Government and Labor combine to block sending Aboriginal Heritage issues to Senate Environment and Communications References Committee

Government and Labor have taken a ‘bipartisan’ approach to send the issues of Aboriginal Heritage and the destruction of First Nations culture and land for mining projects to the Government led Northern Australia Committee when they had the option to support a more comprehensive referral of the issue to the Environment and Communications Committee where the Greens and Labor have the majority.

“They have now restricted the nature of an inquiry and put it in the Government's hands.
 
“The Environment and Communications Committee is the most appropriate committee to send this issue to. 
 
“Northern Australia is not the only part of the country with weak Aboriginal Heritage laws and where First Nations heritage is being destroyed with little oversight. 
 
“The Northern Australia Committee won’t be able to look into the Gomeroi traditional custodian concerns about sites of significant cultural value that are at risk of being destroyed in northern NSW to make way for the Shenhua Watermark Mine project which has been reported on today. 
 
“I am sure there are many other sites all across Australia that are at risk of being destroyed not located in Northern Australia." 

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