ABORIGINAL HERITAGE —
THREE SISTERS HILLS
1320. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the other heritage site
ID 24950 The Sisters, lodged with the department by me; the Kalamazoo Resources
project, and to the article ''Kalamazoo
Resources gears up to begin drilling The Sisters near De Grey's Hemi
gold discovery''.
(1) In the
department's view, what are the heritage values of the area?
(2) Is the
minister aware of the surface artefact scatters in the immediate vicinity of
The Sisters?
(3) If no to (2),
why not, given that I submitted that information to the department?
(4) Has a section
18 consent been granted to the proponents to disturb or impact cultural
heritage at that site?
(5) Given the mounting public pressure, will the
department take action against this destruction of First Nation
heritage?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided to be by
the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
(1) Aboriginal
heritage place ID 24950, The Sisters, is reported as having engravings, water
source and a camp with a potential date of 4 000 years.
(2)–(3) No.
As the honourable member is aware, heritage information is submitted to the
Registrar of Aboriginal Sites as required by the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.
A process is then undertaken by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
and the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee to determine whether a place is
an Aboriginal site within the meaning of the act.
(4) No.
(5) Under the
act, proponents are required to seek approval to use the land where Aboriginal
sites may be impacted. Anyone who has concerns that there may have been a breach
of the act is encouraged to report their concerns to the Department of
Planning, Lands and Heritage.