❓ Mr Catania questions the Premier on the urgency and lack of time for proper consideration given to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021, given its complexity and late release. The Premier defends the bill's urgency, citing past failures and the need to protect Aboriginal heritage.
AnsweredQoN 774Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ABORIGINAL CULTURAL
HERITAGE BILL 2021
774. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Premier:
I note the introduction of the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 as a matter of urgency, a day after the
electoral reform bill passed in Parliament.
(1) How can the
Premier justify bringing on a bill of 353 clauses and with more than 100
changes from the draft, when it was made public only hours earlier?
(2) How is this
Parliament supposed to give this important legislation the proper consideration
it deserves on behalf of communities and stakeholder groups?
HERITAGE BILL 2021
774. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Premier:
I note the introduction of the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 as a matter of urgency, a day after the
electoral reform bill passed in Parliament.
(1) How can the
Premier justify bringing on a bill of 353 clauses and with more than 100
changes from the draft, when it was made public only hours earlier?
(2) How is this
Parliament supposed to give this important legislation the proper consideration
it deserves on behalf of communities and stakeholder groups?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) Firstly, can I thank everyone, particularly the
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Hon
Stephen Dawson, for all their work on
the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill. This has been a massive effort by both
Minister Dawson and his predecessor, former Minister Ben Wyatt, over the course
of nearly five years to reach this point. The existing legislation was
passed in 1972 by John Tonkin's government. The first efforts to come
up with a new act were in 1991—30 years ago. Since then, there have
been various efforts to come up with new legislation to deal with this
situation. Because the existing legislation is very old, it does not
appropriately recognise Aboriginal people's rights and has resulted in
some adverse outcomes like the Juukan Gorge cave issue; therefore, new
legislation was required.
The history of this matter has been
this: every time there has been an effort by past governments to draft new
legislation, it has failed. The last Liberal–National government, of
which the opposition leader was a member of the cabinet, brought in legislation
in 2014—it failed. Therefore, in my view this is urgent. We have to
overcome the hesitancy out there about dealing with this issue. The new
legislation will be the most progressive legislation in Australia. It will put
Aboriginal people at the heart of decision-making early in the process. It will
recognise native title groups, provide for protected areas that were not there
before, and ensure that there is a great deal more opportunity for negotiation
and mediation particularly by Aboriginal groups out there across the state. It
is great legislation based upon an enormous amount of consultation over the
course of the last five years.
The amendments to the draft
legislation were a result of consultation with Aboriginal groups. Eventually,
governments have to act. We cannot continue just to consult and allow these
matters to pass into history, as past governments have done. Our view is that
the time for action is now. We do not want to see any more destruction of Aboriginal heritage, as was the case with the Juukan
Gorge matter, which was approved in 2013 by the last government. Therefore,
we intend to ensure that we put in place the strongest and most protective
Aboriginal heritage laws in Australia.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Hon
Stephen Dawson, for all their work on
the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill. This has been a massive effort by both
Minister Dawson and his predecessor, former Minister Ben Wyatt, over the course
of nearly five years to reach this point. The existing legislation was
passed in 1972 by John Tonkin's government. The first efforts to come
up with a new act were in 1991—30 years ago. Since then, there have
been various efforts to come up with new legislation to deal with this
situation. Because the existing legislation is very old, it does not
appropriately recognise Aboriginal people's rights and has resulted in
some adverse outcomes like the Juukan Gorge cave issue; therefore, new
legislation was required.
The history of this matter has been
this: every time there has been an effort by past governments to draft new
legislation, it has failed. The last Liberal–National government, of
which the opposition leader was a member of the cabinet, brought in legislation
in 2014—it failed. Therefore, in my view this is urgent. We have to
overcome the hesitancy out there about dealing with this issue. The new
legislation will be the most progressive legislation in Australia. It will put
Aboriginal people at the heart of decision-making early in the process. It will
recognise native title groups, provide for protected areas that were not there
before, and ensure that there is a great deal more opportunity for negotiation
and mediation particularly by Aboriginal groups out there across the state. It
is great legislation based upon an enormous amount of consultation over the
course of the last five years.
The amendments to the draft
legislation were a result of consultation with Aboriginal groups. Eventually,
governments have to act. We cannot continue just to consult and allow these
matters to pass into history, as past governments have done. Our view is that
the time for action is now. We do not want to see any more destruction of Aboriginal heritage, as was the case with the Juukan
Gorge matter, which was approved in 2013 by the last government. Therefore,
we intend to ensure that we put in place the strongest and most protective
Aboriginal heritage laws in Australia.
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