❓ Hon Wilson Tucker questions the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs regarding the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021, specifically the lack of a provision allowing traditional owners to withhold consent to cultural heritage destruction. The Minister responds by highlighting measures in the bill that aim to reduce the risk of similar incidents to Juukan Gorge.
AnsweredQoN 977Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
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?
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?
AnswerView source ↗
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.
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.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.