{"id":311091,"date":"2025-10-17T15:59:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/311091\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:59:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:59:18","slug":"wittenoom-asbestos-contamination-prompts-legal-threat-from-banjima-traditional-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/311091\/","title":{"rendered":"Wittenoom asbestos contamination prompts legal threat from Banjima traditional owners"},"content":{"rendered":"

The stage is set for a historic court battle over Australia’s most infamous industrial disaster.<\/p>\n

Banjima traditional owners say they are planning to sue the West Australian government over the toxic remains of asbestos mining at Wittenoom, about 1,500 kilometres north of Perth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article includes images of an Indigenous person who has died.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The mine at Wittenoom Gorge closed in 1966 but its almost two decades of operation\u00a0have been linked with more than 1,200 deaths.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Towering asbestos tailings remain at the former Wittenoom mine to this day. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Multiple government inquiries followed to assign responsibility for the land’s rehabilitation and the complicated removal of asbestos tailings measuring higher than 40 metres.<\/p>\n

But a commitment for remediation, estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, is yet to be made.<\/p>\n

The exclusion zone has left Banjima people unable to access 46,000 hectares of their traditional homeland.<\/p>\n

“It’s a connection that we have with the country and [we want] to go back on to country and to connect again,” Banjima woman Johnnell Parker said.<\/p>\n

Legal challenge imminent<\/p>\n

Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC) chief executive Ed Armstong said it hoped the state government would step in but if not, litigation was the only option.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The organisation has engaged Gordon Legal to lead the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We may be able to come to a mediated position [with the state],” Mr Armstrong said.<\/p>\n

“If not, Banjima will be commencing litigation.<\/p>\n

“There’s been no action for 60 years and if Banjima don’t push hard and go through litigation, there’ll be no action for another 60 years.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

A new documentary chronicles Banjima elder Maitland Parker’s final year before succumbing to mesothelioma. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

He contrasted the situation at Wittenoom with catastrophes overseas, like the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear meltdowns.<\/p>\n

“The difference with Fukushima and Chernobyl is that they’re [contained],” he said.<\/p>\n

“The Banjima contamination site is not contained. The asbestos continues to spread.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A spokesperson for the state government said Premier Roger Cook recently met with the Banjima people to discuss issues associated with Wittenoom.<\/p>\n

“The discussion was productive, and the premier undertook to review a proposal from the Banjima people on the way forward,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

They noted it was a “complex” matter and required time to consider.<\/p>\n

“The state government will continue to engage with the Banjima people to address their concerns,” it said.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The film launched its wide release in Tom Price, a 90 minute drive from the now-shuttered mine at Wittenoom Gorge. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

The move coincides with the wide release of the new documentary Yurlu | Country, which launched on Thursday in the shadow of its poisoned setting.<\/p>\n

Around 100 people gathered at Tom Price’s open-air cinema for the launch.<\/p>\n

An elder remembered<\/p>\n

The documentary doubles as a portrait of Banjima elder Maitland Parker in his final year.<\/p>\n

The respected cultural leader was exposed to asbestos fibres while working as a ranger in Karijini National Park and diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite his terminal prognosis, he dedicated much of the remainder of his life to a campaign to clean up the shuttered settlement and its surrounds, dubbed the “largest contaminated site in the southern hemisphere”.<\/p>\n

Johnnell Parker said it felt special to publicly debut the film at a community just a 90 minute drive from the condemned town at its centre.<\/p>\n

“We’ve followed this film around the country and to come home and be able to put it on for our community is just amazing,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The clean up of country was the fundamental reason why uncle wanted to bring this out here.<\/p>\n

“[It’s] about how when country is sick, it actually makes the people sick.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Maitland Parker’s daughter Coreen hopes the documentary will bring the Wittenoom story to a new generation. (ABC Pilbara: Charlie McLean)<\/p>\n

Mr Parker’s daughter Coreen said Wittenoom had been “out of mind, out of sight” for too long.<\/p>\n

“This film brings that back to light again and gets everybody to be aware of what really happened at Wittenoom,” she said.<\/p>\n

With the film now screening in cinemas across the country, the Parker family hope Yurlu | Country will educate a new generation about the cultural and emotional impact of the Wittenoom disaster on Banjima people.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tom Price’s drive-in cinema opened specially for the screening. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)<\/p>\n

It is hoped an upswell of public support will help push the WA government to set aside funds for the remediation of Wittenoom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coreen Parker said she wanted young people especially to see the film.<\/p>\n

“Having this film told is for our future, our future generations as well,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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