Members of the Wiradjuri community are outraged that renewable energy company ACEREZ destroyed an Aboriginal rock shelter near Mudgee, despite knowing about it. The company's workers cleared land to build power lines for the NSW Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), and Wiradjuri man Thomas Dahlstrom worked on the site, conducting Aboriginal cultural heritage assessments. Mr Dahlstrom discussed the cultural sites with the company several times, and the shelter would likely have been a refuge for a mother with children while they were gathering food.
Members of the Wiradjuri community say it is 'inexcusable' that renewable energy company ACEREZ destroyed an 'Aboriginal rock shelter' near Mudgee despite knowing about it.
The Commonwealth Department of Environment is assessing two applications made by a Wiradjuri traditional owner to protect the area, while two investigations into the shelter's destruction continue. Members of the Wiradjuri community say a renewable energy company must be held to account for the 'inexcusable' destruction of an Aboriginal rock shelter it promised to protect.
While its workers cleared land near Mudgee to build power lines for the NSW Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), Wiradjuri, Tubba-Gah and Gamilaraay man Thomas Dahlstrom worked on the larger REZ site, conducting Aboriginal cultural heritage assessments. Mr Dahlstrom said he discussed the cultural sites with the company several times, and stressed the need to block them off and barricade them from construction work.
The shelter would likely have been a refuge for a mother with children while they were gathering food. The Aboriginal Site Recording Form that logged the rock shelter for the project's planning documents found that it could have had potential archaeological deposits at a depth of at least 50 centimetres in the soil. The destruction of the shelter pushed Mr Dahlstrom to apply for federal protection over the site after seeking advice from his family and community.
He lodged a section 9 emergency protection order application under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. A spokesperson for the federal environment department confirmed it was assessing the requests. Thomas Dahlstrom says he felt compelled to apply for the protection orders after seeking advice from his family and Wiradjuri community. He hopes they accept the application and work with Wiradjuri to prevent any further damage across the whole footprint of the project.
A Wiradjuri Elder from the Lithgow area, Aunty Sharon Riley, is a descendent from the Talbragar Reserve where the shelter was located. She questioned what went 'terribly wrong' in the process that allowed a mapped cultural site to be demolished. Ms Riley said the company should take further action. What about thinking about compensation because that's more trauma to Aboriginal people today, she said.
It's thousands and thousands of years of knowledge and our history for this part of Wiradjuri country, and once they're destroyed they're gone forever. The chief executive of ACEREZ, Steve Masters, told ABC 702 Radio on Tuesday that he was 'bitterly disappointed' by the incident. We will sit down with the traditional owners and be guided by their feedback, Mr Masters said. He said no-one had been sacked over the incident, but it would be 'considered' during the company's review.
In a press conference on Tuesday, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said 'appropriate penalties' for the company would be looked at once the state's own investigation concluded
Renewable Energy ACEREZ Aboriginal Rock Shelter Mudgee Wiradjuri Community Cultural Heritage Assessments Aunty Sharon Riley Steve Masters Penny Sharpe Appropriate Penalties Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Heritage
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