New national laws are required to protect Indigenous heritage and give traditional owners the power to refuse projects threatening significant sites, the Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia has recommended. The inquiry was prompted by Rio Tinto’s blasting of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara region of Western Oz mid-last year. That happened even though the traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP), had taken formal steps to stop it. The public furore that followed saw the mining giant’s boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques leave the company. Committee member and Yawuru man Senator Pat Dodson said the recommendation for better protections was about “correcting the balance and recognising the significance of Aboriginal cultural heritage”.