Banjima Launches $1.5 Billion Legal Claim Over Wittenoom Asbestos Contamination
The Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC) has initiated a $1.5 billion legal claim against the West Australian government concerning asbestos contamination at Wittenoom, 1,400 kilometres north-east of Perth.
Background of Contamination
Millions of tonnes of blue asbestos waste remain near three abandoned mines at the former Pilbara town. For over three decades, successive state governments have not addressed the toxic remnants.
Wittenoom is considered one of the most contaminated sites in the Southern Hemisphere and is linked to over 4,000 deaths, according to the Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia.
The town was decommissioned in 1978 and removed from official maps. Approximately 46,000 hectares of Banjima native title land are quarantined to prevent further exposure. Despite this, asbestos waste has not been removed, and state reports indicate it is spreading into the landscape.
Federal Court Action
BNTAC formally launched proceedings in the Federal Court in Melbourne.
Banjima woman Johnnell Parker stated, "There is not one family that hasn't been touched by this mesothelioma and what's left of Wittenoom."
BNTAC seeks court orders for:
- Sealing of three mines.
- Removal of three tailings dumping grounds.
- Removal of the asbestos-built Wittenoom racecourse and airport.
- Remediation of potentially polluted gorges, rivers, and creeks.
The corporation expects the cost for this cleanup phase to exceed $1.5 billion. A second phase of the case will address damages for contamination and the alleged knowing participation of the WA government in the dispossession and disadvantage of the Banjima people.
Government Response
WA Premier Roger Cook acknowledged the claim, stating he respects the Banjima people's right to seek justice and prefers a negotiated outcome. He noted the complexity of legal liability and confirmed the government would defend its legal position while continuing to engage with the Banjima.
BNTAC chief executive Ed Armstrong indicated that previous discussions with the WA government had failed to progress, leading to the legal action.
WA Aboriginal Affairs Minister Don Punch clarified that he views the issue as mine remediation and environmental, rather than related to his portfolio.
Health Impacts and Liability
BNTAC lawyers argue that the WA government has infringed on Banjima native title rights by allowing the waste's continuous presence and spread. Research from 2016 by then-WA Senior Scientific Officer Peter Franklin reported that Banjima people have the world's highest per capita rate of mesothelioma incidence.
Lead lawyer Peter Gordon commented that the impact extends to "the disintegration of the nation as a whole."
Blue asbestos was mined at Wittenoom from the late 1930s to the mid-1960s. A 1992 WA parliamentary inquiry recommended the removal of asbestos tailings, and subsequent state investigations have highlighted the dangers and potential remediation costs.
Previous legal cases against Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR), which held the mining leases, resulted in damages payments. The current claim aims to establish the WA government's responsibility for the tailings, with Mr. Gordon stating the state has owned and occupied the land since 1979 and had the means and obligation to prevent the toxic waste from drifting.
Hope for Return
Banjima elder Maitland Parker, uncle of Johnnell Parker, died in 2024 from mesothelioma, having worked as a ranger in the adjacent Karijini National Park, not the mines.
Ngambigunha (Wittenoom) was recognized as exclusive native title lands of the Banjima people in 2014, bordering Karijini National Park, a major tourist attraction. Ms. Parker expressed that her uncle would support their ongoing fight.