Banjima traditional owners take Wittenoom clean-up fight to WA Parliament with petition

A petition calling for the clean-up of the Pilbara’s condemned asbestos mining town was tabled in State Parliament last week as Banjima traditional owners continue their decade-long fight to get rid of the asbestos pollution. The petition contained 192 signatures and called on the State Government to identify who was responsible for the contamination of Wittenoom, the cost of the clean-up and to communicate when and how they would do this with the traditional owners. It comes after the Wittenoom Closure Bill was reintroduced in State Parliament in August, enabling the compulsory acquisition of 14 remaining privately owned properties to limit people visiting and staying in the former townsite. The town is considered to be the most contaminated site in the southern hemisphere and has more than 2000 deaths linked to its blue asbestos mining operations in the 1960s. Banjima elder and Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation chair Maitland Parker said they were handed back the town with no support, help or plan to fix it. “Government has been talking about cleaning up the mine for decades and they haven’t done anything,” he said. “Asbestos fibres are spreading, already into our waterways and the problem is getting worse. “It’s time that the Government takes action, that’s what this petition is about.” Mr Parker said it had to be addressed no matter the cost. “This is Australia’s biggest industrial disaster and it can’t be ignored any longer,” he said. “We want our country cleaned up and made safe for all people.” The Banjima people gained native title over the contaminated site on March 14, 2014. Greens MP Brad Pettitt tabled the petition on Tuesday and said no more reports were necessary. “While we have a Bill before Parliament to resolve the problem of people living in Wittenoom there are no plans for the contaminated sites covering the Wittenoom mine and Eastern Gorge mine tailings, Colonial mine, mill and tailings and Yampire mine tailings,” he said. “These toxic waste piles, 11km from Wittenoom and only 5km from the tourist hubs in the Karijini National Park are in need of immediate remediation. “While thousands of whitefellas workers in the mines have suffered, nothing compares to the suffering of the Aboriginal people of the area the Banjima, Guruma, Yindjibarndi, Ngarluma, Yinhawangka, Nyaparli and Palyku peoples.” Ex-Wittenoom worker and retired Greens MP Robin Chapple said the petition highlighted the need for government action. “Cleaning them up now will be just under $1 billion and if we just leave it, the cost is going to get worse and worse and the contamination is going to get worse and worse,” he said. “We know people walk down Geoffrey Creek into Wittenoom as part of the trekking idea and they’re walking straight past these mounts of tailings, we’ve got to do something about it.” The petition will now be considered by State Parliament’s Environment and Public Affairs committee.