This article was updated at 6:27pm 22 December 2023 to correct that Boral was not forced to stop work on the 5B site, but voluntarily stopped work when a Section 9 emergency declaration was made to protect the area. The original article also stated that Boral claims the littoral rainforest does not exist on the site. Boral's planning documents state that the littoral rainforest is generally located at least 100 metres away from the 5B dredge site, except for a very small section. We apologise for the errors.

The Kiama branch of the Australian Labor Party is joining local efforts in calling for a stop to the Boral sand mine on the disputed site of the 1818 Minnamurra Massacre.

Kiama Labor unanimously passed a motion at its November meeting calling for the Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek to declare the site as a Significant Aboriginal Area under the under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (ATSIHP Act) until further assessment and consultation with Aboriginal guardians.

President of Labor Kiama Branch, Katelin McInerney said Boral’s continued mining on what should be a Significant Aboriginal Area was not only deeply disrespectful and hurtful, but “flagrantly disregarded the evidence that established the significance of the site and the need to preserve it.”

"It is well past time that we listen to and respect Aboriginal history in our area and that is why our branch has called on Minister Plibersek to intervene as a matter of urgency."

The motion was also sent to Federal Member for Gilmore, Fiona Phillips and Member for Whitlam, Stephen Jones.

Boral was approved to expand its sand mining activities in 2020 despite heavy protest from Indigenous leaders and locals, who repeatedly warned Boral and the Department of the Environment that they believe the site is where the Minnamurra Massacre of 1818 took place and contains the remains of Indigenous people. In October 2021, Boral voluntarily stopped work on the site when a Section 9 emergency declaration was made to protect the area, but continued their sand mining operations despite protest.

In 2022, the Department of the Environment appointed Dr Brendan Corrigan to provide a report on the site, which found that the area should be declared a Significant Aboriginal Area. Despite the warnings, the Department of Environment declared on 28 July 2022 that Boral did not require approval to dredge the area, without mentioning Dr Corrigan’s report.

Boral commenced dredging the sand pit on Site 5B on 30 October 2023.

There are also at least four applications under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (ATSIHP Act) to have the area declared a Significant Aboriginal Area that are currently being processed. When asked why Boral was allowed to continue sand dredging when the applications are still being processed, the Department of the Environment told The Bugle that there was no timeframe for the application approval process. This means the applications may not be processed until Boral has already depleted its sand mine.

The Department also sent The Bugle its reasoning for the decision to allow Boral to proceed with sand mining, which doesn’t mention Dr Corrigan’s report at all.

You can read the full report here.