TAG
Aboriginal cultural heritage
Donald project reaches agreement with Traditional Owners
Donald Mineral Sands has reached a Journey and Understanding Agreement with the Traditional Owners of the land where it is developing the Donald Rare Earth and Mineral Sands Project. The agreement is between DMS and Barengi Gadjin Land Council, the Registered Native Title Body Corporate representing the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Jupagulk Peoples ... The Donald Project, near Minyip, in Victoria’s Murray Basin, is a globally significant deposit of critical minerals.
Heritage by litigation: How Ben Wyatt is rewriting history to excuse a failed law
“WAFarmers are reaping what they sow,” Ben Wyatt declared recently, reflecting on the looming Maddox case and claims by WAFarmers that the current laws are being selectively targeted by the department ... There is a curious habit among former ministers once they leave office: they rediscover principle. Mr Wyatt’s recent commentary on Aboriginal cultural heritage laws is a textbook example.
Who belongs to Lake Mungo?
Western Heritage Group's new book, Country, Ancestors and Responsibility records information that Elders shared with us in the 1980s, showing that five Aboriginal Culture Groups have ancient cultural ties to the Willandra Lakes region. That's a unique way of belonging; but there's an outreach to non-Aboriginal people too.
Exploring the magic of Pollack Lagoon: a cultural heritage experience
On a glorious day, 21 guests embarked on a journey through time at the Pollack Lagoon, a site rich in history and cultural significance. Nestled within a serene landscape, Pollack Lagoon is a place where the First Nations, the Barapa Barapa people, lived for thousands of years, leaving behind evidence of a deep and enduring connection to the land.
“Trust is gone”: Highway works anger Indigenous community
Works on a stretch of the Sturt Highway west of Hay are under threat as claims that Aboriginal sites have been destroyed have been levelled at Transport for NSW. “We aren’t going to let it rest,” Hay Local Aboriginal Land Council (Hay LALC) CEO Ian Woods said. “We’ll take it all the way to the Environment Court if we have to.”
Heritage: Can’t you see it? It’s everywhere
The recent decision in the Tony Maddox case is yet another example of how Western Australia's Aboriginal heritage laws have become a legal minefield for private property owners. What was once a well-defined, albeit imperfect, piece of legislation largely aimed at the mining sector has evolved into a tool for increasingly ambiguous and arbitrary interpretations of cultural heritage.
No action on allegations Aboriginal sites were destroyed
In November 2024, The Riverine Grazier reported on investigations NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) into concerns Aboriginal scarred trees had been removed from Gundaline Station’s Red Gum forests ... "The Department has decided not to continue its investigation or take any further action in response to this matter."
Djaara Elders arts and cultural talks afternoon
Kerry Cain. The new Indigenous Interpretive garden space, garingilang gatjin wii, at the Central Goldfields Art Gallery in Maryborough, was the setting for an arts and cultural talks afternoon last Sunday. Djaara Elders Aunty Marilyne Nicholls and Uncle Rick Nelson co-shared cultural talks about Country and explained the use of chosen stones, plants and rock wells.
Terra nullius, aqua nullius, farming nullius
Remember ‘terra nullius’ the legal term that rose to prominence in the Mabo case? ... my focus in this opinion piece is not on terra nullius and who owns the land but on aqua nullius and who owns the water ... the Albanese government shows no sign of learning from the referendum disaster and is pushing ahead with building indigenous veto powers into a new National Water Agreement plus revving up the Commonwealth's Heritage Act.
Headwaters and springs of Belubula River in Central West NSW protected: Plibersek
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act (ATSIHP Act) allows the Federal Environment Minister to make a declaration protecting a significant Aboriginal heritage area where it is under threat of injury or desecration ... I have decided to make a partial declaration under section 10 of the ATSIHP Act to protect a significant Aboriginal heritage site near Blayney, in central west New South Wales, from being destroyed to build a tailings dam for a gold mine.
