The federal opposition says the Albanese government should ensure WA-style heritage laws are not mirrored at a national level.
The West Australian Labor government on Tuesday announced it would axe controversial month-old cultural heritage laws following widespread anger among the farming community.
Premier Roger Cook said laws enacted in 1972 would instead be restored with some "simple and effective" amendments.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said forcing landholders with a property bigger than 1100 square metres to conduct a cultural survey for digging a hole more than 50cm would have been burdensome for farmers.
“This is a victory for the people of Western Australia ... but the job is not done yet," Mr Littleproud said.
"We must now get a guarantee from the federal Labor government that it will not implement similar laws on a national scale.”
Mr Cook briefed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the decision on Monday, but denied he had been pressured to drop the laws.
The destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in the Pilbara region by Rio Tinto in 2020 were a key factor in the new laws being brought in.
Greens senator Dorinda Cox said there was a clear need for standalone Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation, which the Albanese government committed to in November to prevent incidents like Juukan Gorge being legal.
“Robust legislation with appropriate implementation will enable us to continue to share land and water with the oldest continuing culture - with 60,000 years of culturally significant sites, our songlines, totems and country must be protected,” she said.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is working on updating the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act, which she has described as not fit for purpose.
The work involves the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, a national coalition of Indigenous organisations.
