Esperance native title group joins growing chorus of opposition to Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act

Another Indigenous corporation has come out of the woodwork to slam WA’s new cultural heritage laws, citing concerns about the legislation’s “workability” and declaring it has “no desire to be bogged down” in “cumbersome regulatory processes”. Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation has also raised concerns about the legislation’s “rushed timeframe” and the Government’s “lack of meaningful engagement with industry, farmers and Aboriginal people”. “ETNTAC … has expressed concerns to the State Government about the lack of clarity around approvals processes … and the heavy compliance obligations that will be placed on certain land users and stakeholders, including ETNTAC,” the organisation said in a statement. It comes after Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation — which represents traditional owners in the Pilbara, Murchison and Gascoyne — last week claimed Indigenous groups were “vastly under-resourced” for next month’s rollout of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act. ETNTAC’s statement — signed by chair Gail Reynolds-Adamson and chief executive Peter Bednall — goes on to highlight a slew of grievances relating to how the new legislation and regulations will apply. “New activities undertaken by farmers and residential land users on cleared land will pose a low-risk of causing additional impact to Aboriginal sites and should not be subject to burdensome or costly approvals requirements,” the statement said. “ETNTAC has no desire to be bogged down in any Government imposed compliance processes or permitting for such activities.” The Act, which was fast-tracked through Parliament in late 2021, is due to take effect on July 1 despite admissions from the Government that the administrative infrastructure is still not ready. ETNTAC said it would work collaboratively with affected land users to develop “streamlined and proportionate processes” to deal with any new approval obligations imposed by the Act. “But this will take time and certainly will not happen by July 1,” the statement continues. “Even for new ground disturbing activities which do hold some risk for causing cultural harm … the preference of ETNTAC will be to… deal with approvals processes by agreement outside of the cumbersome regulatory processes created by the Act.” The new legislation replaces the Aboriginal Heritage Act of 1972. A key change is the introduction of Local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Services, a new arm comprising incorporated organisations that will be instrumental in managing culturally significant sites and objects. ETNTAC said it had not yet decided whether it would apply to become a LACHS, but would inevitably be drawn into the requirements of the Act as the representative body for the Wudjari people. “ETNTAC’s current resourcing enables the employment of one part-time heritage officer ... there is no clear pathway for ETNTAC to increase its capacity to deal with existing demands, let alone what may happen from 1 July,” a spokesman said. Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation is among some 23 groups that have applied to become a LACHS. WAC chief executive David Collard told Countryman the fact no LACHS had yet been established less than a fortnight before the laws come into effect was “definitely not a problem”. “The work that needs to be done requires a whole team, but our process of getting our team in place — ready to roll, so there’s no time delays in future, no deficiencies in decisions being made on applications for heritage requirements — will be done in a timely manner,” he said. Mr Collard urged farmers “not to be scared” and to “work with LACHS to get the job done”. “Productivity has to be maintained, and the new legislation is not there to hinder that productivity, but to maintain and improve production in the future,” he said.