Law Reform: Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2020

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Draft Bill 2020

YMAC welcomed the State government’s draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) Bill on 2 September, but is concerned it still falls short in addressing the inherent power imbalance in current legislation.

YMAC believes the new legislation should be the primary protection mechanism to strengthen agreement arrangements. This should happen through recognising the cultural authority of Aboriginal people, and mandating cultural heritage plans that support transparency, accountability, and early and ongoing communication between parties that allows for plans to change should significant information come to light.

While the Draft Bill contains improvements on the inadequate AHA, further amendments are needed. In its submission, YMAC also voiced concern on the short consultation timeframe, with only five weeks for community to access, absorb, discuss and understand implications and make a submission on the Draft Bill. for successive governments, as guidelines influence

What needs to change?

YMAC has advocated for change on several aspects of the existing Aboriginal heritage legislation – the AHA – that still need to be addressed in the Draft Bill – including:

Too much decision-making power remains with the Minister and with proponents.

Best practice standards of heritage management in Australia should be consistent with international standards and heritage industry practice. This includes the requirement of free prior and informed consent (FIPC), applied consistently across all aspects of the bill, including with respect to removing or amending Protected Areas.

Clear processes for Traditional Owners to make written and oral submissions to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Council, and the Minister prior to them making any decision about their cultural heritage, should be included in the bill.

Heritage needs to be considered throughout a project’s lifecycle – particularly as new information comes to light – and both before agreements) have been made. This needs to be reflected across the board. Importantly, it is unclear whether yet-to-be-written guidelines such as Due Diligence Guidelines and ACH Management Code (approvals section) will enhance or detract from the heritage protections set out in the Draft Bill. The new act must be future-proofed

and after agreements (including existing how the new proposed act is to be interpreted and implemented by government, and can be subject to political whim.

For further information visit: www.ymac.org.au/heritage-reform/ and the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, www.dplh.wa.gov.au .

AHA to ACH Bill – progress on current review of AHA

2018 – Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Wyatt announced a review of the AHA. Consultation begins to guide proposals to improve legislation 2019 – March: Issues and discussion papers released. Feedback guides drafting of the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) Bill.