Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt has today announced a review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 – the legislation responsible for preserving and protecting Aboriginal heritage in Western Australia.
The Act has remained largely unchanged for more than 45 years and is out-of-date, inefficient and ineffective.
Aboriginal people, local government and industry have all advocated for change in recent years.
The release of the consultation paper marks the commencement of a three-phase public consultation process that will ultimately lead to the introduction of new Aboriginal heritage legislation into the Parliament of Western Australia.
Community meetings and stakeholder workshops will be held across regional WA and in Perth.
The consultation paper is the initial opportunity to contribute to the review of the Act. There will be further opportunities for comment and input with the release of a discussion paper later this year that will offer a series of proposals on what an amended Act should do.
The consultation paper and details on how to get involved in the review and workshops can be found at http://www.daa.wa.gov.au