STOP State and Local Aboriginal Lands councils being involved in Aboriginal heritage matters and making decisions

 Over the last few weeks I have seen first-hand how a local Aboriginal land council (LALC) has misled, misinformed and lied to its members about the destruction of a very import Aboriginal site in Sydney. Please do not take this the wrong way as some local LALC’s do a great job for their members. But the land council system needs to be changed so that LALC’s cannot manage and/or make decisions about what happens to Aboriginal heritage.

 I have seen it first-hand where LALC’s AGM’s are won by individuals whose family can get the most members at the meeting. This allows larger family groups in the community to guide how the LALC makes decision and the outcomes of that area. Taking a drive in your local land council boundary and having a look who is better off may surprise you. Generally, it seems that traditional owners, native title claimants and native title holders who live in those LALC boundaries are worse off.  The problem with the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 is that the LALC has a wide array of powers, one of which is to protect Aboriginal heritage. However, over the last 10 or more years, I have seen and worked alongside LALC members where the only important subject of discussion seems to be the daily rate the LALC is being paid.  A recent project I worked on, I found myself working alongside the LALC maintenance man, who was there as the local land council heritage specialist! In short, a LALC should protect the local Aboriginal heritage, under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983. (NSWALR’s Act 1983)

 Division 1A – Functions of Local Aboriginal Land Councils

52 Functions of Local Aboriginal Land Councils

(1) A Local Aboriginal Land Council has the functions conferred or imposed on it by or under this or any other Act.

(4) Aboriginal culture and heritage A Local Aboriginal Land Council has the following functions in relation to Aboriginal culture and heritage:

(a) to take action to protect the culture and heritage of Aboriginal persons in the Council's area, subject to any other law,

(b) to promote awareness in the community of the culture and heritage of Aboriginal persons in the Council's area.

83 Matters covered by community, land and business plans

A community, land and business plan of a Local Aboriginal Land Council must contain the following:

(d) the objectives and strategy of the Council in relation to Aboriginal culture and heritage,

Division 2 – Functions of New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

106 Functions of New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council

(1) The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council has the functions conferred or imposed on it by or under this or any other Act.

(7) Aboriginal culture and heritage The New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council has the following functions in relation to Aboriginal culture and heritage:

(a) to take action to protect the culture and heritage of Aboriginal persons in New South Wales, subject to any other law,

(b) to promote awareness in the community of the culture and heritage of Aboriginal persons in New South Wales.)

 The thing is that as Wonnarua man my elders and my old people handed to me the authority to speak for my mob.  They never gave any authority to the state or LALC and I thank my creator for that. Over the last few weeks I have personally seen a LALC, one which I am not a member, fail to inform its members and lie to them. They have also failed to communicate with the traditional owners of that area about the destruction of this incredible site.

 In fact, when a local T/O went and spoke to a committee member of the LALC at the LALC office, he was lied to and told the development site had known artefacts on it and I was the one telling lies. In reality, in 10 days of conducting an Archeological dig, there were 24000 artefacts, with another 30000 object believed to be still on the site. This is just one example of what our LALC are doing to local Aboriginal heritage.  As a Wonnarua man I was taught that our heritage is our way of life, our stories, lores and customs, the materials used and how they were used as well as the environment where each mob resided.  It is in all our interest to protect the culture of these lands for our children and the children that will come for generations as we can never really go forward without knowing where we came from.

 So I am asking you to consider the following points to urgently amend the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983;

1.     Revoke the right of state and local land councils from making decisions on Aboriginal heritage.

2.     Adopt a stand-alone policy that enforces LALC’s to refer all heritage questions, works, decision and comments to the local registered native title party or native title holder in the area.

3.     Prevent Aboriginal state and local land council receiving any payment for heritage work.

4.     Make it a criminal offence if a local or state Aboriginal Land council signs off on the destruction of heritage.

5.     Prevent the local and State Aboriginal land council’s involvement in any repatriation, interpretations or decisions that may impact on the protection of any Aboriginal object, relics, stories or places.

6.     If section 9 and or Section 10 applications are made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act the state and local Aboriginal land council must support the application.

7.     That election for LALC AGM have a postal vote system.

8.     That LALC to be restricted from making any decision without first obtaining majority support from members at a formally advertised meeting.