Hon Neil Thomson asks about Aboriginal heritage approvals under the old and new Acts, staffing, and modelling. The Minister provides data on past approvals, funding allocated, and staffing increases.

AnsweredQoN 680Legislative Council
Asked
20 June 2023
Portfolio
Aboriginal Affairs

QuestionView source ↗

ABORIGINAL HERITAGE —
SECTION 18 APPLICATIONS
680. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the Leader of the House representing the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the reforms to the
Aboriginal heritage laws in WA.
(1) How many applications for section 18 approvals were
made under the existing Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 in 2021–22?
(2) How many section 18 approvals
were approved?
(3) Has any
modelling been undertaken to forecast the number of applications under the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 for —
(a) tier 2 permit applications each
year; and
(b) tier 3 applications each year?
(4) If no to (3), why not?
(5) If yes to
(3), how many additional staff have been allocated to the Department of
Planning, Lands and Heritage's Aboriginal heritage area to deal with
the forecast number of queries?
(6) How many staff are currently employed by local
Aboriginal cultural heritage services to process applications and
support Aboriginal heritage assessments?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) A total of 59.
(2) A total of 57.
(3)–(4) The
Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage has undertaken targeted stakeholder
consultation to get an estimate of permit and management plan applications over
the next 12 months.
(5) The state
government has allocated an additional $77 million in funding to support
implementation of the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021. This includes
funding for local Aboriginal cultural heritage services as well as resourcing for the department for an additional 35
staff, including 10 staff in the r egions to work directly with
proponents and Aboriginal organisations.
(6) Nil.

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