ABORIGINAL HERITAGE —
PRESCRIBED BURNING
1154. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
(1) Where there are high levels of cultural
heritage, is there a requirement under the section 5 criteria of the Aboriginal
Heritage Act 1972 for any prescribed burns to be referred to the Aboriginal
Cultural Material Committee?
(2) If not, what will the minister
do to rectify this?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided to me
by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
(1)–(2) Section
5 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 sets out the criteria for a place to be
assessed as a site. When there is a site that satisfies the criteria of section
5, an owner of land should issue a notice under section 18 of the act if the
use of the land is likely to result in an offence under section 17 of the act.