Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a mess Labor has created in the west! Labor's new Aboriginal cultural heritage law was, no doubt, made with the best of intentions towards Indigenous people. The problem is that Labor didn't give a damn about anybody else. It's just another rushed, emotive policy. As a result, Western Australia's key industries are paralysed with uncertainty. Farmers can't farm. Miners can't mine. Builders can't build. Even councils can't plant trees for the environment. Even homeowners can't do things on their properties the rest of us take for granted all based on if it goes below the ground surface by 50 centimetres.

Of course, this is really about money rather than culture. Most of this land has been farmed, mined or lived on for over a century and has no connection to the Aboriginal culture. The West Australian newspaper last month reported the owner of a residential block in Exmouth has been quoted $20,000 for an Aboriginal heritage survey. The Daily Mail reported a man from Toodyay is facing a nine-month jail sentence and a $20,000 fine just for building a creek crossing to enable all-weather access to his property.

This is apparently because, according to local Aboriginal mythology, the creek is home to the Rainbow Serpent that might be scared away by the crossing. This is what will send a man to jail—mythology? How ridiculous we accept this in the 21st century. It's madness, and the Albanese government wants to expand it on a national scale.

There's only one silver lining to this stifling black tape in Western Australia: we're getting a preview of life in Australia with a Voice to Parliament. It's not looking pretty. It's divisive on race, it's destroying home owners property rights and it's holding industries critical to our economy hostage. One Nation will fight to rid Western Australia of this divisive, racist policy.