Traditional owners in South Australia believe they will have their protective powers over sacred sites diminished under proposed changes to the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
Amendments to the Act were passed by the SA Legislative Council on Thursday and will be introduced into the Lower House next week.
Tauto Sansbury, traditional owner and chairperson of 22 native title groups in the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, says the changes will put the heritage sites at risk.
“The changes will decriminalise acts to sites. It’s an open door policy for the mining industry. This will make it easier for them to bypass traditional owners and dig up country,” he told SBS News.
South Australian Native Title Services, the peak representative body, believes the changes will have a major impact on traditional owners being able to have a say about how significant sites are used.
“They’ve lost the opportunity to have a say on their heritage. They’ve lost the right to say no,” says Keith Thomas, CEO of South Australian Native Title Services.
There are concerns the amendments remove requirements to consult with native title groups, instead giving the SA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs the power to approve applications relating to heritage sites.
The Minister disagrees.
"If the minister chooses to approve an agreement, she or he must be satisfied that it satisfactorily deals with Aboriginal heritage," said Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher in his speech to Parliament.
But Mr Thomas believes the reforms have been fast-tracked to make the project approval process easy for mining companies.
“The process hasn’t gone through the normal processes, essentially I think it is to pave the way for mining companies so they can go through the process which offers an agreement straight up,” says Mr Thomas.
Mr Maher says the reforms will provide Aboriginal groups with better opportunities to have a say in the protection of their cultural heritage and the use of their land.
“This bill envisages that an Aboriginal group may enter into an agreement with a land-use proponent. The bill does not lessen anyone's burden to ensure that Aboriginal heritage continues to receive protection in South Australia.”
However, Tauto Sansbury says Aboriginal groups were not properly consulted over the changes.
“There’s been no consultation from my end. The process has been very exclusive,” he says.
“If he’s fair dinkum I would challenge the Minister to come and consult with us and sit down and consult,” says Mr Sansbury.
The Act, set up in 1988, was designed to protect and preserve the state’s Aboriginal heritage, including all Aboriginal sites, objects and remains. It provides that traditional owners be consulted with over future activities, including mining operations.
There are thousands of protected sites in South Australia that include ancient songlines and burial grounds.
