The traditional owners of Kingvale Station on Cape York peninsula have said clearing occurred on the property without their knowledge and sacred burial sites that are hundreds of years old are at risk from further bulldozing.
“If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you won’t see them,” said Mike Ross, chairman of the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation in Cape York.
“Olkola people graves. They were there long before pastoral leases and anyone came into this country.”
Ross said the graves were located in trees on the property that is at the centre of a controversy over 2,000 hectares of proposed clearing of Queensland forest.
The Queensland government has confirmed it launched legal proceedings against the owner of Kingvale Station over an alleged breach of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, which requires property owners to take reasonable steps to ensure activities on properties do not harm important cultural sites.
Kingvale Station owner Scott Harris legally cleared 500 hectares of land on the Cape York peninsula property in 2016 before the activity was referred to the federal government for assessment under national environment laws due to concerns run-off from the clearing might damage the Great Barrier Reef.
The Olkola community maintains it was not notified before the initial clearing occurred and important sites, including burial grounds, may have been bulldozed.
A federal decision on the remaining 2,000 hectares is due soon, but the Olkola Aboriginal Corporation has said it wants no further approvals given until it can ensure the sites are protected.
A draft report from the environment and energy department recommended the clearing be approved.
“We’d like to come in, work together with the owner and do cultural monitoring of the areas there,” Ross said.
Harris’s lawyer David Kempton told Guardian Australia “those allegations are denied and we have no further comment”.
In a statement in response to questions, Queensland’s Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships said it recognised the Olkola people as the traditional owners for the area of Kingvale Station.
“On 14 May 2018, the Queensland government commenced proceedings for an alleged contravention of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003. This matter is due to be considered in the Cooktown magistrates court on 5 July 2018,” a spokesperson said.
“The alleged contravention relates to one offence against section 23(1) of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003, for carrying out an activity and failing to take all reasonable and practicable measures to ensure the activity did not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage.
“The proceedings follow an investigation completed by the Queensland government.”
The department said it could not comment further because the matter was before the court.
Ross said once sacred sites were cleared, there was no getting them back.
“I don’t and local people don’t want to lose their culture for the purpose of clearing country. We can never bring that back,” he said.
“If there’s clearing or anything like that to happen on country like that, can’t the traditional owners and owners of the property work together in this system?”
