s90 consent to destroy.
"In 1967 under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, all Aboriginal objects were deemed to be property of the Crown and the director general has the power and duty to protect those objects.
"But when up against a powerful mining company, the NPWS appears to become more a facilitator of the destruction of those objects and consents to destroy are the order of the day.
"Most of our court work has been around challenging the granting of s90 consents and allegations of breach of conditions of those consents.
"Lake Cowal is the sacred heartland of the Wiradjuri Nation. Wiradjuri people have been there since the first sunrise and for traditional owners it is their right and duty under Wiradjuri custom and law to protect their sacred site."
Aboriginal scar trees have been felled and the Wiradjuri have not been given the opportunity to collect possibly thousands of objects and sacred artefacts.
"There haven't ever been adequate archaeological studies done out there to ascertain exactly how many artefacts there are and how important the site is scientifically, and now through the collection and the removal of artefacts the archaeological integrity of the site is forever undermined", O'Dwyer said, "and now those remaining artefacts are able to be destroyed."
From 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ Weekly, June 30, 2004.
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