Ms Ros Kelly
Minister for the Environment
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Dear Ms Kelly,
Threatened Species Legislation.
I read in the April-May edition of 'the Web', the bulletin of the
National threatened species network, that you are to immediately
develop and submit a Cabinet paper on Commonwealth threatened
species legislation. The Web states that you are aiming to
introduce the legislation in the budget session.
Thinking within the constraints of the Western tradition,
environmentalist's often fail to appreciate the importance of the
role of 'culture' in the workings of the ecosystem.
The system of Dreaming law of Australia's First People, and
associated practices, lies at the core of the regulation of life
on this continent. This aspect of the culture of the First People
is little understood at present.
Any serious attempt to reverse the disastrous effect of the
imposition of European practices on Australian life cannot be
separated from the issue of the recognition of the original
Australian system of law. With your government talking about
reconciliation, it seems more than appropriate for you to address
this matter.
Could you advise me:
1. what attention, and funded research, has gone into this
fundamentally important component of threatened species
legislation, and
2. how this matter will be incorporated into the proposed
legislation?
Yours truly,
Bruce Reyburn
Enc. 1989 comments on draft national strategy.