[Xmca-l] Re: Rio Tinto Zinc

[Martin Packer]

Thanks, John and Andy,

I suppose that I am naive, for this event astonishes me in so many different ways. I would have assumed that the land title or native title granted to indigenous peoples over some territory in Australia would have included the Juuken Gorge caves. I would have assumed that these caves were a national cultural heritage site, or even a world cultural heritage site. I would have assumed that indigenous rights would have more importance to the Australian government, and indeed to the Australian people. I would have assumed that, while mining is apparently of great economic importance to the country, the government would have considered the economic value of this site for tourism, or simply the impact that destroying the caves would have on Australia’s reputation. And while I suppose that unbridled rapaciousness on the part of an international mining company is hardly a surprise, I would have thought that Rio Tinto would also have considered the negative publicity that their actions would create.

How can we express our displeasure to the various parties involved? Are there petitions that one can sign? Or Twitter accounts to which one can tweet?

I wonder how much the salary is of (ex) CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques, if his bonus this year would have been A$4.9 million. Perhaps he could donate a few years of his salary to establish a foundation that could work for indigenous peoples’ rights.

sadly 

Martin




> On Sep 12, 2020, at 8:59 PM, John Cripps Clark <john.crippsclark@deakin.edu.au> wrote:
> 
> The destruction of the Juunken Gorge caves (which I assume you are referring to) is a much more villainous act than was originally portrayed and reflects the venal racism not only of the company but also of the State Government. For those not familiar with this shocking crime, the $80b Anglo Australian mining company which on Sunday 24th of May blew up a site sacred to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) traditional owners and occupied for 46,000 years at least, to extend iron ore mining. "“It’s one of the most sacred sites in the Pilbara region … we wanted to have that area protected,” PKKP director Burchell Hayes. The traditional owners tried desperately to stop the blast once they became aware it was impending.
> 
> At the time Rio Tinto claimed "Clearly there was a misunderstanding" but and, after much outrage, the three members of the executive had their multi million dollar bonuses reduced. It has subsequently emerged that Rio Tinto had contracted lawyers to oppose any injunctions before the crime was committed. The chief executive and two of his underlings have resigned.
> 
> The crime was legal and was made possible by State Government laws which are stacked in favour of miners. Assessments of the cultural and environmental significance are made with little investigation and remain in place for decades and have rarely been successfully be challenged. No permission to destroy heritage sites in WA has been refused (and there have been 463 applications). https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-31/wa-heritage-destroyed-by-rio-tinto-example-of-national-trend/12305298__;!!Mih3wA!Q80d_k7DkHBzzs0yi4W5IfiSTlRupZ8XOxiOsNcARSHE8ZZrLW7G-oWoAnKstsuUT5a7UQ$ 
> 
> It is not as if we didn’t know that this would happen. Norway's pension fund divested their holdings in Rio Tinto in 2008: "Exclusion of a company from the Fund reflects our unwillingness to run an unacceptable risk of contributing to grossly unethical conduct. The Council on Ethics has concluded that Rio Tinto is directly involved, through its participation in the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, in the severe environmental damage caused by that mining operation."
>    — Kristin Halvorsen, Norwegian Minister of Finance
> 
> A useful background briefing of indigenous rights in Australia: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/features/in-the-shadow-of-terra-nullius/__;!!Mih3wA!Q80d_k7DkHBzzs0yi4W5IfiSTlRupZ8XOxiOsNcARSHE8ZZrLW7G-oWoAnKstssDCtcsSw$ 
> 
> On 13/9/20, 12:26 am, "xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of Martin Packer" <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of mpacker@cantab.net> wrote:
> 
>    Andy, what on earth has Rio Tinto Zinc been up to??
> 
>    Martin
> 
> 
> 
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