Page 1795 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 June 1993
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Our local Aboriginal peoples also play an important role in the protection and preservation of the ACT's heritage. In 1991 the Assembly passed the Land (Planning and Environment) Act and the Heritage Objects Act, which give protection to Aboriginal places and objects. The Acts require the registration of significant sites and objects, provide guidelines for their protection, and impose a penalty against any person found damaging an Aboriginal place without reasonable excuse. To assist the Government in protecting Aboriginal heritage, an ACT Heritage Council, which includes two Aboriginal representatives, was appointed last year. The Government is also working in close consultation with the Mulanggari sites officer on Aboriginal and heritage matters. In addition, there is now Aboriginal representation on the ACT Environment and Conservation Consultative Committee. The committee advises on the management of ACT parks and reserves, and discussions have commenced with the local Aboriginal people on their involvement in park management.
I am proud of the Government's record in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. It is founded on a commitment to consultation and partnership. With the structures and relationships we have in place, we will continue to consult and liaise with our local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as issues develop and new ones emerge. Their involvement in the development of the Government's response to the implications of the Mabo decision will be crucial, and I look forward to involving them in this process through the Aboriginal Advisory Council.
I believe that we must take the opportunity afforded to us by the Mabo decision to continue to improve the position of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to further the process of reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. These objectives will, I believe, best be met through the adoption of a national response to the Mabo decision, and the ACT Government will continue to cooperate with efforts to achieve this. If this is not possible, then we propose to work closely with the Commonwealth Government, given the unique nature of the land administration system in the ACT, the Commonwealth's involvement in it, both before and since self-government, and our shared objectives in relation to the resolution of issues arising from Mabo. Mr Deputy Speaker, for the information of members, I table the communique of the second meeting of the Council of Australian Governments and a copy of this statement, and I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the papers.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.42): Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to comment on a few of the issues that the Chief Minister has raised in her paper. Mabo certainly did appear to be an issue that absorbed a great deal of the time and energy of those Premiers and heads of government who attended the meeting in Melbourne. I must say that I was only one of a very great number of Australians who were watching that meeting with great interest to see whether a national approach would be adopted that would successfully guide our nation through what will be, I think, a very difficult period as we come to grips with the consequences of the Mabo decision.
It is perhaps worth noting, however, that in many respects - I think the Chief Minister may have been alluding to this in some senses - it is not the Mabo decision of itself which is being faced up to here; it is not the decision which is causing us to examine our consciences. It is the principle upon which Mabo rests; that is, the need for there to be proper acknowledgment in our system of justice
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