<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/26/wittenoom-asbestos-traditional-owners-sue-government-ntwnfb>
"A group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands have been
contaminated for decades by asbestos waste have launched a $1.5bn legal claim
against an Australian state government.
The Banjima people are traditional owners of land in Western Australia’s
Pilbara region, including Wittenoom, the site of one of Australia’s worst
industrial disasters.
More than 3m tonnes of toxic waste at Wittenoom, dumped by blue asbestos mines
that operated from 1943 to 1966, have remained on the land for decades. It has
been described as “the largest contaminated site in the southern hemisphere”.
The Banjima Native Title Aboriginal Corporation (BNTAC) initiated legal
proceedings on Tuesday against the state of Western Australia, seeking removal
of the waste, remediation of polluted waterways, and compensation for harm
caused.
Blue asbestos is considered the most hazardous form of asbestos and was
identified decades ago as causing the cancer mesothelioma. Its fibres do not
break down over time in the environment.
In a statement of claim filed in the federal court, BNTAC’s lawyers argue that
the asbestos contamination has prevented Banjima people from being able to
exercise their native title rights.
Johnnell Parker, a Banjima traditional owner and deputy chair of BNTAC, said:
“They’ve disconnected us from that place of Country that we can’t visit
anymore.”
There was “not one family” who lived in the now-shuttered town of Wittenoom
unaffected by mesothelioma, Parker added. “I’ve lost loved ones to this disease
through no fault of their own.”
“I’ve had uncles and aunties that grew up there that played in the [asbestos]
tailings when they were kids,” Parker said. “They live with this fear now of
getting mesothelioma.”
“That has been generations in the making,” she said. “We’re in a perfect
position now to ask the question of the government. What are you going to do?
Out of sight, out of mind is not good enough.”
A 2016 study found that Indigenous Western Australians have the highest
mortality rate from mesothelioma in the world, with the majority of cases
linked to asbestos mining and contamination at Wittenoom.
BNTAC is seeking court orders to require the WA government to seal three
abandoned blue asbestos mines, clear three tailings dumps, and to remove
asbestos from the now-closed Wittenoom racecourse and Wittenoom Gorge airport."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
