❓ A parliamentary question probes the Department of Aboriginal Affairs' decision to declassify Monger's Lake Waterway as an Aboriginal heritage site, focusing on the process, consultation, and criteria used in the assessment. The Minister's response clarifies the roles of the DAA and Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee, and the basis for the decision.
AnsweredQoN 2195Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to a letter from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs (DAA) Site Registrar, dated 26 September 2014, to Widi Mob Native Title Group, in which the Registrar advises that DAA no longer considers Monger’s Lake Waterway DAA 24380 to be a site under section 5 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 , and I ask: (a) does DAA employ any staff members who are qualified anthropologists, and if so, how many; (b) in re-assessing the status of the site in question, did any qualified DAA staff anthropologists conduct any direct ethnographic research with Aboriginal persons associated with the site to ascertain their views on its significance; (c) if no to (b), why not; (d) in reviewing the status of the site in question, did the DAA site assessment group review any historical or ethnographic material on the cultural significance of the site prior to 1972; (e) if yes to (d), will the Minister list which sources were considered in the site assessment; (f) if no to (e), why not; (g) the Registrar’s letter states that DAA’s changed assessment of the site "is based on the relevant reports and information in the DAA place file", is it correct, as implied in the letter, that DAA has assessed the site purely on the basis of desktop research, without any direct consultations by DAA staff with Aboriginal persons associated with the site; (h) if no to (g), will the Minister specify what sources other than desktop data were relied on by DAA in forming its view the site was not a site under section 5 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 ; (i) was the site assessed under section 5c of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 ; (j) if no to (i), why not; (k) if yes to (i), will the Minister state on what basis the site fails to meet criteria as a site under section 5c of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 ; and (l) given DAA’s stated view that this well documented mythological site does not meet the relevant criteria to be classified as a ‘sacred site’ under section 5b of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 , will the Minister name five mythological sites which do meet such criteria as ‘sacred sites’ under section 5b of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 , and state on what basis each of these sites meet such criteria?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
18 February 2015
Responded by
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs
Response time
92 days
a) Yes. Three.
b) - c) No. It is the responsibility of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee to determine whether places meet the definition of section 5 of the
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
.
The role of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs is to assist to the Aboriginal Committee Material Committee through the provision of information held by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs regarding Aboriginal sites or heritage places.
d) Yes.
e) Jutson, J. 1950
The Physiology (Geomorphology) of Western Australia
. Perth: Government Printer.
f) Not applicable.
g) No.
h) As part of its role in providing advice to the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs wrote to those people who have an interest in DAA 24380 Mongers Lake Waterway, seeking comments and further information on the significance of the waterway.
i) Yes.
j) Not applicable.
k) No evidence was provided to the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee to indicate that DAA 24380 in its entirety, should be preserved because of its importance and significance to the cultural heritage of the State.
l) No. There are no definitions in the
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
for sacred sites. The
Interpretation Act 1984
provides that, in the absence of statutory definitions, the words and phrases are given their ordinary meaning. The ordinary meaning of ''sacred site'' includes an area devoted to a religious activity.
The association of a mythology alone with an Aboriginal heritage place does not mean that place is necessarily a sacred site. For a place to be considered a sacred site, it must be demonstrated that it is devoted to a religious use rather than just a place subject to mythological story, song or belief.
b) - c) No. It is the responsibility of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee to determine whether places meet the definition of section 5 of the
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
.
The role of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs is to assist to the Aboriginal Committee Material Committee through the provision of information held by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs regarding Aboriginal sites or heritage places.
d) Yes.
e) Jutson, J. 1950
The Physiology (Geomorphology) of Western Australia
. Perth: Government Printer.
f) Not applicable.
g) No.
h) As part of its role in providing advice to the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs wrote to those people who have an interest in DAA 24380 Mongers Lake Waterway, seeking comments and further information on the significance of the waterway.
i) Yes.
j) Not applicable.
k) No evidence was provided to the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee to indicate that DAA 24380 in its entirety, should be preserved because of its importance and significance to the cultural heritage of the State.
l) No. There are no definitions in the
Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972
for sacred sites. The
Interpretation Act 1984
provides that, in the absence of statutory definitions, the words and phrases are given their ordinary meaning. The ordinary meaning of ''sacred site'' includes an area devoted to a religious activity.
The association of a mythology alone with an Aboriginal heritage place does not mean that place is necessarily a sacred site. For a place to be considered a sacred site, it must be demonstrated that it is devoted to a religious use rather than just a place subject to mythological story, song or belief.
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