Tag Archives: Griffith University

Second post for Directed Study in ACH management

Hello all,

As I mentioned last post, for my directed study in Cultural Heritage Management I am working with Griffith University’s Indigenous Research Network to attempt to find answers to some of the many concerns and issues that arose as part of Griffith’s whole of university approach to the development and implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander undergraduate curricula.

My current work with the New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (NSW DECCW) in their Environmental Protection and Regulation Group (EPRG) based in Coffs Harbour has seen me back to witness the roll out of the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Consultation Requirements for Proponents – Part 6 National and Wildlife Act 1974, released for immediate implementation on the 12/04/2010. The consultation workshops as part of the review prior to the release of the new requirements was commenced in early 2008 during my last period of employment with the Department.

The new requirements came from a long process and included the release of interim guidelines in 2005 as well as the extensive consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders and others across the NSW. The purpose was to provide a level of legal regulation around the consultation expected with Aboriginal groups prior to proposed impact to Aboriginal objects or places.

The new guidelines which are available on the DECCW website provides only regulation of proposed development that may require an Aboriginal Heritage Impact Permit (AHIP) it is not binding on the other planning process that have the potential to impact Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW, though they are strongly recommended as a best practice procedure.

How well the new requirements will identify and engage with the appropriate people to speak for Country in any proposed development will have to be seen as times goes on.

Directed Study in Cultural Heritage Managment

For my directed study in Cultural Heritage Management I am working with Griffith University’s Indigenous Research Network to attempt to find answers to some of the many concerns and issues that arose as part of Griffith’s whole of university approach to the development and implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander undergraduate curricula.

There has been ongoing dialogue, research and focus on the sharing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge in the Griffith University area of south-east Queensland (SEQ). A combined SEQ traditional Owner group emphasised in their public documents that even though Indigenous knowledge may have consistent themes throughout Australia, it is the specifically local aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge that are most valued by those who have preserved them most useful to those who seek to retain and maintain cultural landscapes in the face development pressure. Questions over whose values are upheld and whether preservation and management can coexist have been raised with regards to both physical remains of cultural activity encountered and Indigenous knowledge collected, stored and transmitted through educational institutions.

To investigate cultural heritage management of both tangible and intangible Indigenous culture I have undertaken an environmental scan of the publicly available policy of a number of universities and Traditional Owner entities to determine how Indigenous authority is maintained over cultural heritage management. The intention is to provide suggested frameworks and processes for the collaborative development of policy/strategy that reflects the expectations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and meets the needs of the institution.