I wish to bring to the House's attention the concerns of Aboriginal people,
which have not been addressed in the consideration of coastal development.
In particular these problems have been conveyed to me by the Nambucca Heads
Local Aboriginal Land Council.
The Coastal Development Inquiry has been underway since May 1989, and
Expression of Interest forms were sent out to many groups. Kooris are
disappointed to note, that to their knowledge none were sent to the
Aboriginal Community or Land Councils on the coast. Certainly none were
received by Nambucca Heads Land Council.
The coast has been the traditional land of the koori people for thousands
of years.
There has generally been a lack of consultation with Aboriginal
Communities, Land Councils and organisations prior to deciding Government
policies and laws, and especially prior to developments going ahead. The
kooris refer to developments by private developers, such as urban and rural
residential subdivisions, as well as developments by Government departments
such as Elcom for power lines.
There is a lack of directives given by all levels of Government for
Anthropological and Archaeological studies prior to development. Local
Governments do not require developers to undertake these studies prior to
development approval, even where the local Aboriginal people have stated
there is Aboriginal significance in an area. The prevailing view is that
the National Parks and Wildlife Service have registered all the sites, and
if they do not say it is an official registered site, authorities will
ignore claims to the contrary.
This points to the core of the problem: there are hundreds of thousands of
sacred and mythological sites throughout New South Wales which are not yet
registered, but which are worthy of registration. The National Parks and
Wildlife Service recognises this as a fact. There is a sad situation now
with development proceeding speedily while the process for registering
sites has ground to a standstill. No new sites have been registered in the
Nambucca Heads area since 1984, even though many have been notified to the
National Parks and Wildlife Service. This situation must be addressed - it
is a vital coastal issue.
There is a lack of funds for the carrying out of Archaeological and
Anthropological studies of the areas, especially areas which are under
immediate threat of development. Money is needed for comprehensive studies
as well as target studies.
There are not enough Aboriginal Sites Investigation Officers to redress the
situation. More staff are needed as well as more training for these
officers.
Much more effort and resources need to be allocated to communication and
liaison with the Aboriginal Community and organisations. The Aboriginal
people feel they have not been listened to or informed for 200 years, and
this situation must not continue.
The Aboriginal people want some recognition that their traditional hunting
rights have been eroded almost to extinction. They would like some
consideration by Governments with a view to turning this situation around.
The state laws of trespassing and private ownership have alienated their
traditional hunting grounds.
The filling and draining of wetlands have affected their supply of native
food such as cobra, woodworm, bingging (turtle). The whole estuarine tidal
area which provided crabs, shell fish and abalone now no longer does so.
These were a staple part of the Aboriginal diet.
In the coastal belt the subdivision and clearing of land has made the
porcupine and goanna diminish in numbers, also a staple item of their diet
in the past.
The aboriginies would appreciate being consulted and involved in any future
deliberations on coastal development in New South Wales.