Dr WOODRUFF – Thank you, minister. I also want to pay my respects to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, the true custodians of the land, and recognise that this is stolen land that we meet on here today, and pay my respects to elders, including people in the community who are watching and listening to this today.
Many people in the Tasmanian Aboriginal community have stated that there cannot be any meaningful truth‑telling process without a pathway to treaty. I welcome the kind of openness that I heard in the comment you made to Ms Dow then. I think what the community really want to understand, before embarking on this process of truth telling, is that you, as minister, are prepared to listen to the outcomes of that and that, if treaty is one of those outcomes as a process to be taken up, then you will respect that and listen to those outcomes.
Mrs ARCHER – I’ve been very open and clear that I am listening and, in the short time that I have been the minister, I have made a point of trying to get around and talk to as many of those community groups as possible and listening very carefully. That is why I believe, and the government believes, that we must undertake truth telling as a priority.
There are also other priorities that the Aboriginal community have identified, such as land return and also the revision or the introduction of a new Tasmanian Aboriginal heritage act. I think that those are also important steps along that journey of truth telling and healing. I also think we must undertake those steps and those truth telling steps before we enter into any sort of formal agreements. That is absolutely necessary. But, of course, I am open and I am listening and I think we are not committed – we can’t say that we are committed to truth telling if we’re not prepared to listen to the truth that comes from that.
Dr WOODRUFF – Thank you. I’m glad you mentioned land returns because that’s long been a matter of injustice that there haven’t been any land returns for decades in Tasmania. We were on the cusp of nearly reaching those land returns over a decade ago, but they’ve stalled, so far, under this government. Are you committed to returning land and working to do that while you are minister?
Mrs ARCHER – Yes, thanks for the question, I’m absolutely committed to improving outcomes for all Tasmanian Aboriginal people. As I’ve said, since becoming minister, I’ve met with a number of Tasmanian Aboriginal people and I really recognise how important land return is and that it is a common priority. There are a number of parcels of land that have been raised as important to Tasmanian Aboriginal people and I’m seeking advice on how we can progress potential land returns and I 100 per cent agree that it has been too long since land was returned.
It’s been heartening to engage with Tasmanian Aboriginal people and to hear their thoughts around these options and I’ll continue to look into options on the best way forward. In regard to potential amendments to the act, the government undertook a review into the model for returning land, which included three rounds of consultation, including on the exposure draft of the Aboriginal Lands Amendment bill that was released in August 2023.
It was clear from that consultation that there are diverse views on that legislation both within the parliament and amongst Tasmanian Aboriginal people. I understand that the previous minister worked across party lines and with Aboriginal organisations to seek some greater consensus on that bill. There’s a way to go on that, but we will certainly remain committed to land returns.
I will just see if the secretary would like to make any further comments about that.
Mr JACOBI – Through you, minister, and thank you for the question. There’s a large number of suggested parcels that have been put forward for potential land return to Aboriginal people and we’re actively engaged with Aboriginal community organisations and have been over many years, largely as a consequence of the Warner report. Many of those proposals are undergoing a preliminary investigation because the suggested parcels, in some cases, present challenges in terms of social, political or technical considerations, be it land tenure or the types of activities that currently occur on those parcels.
You would be very well familiar with the Kooparoona Niara proposal that was put forward about all the transfer of land that was converted to Nature Conservation Act. That is certainly still – that is not off the table, but it does require a legislative amendment to the Nature Conservation act to create a specific category of Aboriginal land.
Dr WOODRUFF – I’m sure there’d be willingness across the parliament to support that.
Mr JACOBI – At the moment, it doesn’t exist in legislation, so it would require a legislative amendment to create that specific category, whether it’s a protected area national park or a protected area Aboriginal land, there is a variety of options that could be considered.
We’re also actively engaged with a number of organisations about opportunities for long‑term leases for ‘joint land management’ for want of a better term, and those discussions are continuing at various locations across the state but, again, we do have full agreement from all organisations about the transition to a lease or to a managing authority arrangement.
