A parliamentary question regarding heritage reporting timeframes under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972, specifically concerning mining companies. The response indicates no specific time limit exists, and the current statutory limitation is deemed adequate.

AnsweredQoN 6047Legislative Council
Asked
18 September 2012
Portfolio
Indigenous Affairs

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the timeframes within which heritage reports are expected to be issued by the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA), and I ask —
(1) How many heritage reports are outstanding to date?
(2) How many heritage reports are being withheld from the DIA by mining companies currently?
(3) What time limits to report heritage sites to the DIA are imposed by the
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
on mining companies currently?
(4) What does the Minister intend to do to ensure that a time limitation is placed on mining companies to record and protect heritage sites?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
23 October 2012
Responded by
Minister for Indigenous Affairs
Response time
35 days
(1) - (3) There is no specific time limit imposed by the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (the Act) to report places and things to which the Act applies.
The statutory obligation is to report an Aboriginal site within a reasonable time after locating any site. Therefore, the Department of Indigenous Affairs (DIA) is unable to quantify how many reports are outstanding or being withheld from DIA by mining companies.
(4) The current statutory limitation is adequate and appropriate. All sites are equally entitled to the preservation afforded by the Act whether or not they are reported or registered.
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