Adlide, Geoff --- "Sacred Sites under Threat!" [1989] AboriginalLawB 40; (1989) 1(39) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 12

• Sacred Sites Under Threat!
• The Responsibility Of The Federal Government
• Woodward
• Toohey

---

Sacred Sites under Threat!

by GeoffAdlide

for the Central Lands Council

The Responsibility of the Federal Government

The Land Councils believe that responsibility for sacred site protection legislation should be returned to the national Government. The fears of Royal Commissioner Woodward and reservations of Justice Toohey about the Northern Territory Government's motivation have been realised with the passage of the Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act (NT) 1989.

Woodward

In 1974 the Woodward Royal Commission reported to the Commonwealth Government on how Aboriginal land rights could be recognised in Australian law.

Woodward recommended that sacred sites be protected by land rights legislation:

because of the Aboriginal's personal identification with his land, such places are even more important to him than are places of worship to members of other religions.

Woodward also said the legislation should be Commonwealth. He was worried that the NT Legislative Assembly had little respect for Aboriginal rights and would rather satisfy local pressure groups:

The basic legislation should be introduced into the Australian Parliament. I think it is important that it should be protected in such a way that its provisions cannot be eroded by the effect of any Northern Territory Ordinances.

Both the Whitlam and the Fraser governments' land rights bills provided for the protection of sacred sites. But pressure from the NT Country - Liberal Party led to Fraser agreeing that the NT Legislative Assembly should have the power to legislate to protect sacred sites. Section 73 of the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976 gives the Legislative Assembly this power.

Toohey

A 1983 review of land rights, including Sacred Sites protection laws by Justice Toohey did not accept the Land Councils' position that sacred site protection be returned to the Land Rights Act "unless the Territory legislation is demonstrably inadequate or is not working effectively."

Toohey's recommendations for improving the Sacred Sites Act were ignored by the NT Government. The new NT Act is demonstrably inadequate.

NT Government abuse o f its power to make sacred site protection, laws.

Since winning the power to legislate for sacred site protection, the NT Government has abused this power and acted in favour of vested interest groups like pastoralists and miners rather than seriously accepting the need for proper protection laws.

The NT Government introduced the Aboriginal Lands and Sacred Sites Bill in March 1977. It proposed that, because of the need to consider the interests of landowners (sic), sacred sites off Aboriginal land would only be protected by a decision of the Administrator in Council.

The Bill was rejected by a Committee of the Australian Parliament and the NT drew up another law. This law, the Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act, was delayed for two years by the NT Government and after it was finally passed in 1979, the Government delayed for another year the setting up of the Aboriginal Sacred Sites Protection Authority. Since the establishment of the Authority, the NT Government has attempted several times to weaken its powers.

In 1983 the Act was amended to give the Territory Minister the power to direct the Authority. The Minister directed that all signs protecting sacred sites be taken down. The Government also attempted to make further amendments which would have further weakened the protection of sacred sites; one novel feature was the proposal to make it a criminal offence to write that a sacred site was a sacred site if the Territory Government said it was not.

In 1984 a NT Government Minister was prosecuted after a bulldozer desecrated a sacred site near Alice Springs. The charge was withdrawn because it was found that under the Act, the Crown had immunity from prosecution. Confrontation between the Sacred Sites Authority and the Government continued. The Government repeatedly argued that sacred sites were holding up the economic development of the NT.

In recent months NT Government authorities and departments have been instructed to approach Aboriginal custodians directly, bypassing the organisations with the legislative function and the expertise to perform sacred site avoidance surveys - the Land Councils and the Sacred Sites Authority.

In August 1986 the Chief Minister announced to rousing cheers at the annual convention of the Country - Liberal Party that there would be an inquiry into the Sacred Sites Authority.

A committee of three NT public servants was set up. The Martin Report recommended that the NT Minister for Lands should have the power to override and revoke the decisions of Aboriginal custodians.

In October 1988, without consulting Aboriginal people, the NT Government introduced the Aboriginal Areas Protection Bill (the name of the Bill was later amended to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Bill).

The Central and Northern Land Councils have condemned the Bill as "completely unacceptable and an insult to all Aboriginal people." During the Legislative Assembly sittings in May, hundreds of Aboriginal people and their supporters set up protest camps in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin. They were supported by non-Aboriginal church leaders, trade unions, and community groups. Last minute appeals to defer the legislation and consult Aboriginal people fell on deaf ears. The law was pushed through the Legislative Assembly in the early hours of Friday morning, May 26.

Rather than properly consult Aboriginal people before passing the legislation, the NT Government proposes to send officers out after the legislation has been passed to "educate" Aboriginal people about the implications of the new law. Custodians are now desperate. All sacred sites registered with the current Sacred Sites Authority will be reviewed under the terms of the new law.

The Federal Government has the power under the Northern Territory (Self Government) Act to disallow the legislation. It also has the responsibility bestowed on it by the Australian people in the 1967 referendum. Aboriginal people are appealing to the Prime Minister to act. Members of the NT Government have displayed time and time again their disdain for Aboriginal rights. They have shown their unwillingness to properly protect sacred sites. Responsibility for legislation for the protection of Aboriginal sacred sites should be returned to the Federal Government.