Australia approves national plan to safeguard Aboriginal heritage

Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek attends the G20 Environment and Climate Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, August 31, 2022. Made Nagi/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia will set out a new national legal framework to protect Aboriginal cultural heritage, after a review of mining standards following Rio Tinto's destruction of sacred rock shelters for an iron ore mine, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Thursday.

The government had accepted all but one recommendation out of the eight from last year's parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of the historically and culturally significant site at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia, Plibersek told parliament.