ABORIGINAL CULTURAL
HERITAGE BILL 2021 — PROTECTED AREAS
977. Hon WILSON TUCKER to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I
refer to the Parliament of Australia's inquiry into the destruction of
46 000-year-old caves at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia that tabled its report titled A
Way Forward in October this year. Recommendation 3, paragraph 7.80, includes consideration of
''an ability for traditional owners to withhold consent to the
destruction of cultural heritage''. I note that the current draft
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill contains no such provision for traditional owners to withhold consent to the
destruction of cultural heritage unless there exists the written agreement
of the proponent.
Will the minister withhold
introduction of the ACH bill until it contains an enforceable right for
traditional owners to withhold consent to destruction?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
The proposed Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
Bill sets out a range of measures that greatly reduce the risk of another
Juukan Gorge scenario happening. The proposed bill gives Aboriginal people the
ability to determine what cultural heritage
should be protected. There is also the ability to declare areas of outstanding
significance as ''protected areas''. These areas have the
protection of both houses of Parliament. It will be a statutory requirement
that land users undertake meaningful consultation with traditional owners aimed
at reaching agreement based on informed consent
for activities that may impact cultural heritage. These agreements will
determine what activities can occur where.