“Never again”. These are the opening two words of the scathing interim report into Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000-year-old rock shelters at Juukan Gorge, sacred to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples.

The parliamentary report demands not just accountability from Rio Tinto, but restitution to the traditional owners. It says in clear terms:

“Rio Tinto’s role in this tragedy is inexcusable. Rio knew the value of what they were destroying but blew it up anyway.”

It continued: “The grief of the Traditional Owners was almost overwhelming for everyone who witnessed it. They had lost more than a piece of heritage—they had lost part of themselves…”

As Deanna Kemp and her co-authors write, Rio Tinto’s action is indicative of a broken system. The mining companies have let their social and cultural heritage commitments slide for far too long — and there is nobody to hold them accountable.

While this parliamentary inquiry is a start, more action is needed, they write. The global mining companies have been put on notice.

“Never again can we allow the destruction, the devastation and the vandalism of cultural sites as has occurred with the Juukan Gorge,” the parliamentary report reads. “Never again!

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