NSW NATIONAL PARKS HANDBACKS - PROCESS HAS STARTED:
Welcome to the new Apartheid
People also said that Aboriginal knowledge holders need to have a role in determining the appropriate activities that can be carried out on Country/in parks.
People called for equal or majority Aboriginal representation on any joint management governing body, with a view also put forward that the governing body should consist of Aboriginal people only.
A view was also put forward that the land should be restored to how it was at the point of first contact – pre colonisation. This view went to the extreme of saying Healthy Country means the removal all things that were not present in 1788, including all buildings, introduced species and other infrastructure.
NPWS' busy bureaucrats are in process of negotiating handover of our National Parks to private interests. The plan will potentially see every National Park in the state handed over to as yet unknown Aboriginal groups then leased back. We don't know who is getting ownership and control of the parks, how much it will cost, how much public access will be lost, or how much rent will be paid. The model is playing out with Mt Warning National Park under a veil of secrecy and if other parks follow a similar path, disaster, division and loss of public access to public land will result.
An outline of the consultation process may be found here:
- Former Minister for Environment, James Griffin, announced the development of a new model for Aboriginal joint management of NSW national parks on 3 July 2022.
- A new Aboriginal Joint Management Unit has been established by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to oversee the development of the proposed new model.
- This model will see the potential handback of title to every national park in New South Wales to Aboriginal owners over the next 15 to 20 years. Land would be leased back to the NSW Government for its continued use and management as a national park. This estate equates to around 10% of the land mass of NSW.
The consultation process is in three stages with the public only getting a say at stage 3. It's a given that this is going to happen. An unelected bureaucracy taking away our public lands and access rights, and right to have a say about how they are managed.
Stage 1: Focused on understanding aspirations and issues of Aboriginal people. This stage includes regional workshops, online workshops, and workshops with the existing joint management partners.
Stage 2: Will invite comment on a draft model developed based on input from Stage 1, from Aboriginal stakeholders, and now also targeted non-Aboriginal stakeholders.
Stage 3: A proposed model will be refined following Stage 2 and released for public comment.
The first newsletter of the Aboriginal Joint Management Unit is available:
Our first newsletter covers progress made in stage 1 of the consultation process about a new model of Aboriginal joint management.
Stage 1 of the consultation was held in 2022–23. Regional Aboriginal workshops were held across the state and online. The workshops and online survey were open to Aboriginal people only. Details about Stage 1 are available on the Aboriginal Joint Management model consultation webpage.
1. Regional Aboriginal workshops are an ‘open-house’ facilitation style where participants can speak one-on-one or in small groups with Thirriwirri facilitators. The sessions are open to Aboriginal people only and anyone from the local Aboriginal community is welcome. Sessions commenced in late 2022 and there were workshops throughout February 2023.
2. Online Aboriginal Workshops were held for those who were unable to attend a workshop in person. Thirriwirri will be hosting 2 online sessions on Tuesday 14 February and Monday 27 February 2023. These sessions follow a similar format to the Regional Aboriginal workshops. Online participants were given the opportunity to answer questions and share their aspirations for joint management in small groups with a facilitator. These sessions are also open only to Aboriginal people.
3. An online survey was also available for Aboriginal people to provide feedback in their own time. The survey included the 6 key questions discussed during the Stage 1 workshops. The survey closed on 3 March 2023 at 11.59 pm (AEDT). The online survey was open to Aboriginal people only.
A report on the stage 1 consultations by facilitators "Thirriwirri" is available: https://www2.environment.nsw.gov.au/publications/regional-aboriginal-workshop-aboriginal-community-engagement-report
A couple of points of concern from the executive summary:
- The new model was also seen as an opportunity to embed cultural knowledge in the ways parks are managed; to recognise that cultural knowledge is as valuable as environmental science; and to allow for the exchange of cultural and environmental knowledge and education between Aboriginal people and the NPWS.
- Under the Economic Benefit theme, people identified a range of employment and business opportunities that could be generated through Aboriginal-led tourism ventures (eg bush tucker tours, cultural tours etc), the management and maintenance of parks, management of pests and threatened species (eg running an accredited bush regeneration program, growing native plant stocks) cafes, cultural centres and infrastructure.
- People also said that Aboriginal knowledge holders need to have a role in determining the appropriate activities that can be carried out on Country/in parks.
- Participants also identified opportunities to generate economic benefits to communities from royalties and fees derived from third parties accessing parks for commercial purposes.
- People called for equal or majority Aboriginal representation on any joint management governing body, with a view also put forward that the governing body should consist of Aboriginal people only.
- In terms of Visions of Success, many raised a desire to not only own the parks outright, but to be able to transition from joint-management to full-community management, even though this is not within the scope of the NSW Government proposal to establish a new joint-management model.
- Across the workshops it was said that cultural knowledge needs to be recognised and valued as highly as environmental science. . ‘We’d do it using traditional ways, based on song lines and bloodlines….’
- People want to have influence to tell people to stay away from sacred sites, including secret sites - ‘land can’t be managed if you don’t understand it’; ‘spiritual content’ should not be ‘waivered’; ‘we have had experiences where a walking track in a park went through a sacred site, sacred sites need to be diverted around’.
- ‘Aboriginal people should also have the right to issue fines for breach of Aboriginal heritage. We should be able to issue fines for an equitable management.’
- Across the workshops people expressed a clear need for Aboriginal owners to have a say or be the decision makers about permission to access Country.
- Notwithstanding the Government position that market rent and park fees will not be considered in any new joint management model, across a number of workshops people raised the need for rent, royalties and fees to be on the table.
- Views put forward include that park entry fees are a big revenue raising opportunity and that a portion should come to the owners - ‘with ownership – we would be getting the entry fees’.
- In terms of equity, people asked that given that some parks are big earners, should all income from parks be combined and distributed? ‘Should it go into a State-wide fund and be distributed out to local communities equally, just like the allocation goes into the State Land Council and goes out’. To only have one community benefit from big earning parks was not seen as equitable. It was also raised that some communities might not have a park in their area, and would that mean they get nothing?
- Adding to this it was put forward that money from non-Aboriginal enterprise in parks should get paid back in royalties and distributed out to Aboriginal communities. With such a model it was asked how do you assess royalties and determine what’s acceptable? Also, what levels of royalties would make it beneficial to enact such a scheme?
- In terms of governing body membership many felt that at least 50/50 representation of Aboriginal and Non-Indigenous people was critical, with many also saying a majority of Aboriginal representation of 51/49 or greater was needed. This was considered important to support power sharing, to level the playing field and to recognise the historical marginalisation/exclusion of Aboriginal people in caring for Country on parks. It was also seen as an acknowledgment of the primacy of Aboriginal cultural knowledge. There was also a view that governing bodies should be made up of all Aboriginal people only.
- ‘The main thing is being able to go on Country and not have to have a key for the gate. That’s the struggle I’ve had. The beauty that this opportunity represents is that we can have more access for cultural reasons.’
- Even with the hand back of parks to Aboriginal ownership, it was questioned whether the Minister will still hold ultimate power on what happens on parks. ‘Minister’s role and responsibility in all of this – struggle with it. At the strike of the pen he could abolish the land councils. There needs to be some other protections. ‘
- Empowering Aboriginal co-managers to enforce more LORE .
- People said that the model will need to embed Aboriginal ways of doing things and that there’s a need to co-design what proper partnership will look like.
- Across the workshops people raised an aspiration to not only own parks, but to manage and run parks.
- A view was also put forward that the land should be restored to how it was at the point of first contact – pre colonisation. This view went to the extreme of saying Healthy Country means the removal all things that were not present in 1788, including all buildings, introduced species and other infrastructure.
Aboriginal Joint Management Newsletter: Issue 2, December 2023
This is a recipe for disaster! Please take time to keep an eye on how this progresses. In the very short term you may find your access to the national park near you significantly affected. There is better way that involves a collaborative approach to park management that takes into account the whole community, not just a small segment.
Also ... https://quadrant.org.au/news-opinions/aborigines/welcome-to-the-new-apartheid/
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