Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation CEO departs after tree planting fiasco - Sky News Australia

A Western Australian Aboriginal corporation has parted ways with its CEO after he allegedly threatened to withhold approval for two tree planting events under WA’s controversial new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws.

Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation’s now-former CEO David Collard allegedly told Landcare that their scheduled planting of 5,500 seedlings along Perth’s Canning River could not proceed until the federal government approved his $2.5 million grant.

Mr Collard reportedly cited the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, which came into effect in WA on July 1, which established additional controls through the Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Services (LACHS). 

Speaking to Sky News Australia’s Andrew Bolt, Canning Mayor Patrick Hall said there was “an awful lot of confusion here in the community” about Aboriginal cultural heritage laws.

“I think there is now a lot of alarm, both at local government and also in the community, around what this means going forward,” Mayor Hall said.

“And that uncertainty has caused division and disunity here, I believe. It's certainly not helping Aboriginal people.”

The Mayor said the City of Canning was one of four councils along the southeast corridor of Perth that does “an awful lot of planting and a lot of land care along the Canning River” and the situation with the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation had “caused a real mess.”

Explaining what he believed had occurred, Mr Hall said the group of councils he is involved in had secured $10 million in federal funding, which led to Mr Collard contacting Landcare and telling them not to proceed with their tree planting.

“He'd made a claim for two and a half million dollars, and he communicated to these groups that until their claim had been settled with the federal government …  that they should down tools, essentially, and not conduct any plantings there,’ Mr Hall said.

“These are volunteering organisations. They don't have the resources to run out and talk to lawyers.

“And if they're told by the Chief Executive Officer of an Aboriginal Corporation, they are going to do what is right and what's respectful – and I understand their position – and they would down tools; and they did. And so would we as a local government."

The Canning Mayor said the fact that the CEO of an Aboriginal Corporation had “no idea of his responsibilities under the act” as he had been told by the Western Australian government, showed there “really is a misunderstanding and miscommunication around this act, and a lot of confusion”.

Mayor Hall also revealed that since the story had broken, Mr Collard was no longer the CEO of the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation – a fact confirmed in reporting by the West Australian.

When contacted by the West Australian, Mr Collard said that misinformation was “being bandied around at the moment” and that he would “not put up with any of this.”

 Earlier on Monday, Western Australian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti said the tree plantings were not covered under the Cultural Heritage Act. 

"I want to make it clear, there was no linkage between the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act and the ability to cancel that event," he said.

But Mr Hall said there needed to be better guidance about the new laws.

“Regardless of what government says the evidence is, these plantings have been cancelled, it's not the first incident of this type and we’re just calling for some reflection,” Mr Hall said.  

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2023-07-17 20:26:06Z
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