PAEC - Ramsar Wetlands Inquiry Submission no. 457
ABN: 66 129 413 297 ICN:3630 16/395 Nepean Hwy, Frankston VIC 3199 PO Box 11219, Frankston VIC 3199 Ph: (03) 9770 1273 www.bunuronglc.org
Submission of the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC) to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee Inquiry into the management of Ramsar wetlands
Role of the Bunurong Land Council
Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC) is a registered Indigenous Corporation and represents the interests of Bunurong Traditional Owners. It is the Registered Aboriginal Party appointed pursuant to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic) covering part of metropolitan Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, the Bass Coast and West Gippsland. (See Map Below of its current boundaries). We welcome the opportunity to be heard and make a submission to this inquiry.
1 PAEC - Ramsar Wetlands Inquiry Submission no. 457
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Wilsons Promontory National Park
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BLCAC’s aims are to preserve and protect the sacred lands and waterways of their ancestors, their places, traditional cultural practices and stories. We represent the Bunurong people when providing strategic planning advice on cultural heritage and environmental land management to local government authorities, state government departments, developers and private landholders.
The Bunurong nation, forms part of the Kulin nation with Wurundjeri, Taungarung, Dja Dja Wurrung, and Wathurong people in central Victoria. People used Bunurong country to meet for business, cultural practices and trade. The descendants of Bunurong people from before colonisation now care for the land within the Bunurong area.
The video at https://youtu.be/CD0Y2zSd8eM explains the significance of the land and waters of the region to its people.
While the BLCAC has had limited visibility and involvement with the Auditor-General’s report into Meeting Obligations to Protect Ramsar Wetlands, the organisation has a broad land area it manages, which includes many schools and local councils covering part of metropolitan Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula and land and waters to the south. It also liaises with numerous stakeholders including the Victoria Police, the Australian Defence Force, government departments and friends of groups. The BLCAC RAP area extends from Frankston in the north to Wonthaggi in the south, from the Mornington Peninsula in the west to Leongatha in the east. The BLCAC receives extensive requests to provide representation on numerous committees throughout the community. With resource and funding challenges, this becomes difficult and blurs the line between representation and meaningful engagement on a broader level. BLCAC finds it difficult to meet the level of demand for engagement.
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PAEC - Ramsar Wetlands Inquiry Submission no. 457
Like other similar organisations, BLCAC is limited for resources. As such, it is a real challenge to be across every issue affecting their country.
Importance of Ramsar sites
The BLCAC has extensive knowledge of wetlands and the issues requiring management. BLCAC note the critical nature Ramsar Wetlands play in protecting habitats for migratory birds and significant habitats for other animals. BLCAC also highlight the ecological importance of the sites.
These sites are also significant to traditional owners, primarily because of the stories, food and landscapes they encompass. The Edithvale-Seaford site, for example, is now a small part of a once much larger swamp which was an important gathering place, housing traditional resources and representing a preserved piece of habitat with several purposes and values.
Traditional owners have a blood connection to the land stretching to time immemorial. Traditional owners thus have cultural obligations to protect the land. Bunurong people are interested in exploring cultural burning around the Edithvale-Seaford site for example.
The BLCAC emphasise the importance of the connection between traditional owners and the land - the ‘country is connected to us and we are connected to it’. There are most likely human remains located in the wetland site, which are of great importance to traditional owners. Significant remnants have been left from previous generations that hold cultural significance to traditional owners as well as the wider community.
Western and traditional owner perspectives of wetlands are different. The Edithvale-Seaford site is important to traditional owners that have been around for 8,000 to 12,000 years. Traditional owners often built low impact structures to preserve the wetland. The mythology around the wetland, including stories that have been passed down from generation to generation are also important. To the Bunurong people, the swamp represents a central point that can be compared to a holy religious site.
Involvement and Engagement in the management of Ramsar wetlands
The BLCAC believe its formal role in managing the Edithvale-Seaford wetland complex is at best, unclear. This could just as easily apply to the site at Westernport Ramsar site. Only minimal miminal consultation to has occurred date. This consulation has felt like an after thought or box ticking exercise at best with little meaningful engagement.
The Seaford site has changed significantly, and it is important to manage what little is left of the wetland. From the traditional custodian’s perspective, the site has experienced decimation beyond recognition from 1835 until 2019. A traditional custodians report looking at the site’s management, could be commissioned and used to inform future management.
A fully resourced joint management type arrangement of wetlands would be acceptable in the short term. This could entail BLCAC holding a 50% interest on either a committee or board managing for example the Edithvale-Seaford site. The land belongs to the traditional owners and it should be the traditional owners who manage the land. We also note. That the management status of these sites may change should there be a settlement made under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act, and we do not yet know how these issues will be dealt with if a Treaty is made.
In practice, it is unclear if government agencies know their obligations when and where to formally to engage with traditional owners (in line with existing policy and and legislation) on Ramsar, and Ramsar-related management and planning issues.
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PAEC - Ramsar Wetlands Inquiry Submission no. 457
Challenges and opportunities
There are tensions that exist in the management of Ramsar sites in Victoria. For example, there are tensions between the Aboriginal groups and user groups, such as bird watchers. Moreover, there is a multiplicity of land owners and managers, resulting in tensions directly related to wetland management. The lack of clarity of roles is a problem in the Government’s approach to wetlands management. The demarcation is not clear and while the Government has substantial resources at its disposal, this has not always translated to good management practices. In our view, traditional owners should have primacy in both the management and use of the sites or at least a greater say or stake in management. Presently it appears that migratory birds might have more rights and recognition than First Peoples.
Prior to the Mabo decision there was little engagement and recognition. But the last 25 years have seen positive developments and a fundamental shift in negotiations. A positive example of this is Bass Coast Shire Council having a Memorandum of Understanding with the traditional owners and working closely and respectfully with them. This is reflected in the use of Aboriginal place names at Philip Island.
There is a myriad of governance arrangements and agencies involved in wetlands management in Victoria. BLCAC does not feel as though it has been effectively consulted on the management of the Edithvale-Seaford site in particular. The Government has a divide between the management of land, water and agriculture, which traditional owner groups believe does not work effectively. The Council is also concerned about the extent to which Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) are recognised in the consultation process.
Ideally, the BLCAC would be the peak authority in charge of managing the Edithvale-Seaford Ramsar site. Currently, we believe it is consulted at the end of any management or decision-making processes.
BLCAC is concerned about the level of consultation that occurs by the Government. For example, Melbourne Water has met probably once with the BLCAC in the past five years, with the relationship between the two organisations deteriorating over the past two years. Melbourne Water has only been interested in seeking its views when a citizen complained. The Council found Melbourne Water’s processes reactive. BLCAC is not represented on the Melbourne Water Committee of Management for the Edithvale-Seaford wetland.
In terms of the effectiveness of Melbourne Water, BLCAC is not happy with the Reconciliation Action Plan created by Melbourne Water. Other traditional owner groups we think are also not happy with it either. BLCAC believes that Melbourne Water is needs to do significantly more towards fulfilling its commitments to that process
Legislative change is needed to ensure that traditional ownership and input is respected. Traditional owners should be at the start of any land management process, rather than at the end. The BLCAC is not only interested in the protection of cultural elements of the site but ensuring benefit for all user groups.
There was extensive collaboration between groups involved on recent construction and development works along the M3 highway and BLCAC to preserve remnants that were found during excavation of the land. There are, however, fewer opportunities for preservation because of the fast pace of development occurring in the area.
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PAEC - Ramsar Wetlands Inquiry Submission no. 457
Conclusion
The capacity within RAP groups to service all relevant engagement is quite low. Funding for the entire RAP program across Victoria is less than $4 million annually, which represents a small investment for government. The focus has also changed from heritage focussed to ‘hubs’, which has resulted in a much wider remit and incorporated a number of different groups. RAPs and community organisations need to be resourced for proper engagement and undertake a vast amount of work considering the funding RAPs receive.
The Ramsar sites in Bunurong country are as important culturally as they are for migratory birds and conservation. Recognition of First Peoples in the management of these sites needs serious and meaningful improvement. However, it will require the provision of sufficient resources to ensure the best outcomes for all the relevant stakeholders and the general community.
Dan Turnbull
Chief Executive Officer
6 February 2020.
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