MEDIA STATEMENT: Karri Karrak calls on the community to object to proposed Yallingup sand mine
Karri Karrak Aboriginal Corporation is calling on the public to object to the proposed extractive industry at Lot 4, 2774 Caves Road, Yallingup, currently before the City of Busselton and the Regional Development Assessment Panel.
The proposal seeks approval for a large sand extraction operation in the south-western portion of the property. It would involve the extraction of approximately 453,000 cubic metres of sand from a 9.14 hectare area, in five stages, to a depth of approximately 70 metres AHD. The application also includes mobile screening, internal haul roads, turbine-scale truck movements, water use for dust suppression, drainage controls, bund construction and staged rehabilitation.
This is not a minor or low-impact proposal. It would involve extensive clearing, stripping, excavation and reshaping of a sand landform in one of the South West's most culturally and environmentally sensitive landscapes.
Karri Karrak holds serious concerns that the application appears to proceed on the unsupported assumption that there are no Aboriginal Cultural Heritage values within the proposed extraction area. No site-specific Aboriginal Cultural Heritage survey has been undertaken. There has been no formal consultation with Karri Karrak or the Traditional Custodians it represents. Any suggestion that the area holds no cultural material, or that the proposed works present no heritage risk, is premature and should not be relied upon by the decision-maker.
Sand extraction presents particular heritage risks. Cultural material can be shallow, dispersed, buried or not visible from surface inspection. Topsoil stripping, excavation, internal road construction, bund construction, drainage works and rehabilitation activities all have the potential to disturb archaeological material, soil horizons, intangible cultural values and, in some sand contexts, ancestral human remains.
Karri Karrak is also concerned that the proposal has not been assessed through a cultural landscape lens. The site sits within a sensitive catchment above natural waterways and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Places with immense cultural significance associated with Wyadup Brook, Wyadup Bay and the broader coastal environment. Wyadup translates to "the resting place of the Waugal". The waterways, soaks, springs, rocks, drainage systems, vegetation, landforms and coastal connections in this area form part of a deeply significant cultural landscape. These complex and interconnected values cannot be disclosed or properly protected without formal Traditional Custodian consultation and decision-making.
The site's topography and position within the catchment also raise serious concerns about sediment movement, fine silt runoff and potential impacts to nearby culturally significant freshwater and coastal systems during high-rainfall events. Standard drainage controls and temporary catchpits should not be assumed to resolve those risks without proper independent scrutiny. Excavation into the ridge may also affect local groundwater conditions, including freshwater soaks and springs connected to the Wyadup system.
The City of Busselton and the Regional Development Assessment Panel do not currently have sufficient information to assess the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage risks, cultural landscape impacts, hydrological risks, environmental implications or Traditional Custodian concerns associated with the proposed sand mine.
Karri Karrak is asking the City of Busselton and the Regional Development Assessment Panel to refuse the application in its current form.
Community members who care about Yallingup, Wyadup, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, waterways and the protection of the South West's cultural landscapes are encouraged to lodge an objection before the close of public submissions this Friday, 12 June.