The Western Australian Aboriginal Heritage Act; Shape of Things to Come with the Voice Referendum By Bob Farmer, Dairy Farmer

The Western Australian Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 Statutory Guidelines comes into effect on 1 July 2023, as does the Act. It is a foretaste of what is to come with the Voice Referendum, if it succeeds. Farmers who fought the Act said that it is the greatest threat to private property since Native Title.

https://www.farmweekly.com.au/story/8208450/cultural-heritage-worry/

The Act, encompasses all pastoral and freehold land exceeding 1100 square metres, will regulate and control any ground disturbance, and all other acts that could impact upon Aboriginal cultural heritage. That is defined in the broadest possible terms as follows:

Aboriginal cultural heritage (ACH) is defined in section 12 of the Act as— Aboriginal cultural heritage— (a) means the tangible and intangible elements that are important to the Aboriginal people of the State, and are recognised through social, spiritual, historical, scientific or aesthetic values, as part of Aboriginal tradition; and (b) includes the following— (i) an area (an Aboriginal place) in which tangible elements of Aboriginal cultural heritage are present; (ii) an object (an Aboriginal object) that is a tangible element of Aboriginal cultural heritage; (iii) a group of areas (a cultural landscape) interconnected through tangible or intangible elements of Aboriginal cultural heritage; (iv) the bodily remains of a deceased Aboriginal person (Aboriginal ancestral remains), other than remains that are buried in a cemetery where non-Aboriginal persons are also buried or remains that have been dealt with or are to be dealt with under a law of the State relating to the burial of the bodies of deceased persons.

According to section 102 of the Act, “where an activity that may harm ACH is proposed to be carried out, a due diligence assessment (DDA) is required to be undertaken (other than for exempt activities) to assess the risk of harm to ACH to enable a proponent to determine how to proceed in relation to the proposed activity.”

A DDA will be concerned with:

• whether the area of the proposed activity includes any area that is part of a protected area; (b) whether the proposed activity is a— (i) a tier 1 activity (no or minimal ground disturbance); (ii) a tier 2 activity (low ground disturbance); (iii) a tier 3 activity (moderate to high ground disturbance); (c) whether Aboriginal cultural heritage is located in the area where it is intended that the proposed activity be carried out; (d) whether there is a risk of harm being caused to ACH by the proposed activity; (e) in relation to a tier 2 activity or a tier 3 activity—the identity of the persons to be notified or the persons to be consulted about the proposed activity.

Here are more details about what the DDA is expected to do:

Part A Undertaking a Due Diligence Assessment Background to the DDA: Who should undertake a DDA? It is a proponent's responsibility to undertake a DDA [s. 105]. When should a DDA commence? It is recommended a DDA is undertaken as early as possible, particularly for tier 2 and tier 3 activities, when planning to carry out an activity, to allow the proponent to plan the proposed activity to avoid or minimise the risk of harm to ACH where practicable. The DDA process involves an assessment of, among other things, whether ACH is present in the activity area and whether there is a risk of harm to ACH caused by the proposed activity. Over what area should a DDA be undertaken A DDA is to be carried out in relation to the activity area. Undertaking a DDA over as broad an area as practicable where the activity potentially may be carried out will assist in planning the activity to avoid or minimise harm to ACH. Where ACH is located in the activity area and the activity is able to be altered or moved to avoid that ACH, the DDA will also need to include the area of the altered or moved activity. DDA is not an approval to harm ACH Under the Act, to harm ACH includes to destroy or damage ACH [s. 90]. A completed DDA is not itself an approval to harm ACH. Where the DDA identifies that no ACH is present or that, where ACH is present, there is no risk of harm to ACH, the activity can be carried out without authorisation provided that all reasonable steps possible are taken to avoid or mitigate the risk of harm to ACH by the activity, including harm to ACH the proponent becomes aware of after undertaking the DDA. Where the DDA identifies that ACH is present and that there is a risk of harm to ACH, authorisation is required under Part 6 of the Act. Where a proponent becomes aware of new information about ACH in the area for which they have an authorisation, they are required by the Act to notify the Council [ss 128, 153, 167]. Due Diligence Assessment Assessing whether the proposed activity is located within any part of a protected area— section 102(a) The purpose of declaring a protected area [s. 70] is to— 30 May 2023 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, WA 1375 (a) recognise that there is ACH of outstanding significance in the area; and (b) provide special protection for that area from activities that may harm ACH. Any activity, regardless of whether it is exempt, tier 1, tier 2 or tier 3, that may harm ACH can only lawfully be carried out within any part of a protected area where it is permitted by the conditions or regulations applicable to the protected area in question. Table 1 and Flowchart 1 set out the steps required to assess whether an activity is located within any part of a protected area. Steps for assessing whether the Activity area is located within the any part of a protected area [s. 102(a)] Supporting information/required action Step 1 Search the Directory.1 All protected areas, including relevant conditions and regulations, are listed on the Directory. Step 2 If the Activity area is not located within a protected area continue with the DDA. Continue to 5.2 below Step 3 If the Activity area is located within a protected area, any activity that may harm ACH can only be carried out subject to any conditions or regulations relating to that protected area. The Department of Planning, Lands & Heritage (Department) can be contacted to enquire whether any conditions or regulations exist that would allow the activity. Table 1—Determining whether proposed activity is within a protected area.

I must admit that I have read this many times, and that is just a summary, and am not sure what I would do if I was a wheat farmer setting out to sow my seeds. Would I need to do a prior assessment of the ground? Not sure, and I bet a lot of farmers will be in the same boat.

While I am a dairy farmer in Victoria, I can feel in my bones, that this is just the thin edge of a mighty thick wedge coming with the Voice. And, this is just woke state legislation! Just imagine what will be done by the Leftist woke lawyer class once they get their  globalist New World Order hands on the Australian constitution!

Don’t let it end this way! Vote NO!