Traditional owner concerned over changes to sacred site laws

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Northern Territory government is planning to amend its sacred sites act, following extensive lobbying by pastoralists. The government says the proposed reforms will reduce red tape and stream-line development. The plan has alarmed traditional owners.

Transcript

00:00The bill hasn't been introduced yet so we don't know all the details but the NT government

00:07has outlined two key changes which it says will update a bill which has effectively been

00:13unchanged since the late 1980s.

00:16Now the first is to allow for the transfer of sacred site certificates from one owner

00:21to another.

00:22So for example, say a business owner wants to build an economic project in Darwin in

00:27a protected area, they've got to go through the steps of applying for a sacred site certificate

00:31but then they change their mind and they decide that they want to sell.

00:34Well under the proposed changes, that sacred site certificate could then be transferred

00:38from the old owner to the new owner without that new person having to obtain a brand new

00:43certificate.

00:44Now the second change is to make it easier to impose fines for minor breaches of the

00:49Sacred Sites Act.

00:51So rather than prosecuting people through the courts, authorities will be able to issue

00:56an infringement notice instead.

00:59Now the Central Land Council, which represents thousands of Aboriginal people across Central

01:03Australia, has been scathing of the government.

01:06The CLC's Chair, Warren Williams, says the NT government has failed to adequately consult

01:11with traditional owners and native title holders and even went so far as to say that the NT

01:16government has been treating them like little children.

01:19Now land councillors are worried that the NT government is going to rush through this

01:23legislation without adequate consultation and in many ways their fears are not totally

01:28unfounded.

01:29The NT government has been using its majority in parliament to rush through sweeping economic

01:35reforms, including new powers which allow a minister to override dozens of laws, including

01:41those aimed to protect the environment and cultural heritage.

01:45Now a final draft of the bill is due to be finalised by the end of the week when we'll

01:50know a lot more about what exactly the NT government is planning to do.

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