After Rio Tinto destroyed a 46,000-year-old sacred Indigenous site in Western Australia last year, federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was furious, claiming the company had lost its connection to the country. He demanded that Rio Tinto’s board install an Australian chief executive to replace Frenchman Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who resigned over the scandal.
Wyatt, who left a 15-year political career behind in March, will be the first Indigenous director of Rio, Australia’s second largest company by market capitalisation. “It did strike me very quickly after the Juukan Gorge blast how isolated Rio was within the communities in which they operate in the Pilbara,” he says. “It was also clear to me that if you don’t have resilience in terms of social support and social relationships, it’s actually not a good outcome for your shareholders.”He says responding to the ESG issues isn’t optional for companies.
Wyatt’s first visit to WA’s Pilbara region, where Rio Tinto operates, was as a young officer. He was sent there to do vital asset assessments, such as how to protect a major piece of infrastructure like ports and gas projects. Rio Tinto’s largest customer geographically is China, while Chinalco, is Rio Tinto’s biggest shareholder.
The challenge for companies such as Woodside and Rio Tinto around the shift to “new” energy was one of the attractions for Wyatt in joining those boards.Richard Goyder, Woodside chairman
newsandimages former WA Treasurer - the State that allowed Rio to blast away Aboriginal history!
newsandimages Why?