The Hodgman Liberal Government is moving forward on amendments to the Aboriginal Relics Act to ensure the legislation reflects contemporary practice in the management and protection of Aboriginal heritage in Tasmania.
I am pleased that a draft Aboriginal Relics Amendment Bill 2016 has now been released for public comment. It comes after extensive consultation with the Aboriginal community and other key stakeholders since we announced our intention to amend the Act in June.
The consultation has reaffirmed the strong recognition of the importance of this reform. It has also provided important feedback helping us to refine the proposal while keeping the core objectives unchanged.
As we said in June, our amendments are intended to address areas of immediate concern with the Relics Act, while recognising there will need to be further ongoing engagement with the Aboriginal community and the broader community to resolve other outstanding issues with the Act.
Accordingly, the draft Bill includes a statutory review after three years that will allow us to identify and act on further issues and improvements to the Act.
The draft Bill addresses all the matters highlighted in June, including:
• changing the name of the Act to the “Aboriginal Heritage Act”;
• removing reference to 1876 as being a “cut-off” point for what is considered as Aboriginal heritage;
• increasing penalties for damage to Aboriginal heritage to be in line with the penalties for damage to non-Aboriginal heritage;
• introducing scaled offences, in association with the removal of the ignorance defence and removal of the 6-month time limit for prosecuting offences;
• establishing a statutory Aboriginal Heritage Council of Aboriginal people to advise the Minister; and
• setting a statutory timeline for a further review of the Act.
Additionally, a new due diligence defence will be included as a result of the feedback received during the consultation period. This recognises that the effect of the new offences and penalties is an acknowledgement of an obligation to exercise due diligence, and take reasonable precautions, to avoid harm to Aboriginal heritage. The due diligence guidelines will be available when the bill is debated next year in Parliament.
The draft Bill and explanatory documentation are available on the website of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment at http://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/about-the-department/amendments-to-the-aboriginal-relics-act
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage
