Traditional owners want joint management of world heritage site
Traditional owners of Purnululu National Park have started a petition to WA parliament, calling on the government to include them in joint management for the World Heritage site.
Purnululu, also called the Bungle Bungles, was made a park in 1987, and native title decided in 2022. It doesn’t have joint management between traditional custodians and the conservation department, unlike other WA parks.
Little progress
The Bungle Bungle Aboriginal Corporation says it wants to be involved in managing its traditional lands, and requests to progress that partnership at a State level haven’t occurred.
The Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said in a statement that the State will “continue to engage with Traditional Owners … through the Purnululu World Heritage Area Advisory Committee.”
The Bungle Bungle Range is a major landform and the main feature of the Purnululu National Park, situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The range formation occupies an area of approximately 450 square kilometres.
The e-petition, which is open only to WA residents, closes on May 28, before being presented to Parliament by Greens MP Sophie McNeill.
