A Traditional Owner is celebrating after his challenge to a major engineering project along the Murray River was upheld.
The Victorian government's Nyah Floodplain Restoration Project involved the construction of pumps and levees in the state's north west to direct water onto floodplains.
Mismanagement of the Murray River has seen the floodplains deteriorate over the last century.
Wadi Wadi Elder Uncle Vince Kirby filed proceedings against the project last month, arguing the project put culturally significant sites, including burial sites, at risk, and was approved without meaningful consultation with Traditional Owners.
The Victorian government conceded the project's Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) was unlawfully approved, a move Uncle Vince welcomed.
"I'm glad the government has admitted it got this wrong," he said.
"But we shouldn't have had to go all the way to the Supreme Court just to make the government follow its own laws and listen to Traditional Owners.
“Real consultation can't be rushed. Our people deserve to be listened to with respect, and our knowledge should be central to decisions about our Country.
"That didn't happen here, and that's what needs to change."
CHMPs are usually approved by Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) in the affected areas. However the area near Nyah does not currently have a RAP.
In such cases, plans are assessed by First Peoples - State Relations within the Department of Premier and Cabinet. In its determination, the Victorian Supreme Court returned the Nyah floodplain's CHMP to the department for reappraisal.
"In reviewing and making a decision on the [CHMP], the Department will undertake consultation with all relevant Traditional Owners groups," a spokesperson said.
“Victoria’s Aboriginal cultural heritage, like other forms of heritage, is a vital part of our history and identity.
"Ensuring its protection for all Victorians is a priority for the Victorian government.”
New challenge launched against project 4km upstream
Environmental Justice Australia, representatives for Mr Kirby in court, said the Elder was not resting on his laurels, today launching a new legal challenge against a related project.
The Nyah project is one part of the broader Victorian Murray Floodplain Restoration Project, part of efforts to meet Murray-Darling Basin environmental targets.
The Vinifera project, involving similar infrastructure, is planned four kilometres upstream of the suspended Nyah project, near Swan Hill.
“Our client is seeking that the decision to approve the Vinifera Cultural Heritage Management Plan also be reviewed by the Court to determine whether it too was made unlawfully," said Environmental Justice Australia lawyer Mera Sivanesan.
Ms Sivanesan said it was "incredibly frustrating" that it had taken Mr Kirby's challenge to the Nyah project for the government to "follow its own laws".
“This case shows the importance of Traditional Owners and other community members being able to access the courts when they are concerned that the government has not done the right thing.
"If Vince hadn't pushed to have this decision reviewed by the Court, the project at Nyah would have gone ahead with an unlawful Cultural Heritage Management Plan, putting his irreplaceable cultural heritage at risk of harm or worse, destruction."
Uncle Vince reflected on the millennia of care undertaken by his ancestors on the Murray River.
"We've looked after these rivers and wetlands for generations. The Murray runs through our veins. It's part of who we are.
"Today's decision gives me hope that there's still a chance to protect the places where my grandmother grew up, and where I take my great-grandchildren now to be on Country."
