The ''Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003'' is legislation passed by

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral s ...

, commencing in April 2004 to recognise, protect and conserve

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

cultural heritage in the

State of Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Queensland Parliament (2007) Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003. Division 2, section 4
Accessed 11 February 2009 A key feature of the Act is its creation of a new legal responsibility or

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

"duty of care" requiring all people across the State to respect, value and protect the State's Aboriginal cultural heritage, at risk of prosecution and substantial fines should they fail to take all reasonable and practical measures to ensure their activities do no damage

Background and history

The excavation of the

Broadbeach Aboriginal burial ground Broadbeach is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Broadbeach had a population of 5,514 people. Geography Development in the area today mostly incorporates low rise structures, consisting of single bedroom house ...

in 1965, and the repatriation and reburial of the remains in 1988 played a significant role in the development of this Act, which was the state's first

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...

legislation, which culminated in this piece of legislation. The ''

Aboriginal Relics Preservation Act 1967 Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

'' was the first piece of legislation to protect Aboriginal archaeological sites. This was replaced by the '' Cultural Record (Landscapes Queensland and Queensland Estate) Act 1987'', which was in turn replaced by the 2003 Act.

Overview

In proclaiming this statute, Queensland Parliament: * created a statutory

duty of care In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be establis ...

applying to all land users in Queensland, regardless of

tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

; * recognized any pre-existing agreements landholders may have entered into with Aboriginal owners; * established a register of Aboriginal cultural heritage to be protected, plus

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

holding information and details of known Aboriginal cultural heritage places * proscribed fundamental principles requiring areas and objects of significance to Aboriginal people to be protected and managed in accordance with relevant Aboriginal laws, customs or history * provided for Aboriginal peoples to play an active role protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage by enabling particularly interested groups to form State approved Aboriginal cultural heritage bodies to whom cultural heritage inquires are referred * provided for land users and Aboriginal peoples to be able to negotiate, agree, enter into, and, if desired, register with the State, cultural heritage management plans proscribing how Aboriginal cultural heritage is to be managed in particular places * removed an earlier requirement under former Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation that a permit first be obtained before cultural heritage studies or management plans could be undertaken.

Definition of Cultural Heritage

The Act defines Aboriginal cultural heritage as being:Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines (2006) ''Queensland Laws protect and respect our cultural heritage.'' Brochure, Brisbane * any significant Aboriginal area within Queensland; * any significant Aboriginal object from Queensland; or * any place within Queensland containing

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

evidence of archaeological or historic significance to Aboriginal peoples prior occupation of the State A Minister who was responsible for implementing the ''Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act'' 2003 (i.e. then Queensland Natural Resources and Water Minister Craig Wallace) gave example of the kinds of things he believes to be Aboriginal cultural heritage as follows:

''"Cultural Heritage relates to significant Aboriginal .. objects and places, or archaeological or historic evidence of indigenous occupation of an area ...These can be
rock shelter A rock shelter (also rockhouse, crepuscular cave, bluff shelter, or abri) is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff. In contrast to solutional caves (karst), which are often many miles long, rock shelters are almost alway ...
s, carved or
scarred tree A scarred tree or scar tree, also known as a canoe tree and shield tree, is a tree which has had bark removed by Aboriginal Australians for the creation of bark canoes, shelters, weapons such as shield A shield is a piece of personal arm ...
s,
engravings Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...
,
paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
,
shell middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
,
fish trap A fish trap is a trap used for fishing. Fish traps include fishing weirs, lobster traps, and some fishing nets such as fyke nets. Traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are two main ...
s, grinding grooves, earth and stone arrangements and other artifacts."''

Statutory "Duty of Care"

In proclaiming the ''Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act'' 2003, Queensland Parliament intended to provide "blanket" statutory protection to ALL of Queensland's Aboriginal cultural heritage, irrespective of whether or not that heritage is known toland users. To achieve this end, Parliament created a formal, statutory "duty of care", by which anyone carrying out any activity on any land (including freehold) anywhere in Queensland is required by law to take:Department of Natural Resources and Mines (2005) "Cultural Heritage - Your Duty of Care". Cultural Heritage Information Series. Brisbane.

''"..all reasonable and practicable measures to ensure their activity does not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage".''

The risk both individuals and corporations take should they fail to take care, and so damage Aboriginal cultural heritage (even secret or sacred heritage embedded into the landscape unknown to the land user), is legal prosecution (coordinated by Queensland Government's cultural heritage unit), and possible fines of up to for individuals, or for corporations.

Coverage

After 4½ years of heritage protection under the ''Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act'' 2003, the Minister responsible for the ''Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act'' 1993 announced:Minister Craig Wallace (25 September 2008) Media Release: "Bligh Government Offers $100 000 to preserve Queensland's Cultural Heritage"
Accessed 13 February 2009 * the cultural heritage databases holds approximately 23 000 records of known indigenous cultural heritage places * the State had approved 22 indigenous cultural heritage bodies to assist protect cultural heritage (to whom cultural heritage inquiries are referred) * for each of 2007–2008 & 2008–2009 the State has made a total of $100 000 per annum in grants available to assist pay some of the costs of studies updating the cultural heritage database, plus some of the operating costs of the approved Aboriginal cultural heritage bodies.

References

{{Reflist Queensland heritage law 2003 in Australian law 2000s in Queensland