FW: AborigInal Heritage Assessment Work Ban in Tasmania due to Brighton Bypass Issue
David Hunter - Hunter Geophysics
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From: owner-austral...@lists.uq.edu.au [mailto:owner-austral...@lists.uq.edu.au]On Behalf Of Lynley Wallis
Sent: Sunday, 9 January 2011 2:03 PM
To: australian...@lists.uq.edu.au
Subject: AborigInal Heritage Assessment Work Ban in Tasmania due to Brighton Bypass Issue
Dear list members
Happy New Year and welcome to the first posting for 2011.
Please find below a letter from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre that I have been asked to pass on to this list advising that the Tasmanian Aboriginal community has agreed to a ban on Aboriginal heritage assessment work in Tasmania from 21 December 2010 until further notice in relation to their extreme unhappiness over the Tasmanian government's decision to go ahead with the Brighton Bypass. I am sorry for the delay in forwarding this to you all, however have been away for a few weeks with no email access.
We will endeavour to keep you informed about this information if more information becomes available. If you have further queries about the content of the letter, you might wish to contact the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, whose contacts details are in the header of the letter.
Cheers Lynley
_____________
Dr Lynley
Wallis
Senior Research Fellow | Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, School of Architecture
President | Australian Archaeological Association
University of Queensland
PO Box 6114
St Lucia QLD 4072
P: 07 3365 3861
TASMANIAN ABORIGINAL CENTRE INC.
ABN 48 212 321 102
HEAD OFFICE:
198 ELIZABETH STREET, 182 CHARLES STREET, 53 ALEXANDER STREET,
G.P.O. BOX 569, P.O. BOX 531, PO. BOX 536,
HOBART TAS. 7001 LAUNCESTON TAS. 7250 BURNIE TAS. 7320
Phone: (03) 6234 0700 Phone: (03) 6332 3800 Phone (03) 6431 3289
Fax: (03) 6234 0799 Fax: (03) 6332 3899 Fax: (03) 6431 8363
Email: hob...@tacinc.com.au Email: launc...@tacinc.com.au Email: bur...@tacinc.com.au
23rd December 2010
Dear friends,
Ban on all surveys for Aboriginal heritage
The Aboriginal community meeting held at Kutalayna River Aboriginal site at Brighton on 21st December 2010, imposed a State-wide ban on all surveys for Aboriginal heritage in Tasmania. The ban will remain in place until such time as decent legislation protecting Aboriginal heritage is put in place and the new protection has Aboriginal community support.
The date when the ban will be lifted is therefore in the hands of the Tasmanian and Australian governments.
The practical effect of this decision will mean that surveys for Aboriginal heritage for any projects or development proposals are no longer permitted. Those currently involved in Aboriginal heritage surveys are asked to down tools, cease all works and walk off the job. The ban dates from the 22nd December 2010 and although this notice reaches you later than that date we do ask that you apply the date of 22nd December to any reports etc rather than the date you receive this letter.
Specifically, no reports should be provided by you to AHT or construction or planning bodies for works already done or about to be completed. The intention is to deprive the Tasmanian Government of reports that the Government takes no heed of but relies on to destroy more and more Aboriginal heritage. With that in mind the providing of reports to contractors and sub-contractors would lead to reports being handed to the Tasmanian Government which would breach the Aboriginal community direction.
The Tasmanian Government is responsible for the destruction of too much Aboriginal heritage for current arrangements to be allowed to continue and, although we are conscious of the impact this ban may have on your particular circumstances, it really is a choice of prioritising the need to protect heritage or employment.
The Aboriginal people have no legislative power to require you to comply with this ban, however we do ask that you understand that the heritage belongs to Aboriginal people and the owners of that heritage have asked that people respect the wishes of the Aboriginal community.
Having said that we know you personally would not go against the wishes of the Aboriginal community and we thank you for your ethical and principled position of complying in spirit and letter of the ban.
It is our sincere wish that the sooner the Governments provide better protection for Aboriginal heritage the quicker the ban can be lifted.
Michael Mansell
Legal Director