> Among the ATSIP Act’s limitations is that it is designed as legislation of last resort, meaning an application can only be made after state and territory avenues have failed. In most cases protection is not granted. As the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation wrote in its submission to the 2020 inquiry, the federal laws are “cumbersome, slow and ineffectual” and the “economic momentum” behind developments means protection orders are rare. In the case of Juukan Gorge, no application for an emergency order under section 9 of the act was made because representatives for the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura traditional owners did not understand the process and could not get the relevant adviser from then environment minister Sussan Ley’s office on the phone.
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> The interim report produced by that inquiry was titled “Never Again”. It’s a remarkable sign of political amnesia that we’re now arguing about whether the laws are weighted too strongly in favour of Aboriginal people.
1 Comment
> Among the ATSIP Act’s limitations is that it is designed as legislation of last resort, meaning an application can only be made after state and territory avenues have failed. In most cases protection is not granted. As the Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation wrote in its submission to the 2020 inquiry, the federal laws are “cumbersome, slow and ineffectual” and the “economic momentum” behind developments means protection orders are rare. In the case of Juukan Gorge, no application for an emergency order under section 9 of the act was made because representatives for the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura traditional owners did not understand the process and could not get the relevant adviser from then environment minister Sussan Ley’s office on the phone.
>
> The interim report produced by that inquiry was titled “Never Again”. It’s a remarkable sign of political amnesia that we’re now arguing about whether the laws are weighted too strongly in favour of Aboriginal people.