Experts warn clean energy transition must not come at cost of Indigenous rights
The Government and the Greens both claim they want to hear the Voice of Traditional Owners. But today, when it came to rights in Sea Country, they both tried to silence the voice of the nation’s representative Traditional Owner organisations.
None of the members of the of the Senate Economics Legislation Committee inquiring into the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill 2024 wanted to hear from the representative Traditional Owner organisations. The Sea Country Alliance, representing over fifty Traditional Owner representative organisations with Sea Country responsibility, made a comprehensive submission to the inquiry.
Co-Chair of the Sea Country Alliance, Gareth Ogilvie, said:
“We speak for most of Australia’s Sea Country and yet no-one is speaking with us. It seems that this is just another exercise by the government in putting their hands over their ears because they know they won’t like what is being said.”
The Sea Country Alliance members represent Traditional Owners of most of the shoreline of Australia. Speaking with one voice for our rights to Sea Country, the Alliance is the single most comprehensive perspective on Traditional Owner responsibilities for Sea Country.
And yet our submission to the Inquiry garnered no response and no opportunity to speak to the Committee about their concerns.
Gareth Ogilvie continued by saying:
“This situation is frustrating SCA members’ aspirations for their economic participation. Our regions have the potential to be thriving economies but are impeded by reluctance in a system which prevents Traditional Owners from benefiting from economic development.”
Our concerns go to the continuing erosion of our rights and the lack of respect for our responsibilities. Whilst the proposed amendments in this Bill largely go to matters relating to Occupational Health and Safety, their volume obfuscates the very real threat in the Bill to Traditional Owners in the new s 790E. It is this new section that seeks to circumvent the new Nature Positive Plan through providing a potential lack of scrutiny under the EPBC of any future Environmental Plan approvals that may be granted by NOPSEMA.
SCA National Leadership Group member and National Native Title Council CEO, Jamie Lowe, said:
“With significant legislation affecting the rights of Traditional Owners currently being reformed with the input of peak Traditional Owner bodies, circumventing those voices through this s 790E is appalling. More galling is ignoring our submission entirely.”
