A new study reveals that Traditional Owners are being excluded from decisions relating to the clean energy transition that threatens vital cultural, spiritual, and economic connections.
The study in Heritage, led by the Sea Country Alliance with the Charles Darwin University (CDU), reports that cultural rights at sea are far less recognised than those on land, creating a legislative gap that leaves Traditional Owners without a voice in offshore development.
CDU says the research points to the Federal Court case Munkara v Santos, and illustrates the difficulties Traditional Owners face in safeguarding songlines, totems and other cultural heritage in the absence of free, prior and informed consent.
The study calls for reforms to embed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into offshore legislation and proposes a national Economic Empowerment Fund to ensure affected communities – including those in spill zones – share in the benefits.
Sea Country Alliance Co-Chair Rhetti Hoskins says that without reform, offshore wind and gas risk becoming the next frontier of dispossession.
“For over 65,000 years Traditional Owners have cared for Sea Country, ensuring that the ecosystems thrived, and cultural connections remained strong,” Hoskins says.
Gareth Ogilvie, Co-Chair of Sea Country Alliance, adds that Australia must meet and lead international best practice in approaching Sea Country as a holistic environment.
“Our Songlines connect the heart of Australia to the Australian coastline as it once was, now far out at sea – we understand Sea Country and terrestrial Country as one,” Ogilvie says.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock
