Is Western Australia’s Heritage Law Going to Thwart Food Production

A photo taken shows a field of wheat being harvested on a farm near Inverleigh, Australia, on Jan. 12, 2021. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Commentary

The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act comes into effect on July 1 in Western Australia (WA). Premier Roger Cook has ruled out any delay in what has been broadly regarded as a piece of legislation that puts the state “to a grinding halt and strangles much-needed industry, housing construction, and agricultural output.”

The legislation was passed in supposed response to the destruction of old caves in Juukan Gourge by mining giant Rio Tinto on May 24, 2020. This was legal at the time.

Rio Tinto’s infamous blasting of Juukan Gorge prompted the drafting of these new laws, which the WA government passed despite widespread concerns that “this is an act that could cost farmers hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The purported goal of the new legislation is to protect Aboriginal cultural sites across Western Australia. Authorisation will be required for activities that require: taking reasonable steps to avoid or minimise “harm”; obtaining an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) permit or an ACH management plan and engagement with Aboriginal parties required. Application fees, depending on the type of activity, will start at a nominal $100 (US$67).

It is the uncertainty on whether or not any activity may fall into the above categories, coupled with the cost of a “due diligence assessment” if it does and the impact on the already overbearing costs of farming, that disturbs farmers the most.

WA Premier Roger Cook looks on as former Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan speaks to the media during a press conference at Dumas House in Perth, Australia, on May 29, 2023. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

We are convinced that the risk to agricultural farms is not insignificant. Once it is implemented, the ACH legislation could drive thousands of farmers off the land.

Many have razor-thin margins to stay in business, and this could result in many farmers having to sell their properties to large corporations.

Huge Push Back

The peak body representing WA prospectors has warned the new legislation “could lead to the death of its industry as the state government scrambles to launch a communications campaign before July 1 implementation.”

Moreover, a park ranger reported to one of us that the new laws have already made their job a “total mess.”

Farmers are concerned for their future as many are now selling up and leaving the land. They have labelled the news laws “unworkable” that could have a “catastrophic effect” and will send some prospectors completely out of business.

Thankfully, opposition to the legislation has intensified over the last few days, with the state’s pastoral industry calling for this to be scrapped.

This is reflected in an e-Petition to WA Parliament, which closed on June 20, to delay promulgation by six months to properly set up procedures and training to cope with the new regulations.

The petition notes:

“The Act will create a new and unique and untested approvals system for which there is no capacity at this time to seek approvals online, meaning businesses, such as pastoralists, farmers, prospectors, and those in civil construction, will have to cease all works until approvals, which can only be lodged after 1 July are then processed and approved or rejected.”

This petition, according to Nick Goiran MP, was the fastest-growing petition to WA Parliament ever.

Sheep are seen while being transported to the Al Kuwait in Fremantle, Australia, on June 16, 2020. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

On June 20, it had 29,716 signatures and growing. Those were collected in only 14 days, and that number makes it the highest number ever achieved in the state.

But instead of listening to these concerns, the government “has gaslit opposition to the legislation, labelling it as dog-whistling, racist and ‘like a dog returning to its vomit.’”

What Is the Purpose

One may ask why the state government is reacting in such an authoritarian manner.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has taught Western Australians that governments do not necessarily work for the common everyday people.

So is it surprising that the Australian state and federal governments seem to be moving towards the World Economic Forum (WEF) model of stakeholder capitalism.

Private property is the big-ticket item in every communist takeover, and in this case, private property is the “big ticket” item for the advancement of what has been labelled as the “Great Reset,” which does suggest that the WEF could be working to close down food production as a pathway to reduce the world’s “carbon emissions.”

WEF founder Klaus Schwab delivers a speech during the "Crystal Award" ceremony at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan. 16, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

Their argument for this policy rests on the belief that rising CO2 levels drive up the temperature of the atmosphere.

However, despite this degree of terrifying environmental alarmism historically, temperature increases have often preceded high CO2 levels, destroying this theory of cause and effect. The fact is that the world has always warmed and cooled, and the theory of anthropogenic global warming contradicts what we know historically to be the case.

According to Dr Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician and recipient of multiple awards in the field of health.

“The end goal of The Great Reset-pushing elitists is to own everything and control the entire global population through a combination of false flag disasters, social engineering technologies, ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ development policies, a revamped food system of their own making, and global security measures.”

So are the plans to compromise food security and destroy our property rights underway in Western Australia?

Couple this with the soon-coming digital IDs, cashless digital currency, U.N. vaccine passports, nullification of all paper property titles (from Aug. 1), and much more, there is no difficulty to see this could be part of the Great Reset.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.