May 18, 2026 – 5.00amThe executive who led Rio Tinto’s response to the destruction of the Juukan Gorge says a $150 million fine is a paltry penalty for Fortescue’s demolition of Indigenous cultural sites and years of costly legal obstruction.Brad Welsh, a former Labor staffer who became Rio’s chief Indigenous affairs adviser in 2020, said the global outcry that overwhelmed Rio after it blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge in Western Australia’s Pilbara region was absent in the response to the ruling handed to Fortescue, the iron ore giant chaired by billionaire businessman Andrew Forrest.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Fortescue got off easy on cultural destruction, says ex-Rio executive
Brad Welsh led the response to the Juukan Gorge scandal before running ERA. He says Fortescue must be accountable for bigger issues at its Solomon hub.
116 words~1 min read
