Once this Bill is passed the Regulations that come after will define specific rules and actions relating to the Bill.

Those are not known or defined yet AND those regulations can be changed at will without reference to Parliament.

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What is a "Cultural Landscape"?

Of course if it refers to the whole of WA then the "Low Impact" tier comes into play everywhere as "Land" is defined as the whole of WA in the Bill.

i.e. You will not be able to disturb the ground or dig a hole without approval of the committees outlined and no doubt with significant fees attached.

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APLA Newsletter Excerpt

SIDEBAR : (please note: Udo and I are members of APLA but NOT involved on their Executive or in any of the discussions about this Act - these opinions are OUR views not those of APLA)

"Aboriginal Heritage (AH) Bill 2020

This Bill has now been released for public comment. Along with other representative bodies, APLA has been sworn to secrecy over the last two years. But its now out in the open. We’ve had two sessions on the Bill to sort out some confusing issues within it. Here’s what we know so far – and it isn’t much.

• 1. This Bill will only apply where Aboriginal Heritage is known to exist.
• 2. “Protected sites” are only those sites of State Significance and there are only 80 of them in the State.
• 3. There are hundreds of other sites on the current Aboriginal Heritage Register (AHR) but these are not the “Protected Sites” referred to in this Bill. There is a far higher level of scrutiny and proof for “Protected Sites”.
• 4. The term “Cultural Landscape” has been clarified to APLA. It means that such an area may include several known sites in a particular land space but we could work or operate in such landscape areas but not within the actual known sites. Imagine a circle within which 3 sites may be located. Those 3 sites within that circle are off-limits for any disturbance while the remainder of the circle is “open for business”.
• 5. Whether we can metal detect AND dig up any targets within an AH area is still open to further clarification by DPLH.
• 6. Whether we can mark out a prospecting licence, digging trenches within an AH area is still open to further clarification by DPLH."

NOTE and so should you, they are draconian. remember also that APLA is questioning the impact relating to Prospectors but to "Disturb the Ground" for ANY PURPOSE is covered in this Act.

"APLA continues to seek further improvements but we've been told that this is the final edition and no changes will be made prior to the Bill being introduced into the Lower House of the WA Parliament."

The point is that there is a lot of unknowns in this Bill and they have not been explained satisfactorily to us, the citizens of Western Australia.

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What is a Secret and Sacred Object?

"Secret or sacred object means an Aboriginal object that is secret or sacred to Aboriginal people in accordance with Aboriginal tradition;"

You can be fined $10000 if you have a secret or sacred object and don't tell the AHC about it - but how would you know what is a "Secret or Sacred Object"?

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What are the Activities Defined Under the Act?

Minimal Impact

Minimal impact activities may include light vehicle patrols, metal detecting and maintaining and refurbishing existing facilities, including recreation and camping facilities, water points, signs and other structures.

Low Impact

A Permit is Required for Low Impact Activities

Activities greater than this level will require a Heritage Management plan

"It is expected that anthropological and environmental surveys may be required by proponents as part of their due diligence, and to support the development of management plans."

You might be able to go metal detecting but you will not be able to dig the gold out of the ground that you find - you will need a permit to do that !!

That Permit seemingly has a number of time consuming steps:

• Notify the local Aboriginal Cultural Heritage or Aboriginal parties , prior to,
• Submitting an application for a permit, which will be published online (and charged for of course) prior to,
• Deciding whether to grant the permit.

You can clearly see the time, cost and inefficiencies driven into this process already. AND that is for a "Low Impact Activity".

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Penalty for Serious and Material Harm

"(From the Act Division 2, page 58)
(1) Harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage is serious if the harm is —
(a) irreversible or of a high impact or on a wide scale; or,
(b) to Aboriginal cultural heritage that is —
(i) a protected area; or
(ii) within a protected area.

(2) Harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage is material if the harm is neither trivial nor negligible.

Penalty:
(a) for an individual —
(i) imprisonment for 5 years or a fine of $1 000 000, or both;
(ii) a fine of $50 000 for each day or part of a day during which the offence continues;

(2) Despite The Criminal Code section 23B(2), it is immaterial for the purposes of subsection (1) that any event occurred by accident."

The penalties range down from there to "Harm to Aboriginal Cultural Heritage" which is $25000 for a private person, but interestingly enough an event happening by accident is immaterial, really?

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What Can the Councils Charge You for Reports and Services?

The fees information is provided on Subdivision 3 — Fee for services provided by local ACH service page 33 of the proposed Bill.

These fees can be enforced in court if not paid.

"A local ACH service may charge a fee for services that it provides in connection with the functions set out in section 32."

My Understanding it the Government has said that it is up to the AH committees to decide charges and that commercial aspect will not be interfered with by the Government.

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Written Submissions Can be Lodged Here.

Email: AHAreview@dplh.wa.gov.au

Post:
Aboriginal Heritage Act Review Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage
Locked Bag 2506
Perth WA 6001

There is no doubt in our minds that this process of introducing the Aboriginal Heritage Bill has been carefully structured to defray criticism and a careful analysis of what the bill entails, don't fall for it!

This is being bulldozed through Parliament and that is not acceptable.

You, The Public, have had NO Input into it at all and discussions with industry groups have been confidential up until now and unable to be shared.

Read the bill and put in a submission outlining your concerns, there is a lot of gaps and unexplained parts within it.

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Gold Prospecting WA Facebook Page

... Remember you have until 9 October to submit your submission - please do so..

Regards

Udo and Bill

Nobody gets ALL the gold. There’s still plenty left for you.