Canberra, Nov 24: An Australian minister likened a mining company blasting ancient rock shelters to the Taliban’s destruction of giant Buddha carvings and vowed Thursday to improve protections of Indigenous cultural heritage. Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said Rio Tinto acted lawfully in 2020 when it destroyed two rock shelters in Juukan Gorge in Western Australia state that had been inhabited for 46,000 years. She said Australia’s laws would be updated to prevent such destruction of Indigenous sacred sites happening again. […]
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has compared Rio Tinto to the Taliban for destroying sacred Aboriginal rock shelters at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia.