Noongar elders say sacred site warnings were ignored before WA burn
Elders on WA's south coast say they tried to warn the state government about unregistered cultural sites in the path of a prescribed burn, but the burn went ahead anyway.
Noongar elders on Western Australia's south coast say they are "deeply concerned" after a prescribed burn went ahead despite their efforts to warn the state government the area contained cultural artefacts.
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) carried out the burn as part of its annual burn options program, hand-igniting the edges of a 15,108-hectare block in Mount Roe National Park on September 24.
The Willmot-Quindalup block covers about 15,000 hectares in the Mount Roe National Park. (ABC Great Southern: Rhys Jones)
Nine elders and three emerging elders said they warned DBCA director general Stuart Smith and Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn in a letter dated October 13 that the burn area contained unregistered heritage sites.
The Denmark Environment Centre also wrote to the government, warning that the large burn in remote wilderness posed a high risk to cultural and ecological values.
The elders signed the letter at the Denmark Environment Centre on October 13. (Supplied)
Mr Smith and Mr Swinbourn replied on October 22 and November 18 respectively, but elders said neither agreed to a face-to-face meeting.
DBCA proceeded with aerial ignitions on November 4, with Merningar Barduk elder Lynette Knapp visiting the site with the ABC later that month.
"You didn't think that we were good enough to talk to before destroying this country," Ms Knapp said.
"Mismanagement, I call this.
"These sites in here are very sacred — those lizard traps, those gnamma holes are there for our survival."
A lizard trap in the burn area marked by fire. (ABC Great Southern: Rhys Jones)
While several sites in question appeared to have been affected by fire, Ms Knapp said there was no way of knowing the full extent of the damage without an on-ground cultural survey.
"There could have been other artefacts that we never got the opportunity to check out," Goreng Menang elder and co-signatory Eliza Woods said.
"Even if they went ahead and did the burn, at least we could have expressed our concerns."