Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. What is the government's response to the—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Newcastle will resume her seat—

Member for Hume, you are warned. I've made it crystal clear that I want to hear questions in silence. You are refusing to follow my direction and you keep constantly interjecting. Has everyone got the message?

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. What is the government's response to the terrible destruction of the Juukan Gorge? How will the government make sure that this never happens again?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle, who I know has spent a lot of time over the years in remote communities, for her question. Today the government formally tabled our response to the interim and final reports by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia into the destruction of Juukan Gorge. We are so fortunate to share this continent with the world's oldest continuous culture and most successful environmental custodians. Juukan Gorge is one of the oldest sites of human occupation in Australia, with 46,000 years of continuous culture, tradition, practices and stories. As I said this morning, it is unthinkable that any culture would knowingly destroy Stonehenge or the Egyptian pyramids or the Lascaux caves in France. When the Bamiyan Buddhas were destroyed in Afghanistan, the world was rightly outraged. But that's precisely what occurred in Juukan Gorge.

I want to thank all members of parliament who participated in the two inquiries, across the political spectrum, and produced two very thoughtful reports. A particular debt of gratitude is owed to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people, who are the traditional owners of Juukan Gorge. I am truly sorry about the loss you have experienced and the way the parliamentary inquiries and government response have added to your distress. What's clear from these reports is that our system is not working, which is why at the election the Labor Party promised to reform the system with a standalone piece of Indigenous cultural heritage legislation, co-designed with First Nations people. That was our commitment, and today, in signing an agreement with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, we took the first step in that journey.

The final committee report identified eight recommendations for reforming Australia's cultural heritage protections. We have accepted seven of them, and we are continuing to work through one recommendation, which is whether the ultimate responsibility for cultural heritage should sit with the Indigenous affairs minister or the environment minister. These are serious reports, and the recommendations speak to the principles and priorities that will shape our response: free, prior and informed consent; truth-telling and open dialogue; and genuine partnership, the kind that can only be entered into by equals.

This morning our government signed an agreement with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance. The alliance will work closely with Minister Burney and Senator Dodson and the rest of us to make sure that we get these laws right. We are always a better country—more unified, more confident, more secure in ourselves—when we give everyone a seat at the table, when we listen to all voices. We are committed to doing better in true partnership with First Nations Australians.

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Members on my right.

Honourable members interjecting—

I haven't given you the call yet. You don't have the call. When the House comes to order, you will get the call.

Order! The member for Bruce is warned.