Running Head: BUSINESS ETHICS                                1
BUSINESS ETHICS                                        2
BUSINESS ETHICS
CASE STUDY: RIO TINTO
(THE DESTRUCTION OF JUUKAN GORGE)
Table of Contents
Introduction    3
Incident    3
Breach of Corporate Laws    4
Effectiveness of Corporate Governance    6
Conclusion    8
Recommendation    8
References    10
Introduction
Rio Tinto was founded by Hugh Matheson in 1873 on the banks of the Rio Tinto River in Andalusia, Spain (Rio Tinto, 2021). It is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and currently headed by Jakob Stausholm. It deals in mining services of iron ore for steel, aluminium for smart phones and cars, copper for wind turbines, titanium for household products, borates for crops and diamonds for various other purposes. It has presence in 35 countries, employing 47,500 employees dealing with around 2000 customers (Rio Tinto, 2021). They incorporate innovative simulation systems to find the mines. In order to increase production they have adopted ways such as disrupted operations.
Incident
On May 24, 2020, there was a blast conducted by Rio Tinto near the Brockman iron ore mine in the Pilbara region in Western Australia where they dynamited the 46,000 years old Juukan Gorge caves. It destructed the Aboriginal heritage, which was of archaeological importance and was a storehouse of many artefacts. It was the evidence of being one of the oldest human occupation sites since Ice Age and the proud owners were Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people of the area.
According to Mr Burchell Hayes descendant of Juukan, the gorge has many rock shelters, which enhances the beauty of this cultural site (Parliament of Australia, 2020). It is not only Australian pride but has international significance also. He also insisted that these people do not have any relief from the legislation. These people have secured the culture in songs, bounded family hierarchy.
Moreover, it is the dusty of the government to protect these customs and values. PKKP community and their Kurrupa neighbours was so deeply attached with the place that they are worried now about passing the torch of cultural heritage to their future generations in the way as they used to. The National Reconciliation Week was planned to be celebrated in Australia and for the purpose the Rio Tinto employee was approached a week before the blast. He informed that dynamite wires are already spread in that area and they cannot do anything to stop the blast.
Under Section 18 of State’s Aboriginal Heritage Act, they had legal rights to destruct the caves. It led to the intervention of the Australian Government and the act was reviewed but the damage has already been done. This also highlights the effectiveness of the legal framework, which was not adequate in true sense. Despite reaching out the management and knocking the legal doors, it was not under the control of federal mechanism to extend the protection to the site.
The communication was never developed between the company and the representatives of PKKP as a result the plans were not discussed not the consent was exchanged. Brueckner and Sinclair (2019) indicated that the action was delayed up to such an extent that it has acted a threat to social license for the company and the loss is irretrievable. Rio Tinto ignored the historical importance of Juukan Gorge caves and sidelined itself from the loss.
It was not ready to accept the disturbance caused by it, which was an emotional loss to the people living there and will be criticised for longer span of time. The people of Pilbara community left wondered about their safety and security concerns by both corporates and administration. It reflected the self-centred, professional and full of greed for profit, lacking transparency and honesty in the system. The power and influence were the major players who won and humanity once again lost the battle.
Breach of Corporate Laws
The Aboriginal Heritage laws, which was drafted in 1873, did not get any amendments until 2020. One can relate the drastic consequences of the Juukan blast with it. As per Shrivastava and Vidhi (2020), the history of such cases is long and detailed. Several communities such as PKKP have suffered huge cultural and heritage losses, which they have preserved since ages. The various sections in Western Australia’s Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972, which is now nearly 50 years old suggests that:
Section 17: Any act such as to destroy, conceal,...