❓ Hon. Sophia Moermond questions the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs regarding the lack of legal redress mechanisms for Aboriginal knowledge holders in the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021, particularly concerning the destruction of cultural heritage.
AnsweredQoN 997Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ABORIGINAL CULTURAL
HERITAGE BILL 2021
997. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the lack of legal
redress for Aboriginal knowledge holders to enforce for breaches under the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021, as detailed at paragraphs 22 and 31 of
the early warning and urgent action request to the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
(1) Why is it that the bill
contains no procedure for just and legal redress?
(2) Will the
minister withhold the introduction of the bill until it does contain
appropriate redress procedures for Aboriginal knowledge holders to enforce in
respect of instances of destruction of cultural heritage?
HERITAGE BILL 2021
997. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs:
I refer to the lack of legal
redress for Aboriginal knowledge holders to enforce for breaches under the
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021, as detailed at paragraphs 22 and 31 of
the early warning and urgent action request to the United Nations Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
(1) Why is it that the bill
contains no procedure for just and legal redress?
(2) Will the
minister withhold the introduction of the bill until it does contain
appropriate redress procedures for Aboriginal knowledge holders to enforce in
respect of instances of destruction of cultural heritage?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) The
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 includes significantly higher penalties
to reflect the serious impact that harm to heritage has for Aboriginal people,
with up to $10 million for a prescribed body corporate and $1 million or
imprisonment up to five years for an individual. The bill provides that any penalties for harm offences will be paid into an
Aboriginal cultural heritage compensation fund rather than to government's
consolidated revenue, with compensation available to Aboriginal parties whose
heritage has been harmed by the offence.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2021 includes significantly higher penalties
to reflect the serious impact that harm to heritage has for Aboriginal people,
with up to $10 million for a prescribed body corporate and $1 million or
imprisonment up to five years for an individual. The bill provides that any penalties for harm offences will be paid into an
Aboriginal cultural heritage compensation fund rather than to government's
consolidated revenue, with compensation available to Aboriginal parties whose
heritage has been harmed by the offence.
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.