A review of the decisions that led to Rio Tinto’s destruction of rock shelters at Juukan Gorge has found that while the mining company had legal authority to “impact” the site, the move fell short of its own standards and internal guidance.
“It is clear that no single individual or error was responsible for the destruction of the Juukan [rock shelters], but there were numerous missed opportunities over almost a decade and the company failed to uphold one of Rio Tinto’s core values – respect for local communities and for their heritage,” said chairman Simon Thompson.
“We are determined to learn, improve and rebuild trust across various internal and external partners.”
CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques, iron ore CEO Chris Salisbury, and group executive for corporate relationships Simone Niven will all go without their bonuses this year, but have ultimately kept their jobs – something the Australasian Council for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) says is an “appalling indictment of how Rio Tinto truly values cultural heritage”.
“Rio’s board could have acted decisively,” said ACCR head of strategy James Fitzgerald.
“This soft touch, public relations-oriented review calls into question the suitability of every board member, especially the chair Simon Thompson and the head of the review Michael L’Estrange. The CEO needs to go and head of cultural heritage, Simone Niven needs to accompany him.”
Mr Fitzgerald noted the total lost remuneration amounted to $7 million – an amount that paled into comparison to the “tens of thousands of years of cultural significance” that had been lost – and said that Rio Tinto was throwing its own reputation and the reputation of previous executives “under the bus” in order to preserve Mr Jacques’ position.
“These minimal proposed financial penalties misunderstand the nature of the damage, which is permanent and irreparable,” Mr Fitzgerald said. “[Short-term] financial considerations were at the core of this disaster and cannot be the solution.”
Rio Tinto has said it is committed to rebuilding its relationship with Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people and that it will create “more robust” risk assessment and management processes.
