“Trust is gone” - Sturt Highway works anger Indigenous community

Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO Ian Woods (left) said alleged damage to cultural sites by Transport for NSW would not be ignored. He is pictured with Nari Nari Tribal Council staff Dion Wait and Rob Gee. Image: The Riverine Grazier / Krista Schade.

By Krista Schade

Works on a stretch of the Sturt Highway west of Hay are under threat as claims that Aboriginal sites have been destroyed have been levelled at Transport for NSW.

“We aren’t going to let it rest,” Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council (Hay LALC) CEO Ian Woods said. “We’ll take it all the way to the Environment Court if we have to.”

Hay LALC was engaged by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to carry out an inspection of the proposed site, approximately 60 kilometres west of Hay, towards Balranald.

Local TfNSW crews and contractors have been repairing a section of the Sturt Highway and required inspections of roadside areas to create a pad to store roadmaking materials and create a machinery compound.

The stockpile area was being used to temporarily stockpile road building materials for roadwork on the Sturt Highway.

TfNSW established the temporary stockpile area adjacent to the work to minimise truck movements and costs involved with hauling approximately 25,000 tonnes of gravel material an additional 13 kilometres from the nearest existing stockpile areas, located at Ravensworth and Hells Gate.

Water Officer with Nari Nari Tribal Council Dion Wait, said he knew that area would be sensitive.

“We knew when we pulled up, we were on a mound (higher ground),” he said.

“Ian rang and he said you’ll need to move the (gravel) site further along, into an area that was the dry lake bed. Where there’s no sites.”

“He (Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Officer for TfNSW Desmond Smith) said ‘yep, no worries’,” Mr Woods said.

“We’d found stone artifacts, camp site mounds and burials sites, and marked with survey flags”

But according to the LALC CEO the recommendations were somehow ignored, and the pad built in the sensitive area.

Those camp mounds have now been moved aside with heavy machinery and ancestral remains both scattered and unearthed.

When the Riverine Grazier visited the site, only water tankers were in operation, wetting down the areas of the highway which was under repair. A compound of idle heavy machinery is located across the road from the area Mr Woods claims has been decimated.

Mr Woods said he and members of the community have tried to contact Mr Smith, but their calls go unanswered.

“There’s been no contact. The trust is gone.”

Mr Woods said the Hay-based staff have been understanding.

“They have been good. They are just doing what they’re told. Someone else gave the go-ahead.”

“Transport recognises the development and delivery of its projects have the potential to impact Aboriginal cultural heritage,” A Transport for NSW spokesperson said.

“This impact needs to be managed in a manner which meets Transport’s business, legislative and social responsibilities, while being culturally sensitive, appropriate, practical and cost-effective.

“Effective consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders is an important step in the process for assessing, identifying, avoiding and/or minimising cultural heritage impacts.

“A potential stockpile location on the Sturt Highway was identified and Transport reached out to the Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC), who identified a site of Aboriginal significance.

“An exclusion zone was installed with an approximate 20 metre buffer around the site prior to work starting so that it remained untouched during work. This mitigation measure remains in place and the stockpile has not impacted the exclusion zone.

“Transport has recently been made aware of additional Aboriginal cultural significance at the location.

“As a result, work at this location has been paused and materials will be stored and used at an alternative stockpile.

“Transport will continue to engage and work with the Hay LALC. We will keep the community updated on the next steps.”

The incident has been reported to Enviroline and investigators indicated they would conduct a site visit, which had not yet occurred at time of publishing.