The consortium in charge of building the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in New South Wales, said an internal investigation into the destruction of an Aboriginal heritage rock shelter had uncovered failures in site design and onsite construction protocols.
ACEREZ, a partnership between ACCIONA, COBRA, and Endeavour Energy, was appointed by the New South Wales Government to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the Central-West Orana REZ transmission network.
Related article: REZ consortium destroys Aboriginal heritage rock shelter
In May, the consortium released a statement taking responsibility for the destruction of an Aboriginal heritage rock shelter that had been damaged beyond recovery.
“During construction of an access track on private property, an Aboriginal heritage rock shelter that had been identified in the project’s planning approval was damaged beyond recovery. The processes required to protect the rock shelter at this location were not fully implemented,” ACEREZ CEO Steve Masters said.
“We are deeply sorry. We apologise without reservation to the Traditional Owners and to the local community. The loss of this rock shelter is permanent and nothing we say can undo that.”
Following its internal investigation, ACEREZ said it was implementing stronger controls to better protect Aboriginal heritage items on the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone transmission project as access track work recommenced in a “careful and staged approach”.
ACEREZ said Masters and senior executives had met with representatives from Registered Aboriginal Parties at the rock shelter site and committed to regular collaboration to strengthen oversight and ensure Aboriginal heritage was respected at every stage of delivery.
“This regrettable incident should never have happened and we are implementing appropriate measures to ensure this is never repeated. We again offer our unreserved apology to Traditional Owners and the broader community and are working closely on a path forward,” the consortium said in a statement.
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“We recognise we have a lot of work to do to rebuild trust. We remain deeply committed to the respectful and responsible delivery of this project.”
