Discussion Paper - Part A - Victorian Environmental Assessment ...

State for a finite period or some other form ofagreement where existing rights and interests areguaranteed. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘handbacklease-back’ model of land management.Management decisions are shared between TraditionalOwners and the relevant land management agency ofgovernment (the lessee) normally through a body ofmanagement. The lease agreement continues beyond itsagreed term until a new lease is negotiated. Thisguarantees the continuation of existing rights andinterests, including those of the State’s for decisionmakingauthority, and is usually secured by legislation.An example of Joint Management is Kakadu NationalPark and World Heritage Area in the Northern Territorycomprising approximately 50 percent Aboriginal landunder the Commonwealth Aboriginal Land Rights(Northern Territory) Act 1976. Key features of thisagreement are the lease arrangements between theAboriginal owners and the Commonwealth Governmentover a 99-year term. A breach in the lease conditionswill return full control of the land to the Aboriginalowners and the termination of the lease. An annualrental and percentage of park revenue is returned to theTraditional Owners as well as enterprise developmentopportunities including tour operators’ inductionschemes, Aboriginal involvement in park management,encouragement in business and commercial initiatives.The original lease agreement did not provide for formaljoint management structures, but this was subsequentlyincorporated. Other examples exist at five NSW nationalparks at Mutawintji, Biamanga, Gulaga, Mount GrenfellHistoric Site (NSW), Booderree and Booderee BotanicGardens near Jervis Bay (Commonwealth Territory) andsome 30 further parks and reserves in the NorthernTerritory including the Nitmiluk National Parkencompassing Katherine Gorge.To date, no joint management arrangements for nationalparks have been entered into between TraditionalOwners and the Victorian Government. Amendment tothe National Parks Act 1975 would be required toenable this management arrangement to be establishedover any Victorian land scheduled under the Act.Indigenous Owned or Managed LandAn example of Indigenous owned or managed land canbe found at the Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area,which is owned and managed by the Winda MaraAboriginal Trust (see detail below).In Victoria, such lands may have been acquired throughsite-specific legislation (e.g. Aboriginal Land (Ebenezer,Ramahyuck and Coranderrk) Act 1991), a restrictedCrown grant or through funds provided from theCommonwealth Indigenous Land Fund. In theWotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and JupagalkNative Title settlement the State Government hasallocated funds and three parcels of culturally significantland totalling some 45 ha and $2.6 million over fiveyears to meet costs associated with land managementactivities.For protected areas, agreements may be reached withgovernment agencies for support in areas such as pestplant and animal control, fire protection, threatenedspecies management and management planning. Sucharrangements enhance the opportunities for increasedIndigenous participation in the management ofgovernment-controlled protected areas, includingthrough contracted services or co-managementarrangements.Examples of Aboriginal owned or managed land inVictoria include:• Deen Maar Indigenous Protected Area (428 ha) whichis a nationally significant ephemeral wetland systemon the southwest Victorian coast near Yambuk.Purchased in 1993 by ATSIC (the now abolishedAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) forthe Framlingham Aboriginal Trust, the area is culturallysignificant having connections with Deen Maar Islandand the Creator Spirit Bunjil. It is also a site wherenumerous battles were fought with colonists duringthe Eumeralla wars in the 1840s and 1850s.• The Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area (480 ha)owned and managed by the Winda Mara AboriginalTrust was purchased in 1997 by ATSIC. The sitecontains archaeological remains of a large-scale precontactaquaculture system of the Gunditjmara peoplewhich is still visible today.• Wallpolla West State Forest contains a numberof culturally significant sites. Government landmanagement agencies have established a jointcommittee of management with the Latji LatjiTraditional Owners under the Forests Act 1958 toformalise working relationships established duringrehabilitation and management of Aboriginal culturalheritage sites.In other states, Aboriginal communities have freeholdownership of land. In Queensland, 55 Land Trusts havebeen established under the state’s Aboriginal Land Act1991 or Torres Strait Islander Land Act 1991. In this casethe grantees may restrict access to the land, however itcan never be sold or transferred, and any lease issuedto a non-Indigenous person or group for more than 10years must be approved by the Queensland Ministerresponsible for Natural Resources.Public Land Use CategoriesVEAC and predecessor bodies have in the pastencouraged government and Indigenous peoples towork together in public land management (VEAC 2004).However, to date there has been no public land usecategory that specifically requires Indigenousmanagement. In some cases, Indigenous people havebeen more concerned with the level of Indigenousinvolvement in management than the underlying landuse category (e.g. VEAC 2004). Implications of increasedIndigenous involvement for the existing public land usesystem are explored in chapter 19 Emerging Themes.VEAC will undertake a special consultation program topro-actively seek the views of Indigenous people andgroups in the study area on opportunities for increasedinvolvement in public land management. The modelsdescribed above will serve as the basis for thisconsultation, but should not limit the developmentof variations to the models—or indeed entirely newmodels—to suit particular local circumstances.Discussion Paper97