Protecting aboriginal sacred sites: The aftermath of the Hindmarsh Island dispute

Environmental and Planning Law Journal

Volumn 19, Issue 2, 2002, Pages 140-158

  Taubman, Aliza ^a  

^a MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

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EID: 55649102802     PISSN: 0813300X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (205)

1. A Barunga, "Sacred Sites and their Protection" in L Edwards (ed), The Preservation of Australia's Aboriginal Heritage (Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, 1975), p 76.
2. R B Wingfield and I Watson, "Kungkas and the Struggle for the Manta" (2000) 5(1) Indigenous Law Bulletin 22, p 25.
3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, 1998 Submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Native Title and the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Land Fund, regarding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Isla nder Heritage Protection Bill 1998 (Cth) (1998) at website: http://www.atsic.gov.au/issues/heritage/pjcsub6.htm#Overview.
4. Senate Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee, Report on Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill (No 2) 2000
5. Australian Heritage Council Bill 2000; and Australian Heritage Council (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2000 (8 May 2001) at website: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ecita_ctte/hert2000/ind ex.htm (Senate Report).
6. N Peterson, "The Ownership of Sacred Sites" in L Edwards (ed), The Preservation of Australia's Aboriginal Heritage (Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, 1975), p 73.
7. Aboriginal Heritage Commission, Respecting Indigenous Heritage Places: A Practical Guide (draft, 2000), http://www.ahc.gov.au/heritage/explore/indigenous/indigenous.p df (AHC Report).
8. D Saylor, "Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Protection in Western Australia: The Urgent Need for Protection" (1995) 3(76) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 9.
9. T Janke, Our Culture: Our Future-Report on Australian Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights (1998), http://www.icip.lawnet.com.au/frontpage.html.
10. D Hunter, J Salzman and D Zaelke, International Environmental Law and Policy (Foundation Press, New York, 1998), p 1067. See website: http://www.unesco.org/whc/nwhc/pages/doc/main.htm for a list of signatories.
11. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
12. The " Hindmarsh Island dispute" refers to the series of litigious proceedings following the declaration made in 1994 under s 10 of the HPA to protect Aboriginal sacred sites on Hindmarsh Island, and continuing to the present day. See below for the facts of the dispute.
13. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
14. This article does not explore the HPA's role in the protection of sacred relics or Aboriginal intellectual property, which can form part of cultural heritage. Nor will it discuss related issues of land rights or native title.
15. This article does not consider relevant State or Territory legislation, apart from its relationship with Commonwealth legislation.
16. Hon Elizabeth Evatt, Review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (1996), http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/1996/1/index.html (Evatt Report).
17. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
18. E I Daes, The Final Report on the Protection of the Heritage of Indigenous People (United Nations, 1995), http://www.icip.lawnet.com.au/info4.htm.
19. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
20. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
21. J McKeough and A Stewart, "Intellectual Property and the Dreaming" in E Johnston, M Hinton and D Rigney (eds), Indigenous Australians and the Law (Cavendish Publishing, Sydney, 1997), p 53.
22. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
23. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
24. T Murray, "Aboriginal (Pre)History and Australian Archaeology: The Discourse of Australian Prehistorical Archaeology" in B Attwood and J Arnold (eds), Power, Knowledge and Aborigines (La Trobe University Press, Bundoora, 1992), p 15
25. S Sullivan, "The Custodianship of Aboriginal Sites in Southeastern Australia" in Isabel McBryde (ed), Who Owns the Past? (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1983), p 139.
26. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
27. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
28. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
29. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
30. D Ritchie, "A Perspective from the Sacred Sites Authority" (1989) 2(39) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 11, p 11.
31. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
32. S Brockwell, R Levitus, J Russell-Smith and P Forest, "Aboriginal Heritage" in T Press, D Lea, A Webb and A Graham (eds), Kakadu: Natural and Cultural Heritage and Management (Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Darwin, 1995), p 38.
33. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
34. C Pardoe, "Arches of Radii, Corridors of Power: Reflections on Current Archaeological Practice" in B Attwood and J Arnold (eds), Power, Knowledge and Aborigines (La Trobe University Press, Bundoora, 1992) p 140.
35. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
36. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
37. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
38. http://www.icomos.org/venice_charter.html for the text of the Venice Charter.
39. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
40. http://www.icomos.org/burra_charter.html for the text of the Burra Charter.
41. Burra Charter, Art 2. According to Art 1, "places" include sites, areas, buildings or other works, and pertinent contents and surroundings.
42. World Heritage Convention, Art 11(2). The definition of "cultural heritage" in Art 1 includes monuments, groups of buildings and sites. The definition of "natural heritage" in Article 2 includes natural features, geological and physiographical formations, and natural sites.
43. For example, Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1.
44. Section 12.
45. Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) Div 6.
46. D Craig, Globalisation and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Macquarie University, Sydney, 2001), p 13.
47. D Craig, Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Development: International Dimensions (draft, Macquarie University, Sydney, 1998), p 9.
48. Article 1.1.
49. Article 27.
50. Article 7.
51. ILO 169, Art 8. 49 ILO 169, Art 15.
52. rded, Blackstone Press Limited, London, 1996), p 45.
53. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
54. Draft Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Art 29.
55. Draft Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Art 26.
56. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
57. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, 1999 Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional (Legislation) Committee regarding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 (Cth) (1999), http://www.atsic.gov.au/issues/heritage/Default.asp.
58. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1.
59. Mabo v Queensland [No.2] (1992) 175 CLR 1.
60. Section 12. Note that the EPBC Act also repealed and replaced the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 (Cth), which required that Aboriginal cultural heritage be taken into account in assessing environmental impacts.
61. Sections 3(1), 4(1), 22.
62. Australian Herita ge Commission Act 1975 (Cth) s 4(1A).
63. Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 (Cth) s 30(1).
64. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
65. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
66. (1993) 40 FCR 183 at 191 per Black CJ.
67. House of Representatives, Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, 9 May 1984, p 2133.
68. below for a critique of the HPA in light of the Hindmarsh Island dispute.
69. Sections 9(1), 10(1).
70. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 10(1)(d).
71. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1 at 245 per Brennan J.
72. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
73. R Goldflam, "Noble Salvage: Aboriginal Heritage Protection and the Evatt Review" (1997) 3(88) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 4, p 5.
74. Tickner v Bropho (1993) 40 FCR 183.
75. E Evatt, "Overview of State and Territory Aboriginal Heritage Legislation" (1998) 4(16) Indigenous Law Bulletin 4, p 4.
76. "Chronology of the Kumarangk/Hindmarsh Island affair" (1996) 3(84) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 22 for a chronology of events in the Hindmarsh Island dispute from 1977 to 17 September 1996.
77. For example, Onus v Alcoa (1981) 148 CLR 27
78. Bropho v Western Australia (1990) 171 CLR 1.
79. M Harris, "The Narrative Law in the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission" (1996) 14(2) Law in Context 115, p 115.
80. (1993) 40 FCR 183 at 211 per French J.
81. C D Rowley, Recovery: The Politics of Aboriginal Reform (Penguin Books, Ringwood, 1986), p 70.
82. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
83. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
84. C D Rowley, Recovery: The Politics of Aboriginal Reform (Penguin Books, Ringwood, 1986), p 70.
85. (1995) 133 ALR 74
86. 55 FCR 316.
87. Bropho v Tickner (1993) 40 FCR 165
88. Norvill & Milera v Chapman; Tickner v Chapman (1995) 133 ALR 226.
89. R Brunton, "The Divide of Hindmarsh", Courier Mail, 14 February 1998 at website: http://www.ipa.org.au/Media/rbcm140298.html
90. R Brunton, "Unfinished Business" Courier Mail, 4 April 1998, http://www.ipa.org.au/Media/rbcm040498.html.
91. ALRM v Stevens (No 1) (1994) 64 SASR 551.
92. Wilson v Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (unreported, High Court, 6 September 1996).
93. Section 4.
94. [1998] HCA 22.
95. Chapman v Luminis Pty Ltd (No 5) [2001] FCA 1106.
96. S Larkin, "Court Accepts Tribal Secrets: $20m Hindmarsh Claim Fails", Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 22 August 2001.
97. L O'Donoghue CBE AM, "Customary Law as a Vehicle for Community Empowerment", in Proceedings of Indigenous Customary Law Forum, Parliament House, Canberra, 18 October 1995, AGPS 1996, p 58.
98. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
99. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
100. Norvill & Milera v Chapman; Tickner v Chapman (1995) 133 ALR 226 per Burchett J.
101. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
102. M Allars, "Theory and Administrative Law: Law as Form and Theory as Substance" (1996) 79 Canberra Bulletin of Public Administration 20, p 30.
103. (1995) 133 ALR 74
104. 55 FCR 316.
105. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
106. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
107. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
108. J Bourke, "Women's Business: Sex, Secrets and the Hindmarsh Island Affair" (1997) 20(2) University of New South Wales Law Journal 333, p 334.
109. Chapman v Luminis Pty Ltd (No 5) [2001] FCA 1106 per von Doussa J.
110. Chapman v Luminis Pty Ltd (No 5) [2001] FCA 1106 per von Doussa J.
111. M Langton, "How Aboriginal Religion has become an Administrable Subject" (1996) Australian Humanities Review, http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/AHR/archive/Issue-July-1996/langton.html.
112. N Andrews, "Dissenting in Paradise? The Hindmarsh Island Bridge Royal Commission" (2000) 5(1) Canberra Law Review 5, p 5.
113. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
114. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
115. M Harris, "The Narrative Law in the Hindmarsh Island Royal Commission" (1996) 14(2) Law in Context 115, p 115.
116. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
117. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
118. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
119. [1998] HCA 22.
120. (1982) 153 CLR 168
121. (1982) 39 ALR 417.
122. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1.
123. [1998] HCA 22.
124. N Pengelley, "The Hindmarsh Bridge Act: Must Laws Based on the Race Power be for the 'Benefit' of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders? And What has Bridge Building got to do with the Race Power Anyway?" (1998) 20(1) Sydney Law Review 144.
125. M Legg, "Race to the Top: The Race Relations Impact of the High Court's Decision in the Hindmarsh Island Bridge Case" (1999) 37(2) Law Society Journal 61, p 63.
126. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
127. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
128. J Malbon, "The Race Power under the Australian Constitution: Altered Meanings" (1999) 21(1) Sydney Law Review 80.
129. G McIntyre, "Indigenous Australians: Litigation Towards Legal Pluralism" (1996) 8 Law and Anthropology 224.
130. Only five declarations have been made under s 10. The declaration currently in force protects women's sites under threat from a dam near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. In all but this case concerning s 10 declarations, the Minister's decision was challenged in court.
131. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
132. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
133. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 4.
134. R Goldflam, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Failure of Commonwealth Sacred Sites Protection Legislation" (1995) 3(74) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 13, 14.
135. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
136. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
137. Section 4(a).
138. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 (Cth) s 4(b).
139. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
140. http://www.atsic.gov.au/issues/heritage/Default.asp.
141. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Comments on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 (1998) at website: http://www.atsic.gov.au/issues/heritage/bill1998/1.htm.
142. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
143. ATSIC, 1998 Submission to the PJC, n 3.
144. http://www.atstic.gov.au/issues/heritage/Default.asp.
145. N Peterson, "The Ownership of Sacred Sites" in L Edwards (ed), The Preservation of Australia's Aboriginal Heritage (Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, 1975), p 73.
146. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
147. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
148. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
149. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
150. G Neate, "Power, Policy, Politics and Persuasion: Protecting Aboriginal Heritage Under Federal Laws" (1989) 6(3) Environmental and Planning Law Journal 214, p 244.
151. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) s 3(1)
152. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 (Cth) s 5.
153. N Hancock, "How to Keep a Secret: Building Bridges Between Two 'Laws'" Indigenous Law Bulletin, http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/ilb/vol3/ no77/2.html.
154. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
155. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
156. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
157. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
158. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
159. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
160. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
161. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
162. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
163. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
164. K Gelder and J Jacobs, "Promiscuous Sacred Sites: Reflections on Secrecy and Scepticism in the Hindmarsh Island Affair" (1997) Australian Humanities Review, http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/AHR/archive/Issue-June-1997/gelder.html.
165. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
166. For example, Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
167. Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) and (NSW) Pt 3.10.
168. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
169. For example, with regards to the Pinjarra land clearance scheme, developers submit plans to local Aborigines, who direct where land clearing can take place, without disclosing the precise location of the sacred sites.
170. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
171. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
172. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
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175. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
176. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
177. R Ramsay and G Rowe, Environmental Law and Policy in Australia: Text and Materials (Butterworths, Sydney, 1995).
178. D Craig, "Aboriginal Interests and Persp ectives" in J W Handmer, A H J Dorcey and D I Smith (eds), Negotiating Water: Conflict Resolution in Australian Water Management (Australian National University, Canberra, 1991), p 138.
179. G Yapp, "Wilderness in Kakadu National Park: Aboriginal and other interests" (1989) 29(1) Natural Resources Journal 171, p 171.
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184. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
185. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
186. S Woenne-Green, R Johnston, R Sultan and A Wallis, Competing Interests: Aboriginal Participation in National Parks and Conservation Reserves in Australia-A Review (Australian Conservation Foundation, Sunshine Coast, 1992), p 11.
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188. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
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190. D Craig and D Nava, "Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Environmental Law" in UNEP, UNEP's New Way Forward: Environmental Law and Sustainable Development (United Nations Environment Program, Nairobi, Kenya, 1995), p 140.
191. The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 1991, Recommendation 188.
192. United Nations, Report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations on its Eleventh Session (1993) Articles 13 and 20.
193. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
194. R Herz, "Legal Protection for Indigenous Cultures: Sacred Sites and Communal Rights" (1993) 79 Virginia Law Review 691, pp 691-2.
195. website for Philip Ruddock MP, Minister for Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, http://www.atsia.gov.au/fr_factsheets.html.
196. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
197. J Renwick, "Protection of Aboriginal Sacred Sites in the NT: A Legal Experiment" (1990) 19 Federal Law Review 378, p 378.
198. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
199. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
200. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
201. Commonwealth v Tasmania (1983) 158 CLR 1.
202. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
203. rded, Redfern Legal Centre Publishing, Redfern, 1999), p 330.
204. Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1.
205. D Craig, Globalisation and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Macquarie University, Sydney, 2001), p 13.