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EPBC Act Referral EPBC Act referral Note: PDF may contain fields not relevant to your application. These fields will appear blank or unticked. Please disregard these fields. Title of proposal 2021/8951 - Willandra Ancestral Remains Reburial 2021 Section 1 Summary of your proposed action 1.1 Project industry type Science and Research 1.2 Provide a detailed description of the proposed action, including all proposed activities Proposed Action The proposed action is the reburial of 108 Willandra Ancestral Remains at 26 separate locations. The activity will involve the excavation of 108 graves. Most graves will disturb an area 50 centimetres by 50 centimetres. Several more complete burials will require a larger grave of 1 metre by 2 metres. The graves will be dug to a depth of 60cm. No markers will be installed to indicate the grave locations and the sites will be returned to existing conditions. Each reburial will be undertaken with a small private cultural ceremony as the remains are re-interned close to their point of origin. The details of the reburial locations are presented in Attachment A (detailed locations will not be made available due to cultural sensitivity). The proposed action will impact a total area of 28.5 square metres (0.00285 hectares) through the action of the 108 excavations. Background Between 1968 and the early 1980s 108 Willandra Aboriginal Ancestors (or Ancestral Remains), including the internationally renowned remains of Mungo Woman and Mungo Man, were removed from what is now Mungo National Park and the Willandra Lakes Region and taken to the Australian National University for study (Bowler et al., 1970, Mulvaney, 1972). See Webb (1989, 2018) for a detailed inventory of the collection. The discovery and subsequent recognition of the archaeological record (now estimated at ca. 41,000 years) of Aboriginal occupation were fundamental in establishing the cultural heritage significance of the Willandra Lakes region and formed part of the nomination of the Willandra Lakes to the World Heritage List (Australian Heritage Commission, 1980). The Willandra ancestral remains were returned from Canberra to Mungo National Park in November 2017 and are now held in secure storage. The Aboriginal Advisory Group (AAG) is a community elected peak Aboriginal consultative and advisory body for the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage property. The AAG represents Barkindji/Paakantji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa peoples and is also part of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area Advisory Committee. The AAG provides advice to NSW government on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage matters within the World Heritage boundaries. It can also be consulted on matters within Mungo National Park. At a meeting of the AAG on the 6 November 2018 the following motion was passed: 'In exercising our inalienable rights and as Traditional Owners the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area Aboriginal Advisory Group as duly elected representatives of the 3TTGs [Three Traditional Tribal Groups] unanimously resolves to rebury the Willandra Ancestral Remains collection. This resolution is consistent with past sentiments and views expressed by Elders and members of the various 3 Traditional Tribal Group representative bodies of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area over the last 40 years.' This reburial project is being supported by Heritage NSW and NPWS on behalf of the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area AAG. The reburial project is the final stage in the return of the repatriated ancestral collection that is currently held in secure storage at Mungo NP. The proposed activity will fulfil the long-term aspirations of the three Traditional Tribal Groups and aligns with the • Willandra Lakes World Heritage Property Plan of Management (Department of Environment, Sport & Territories, 1996) • Mungo NP Plan of Management (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, 2006) • Australian Government Policy on Indigenous Repatriation (2016), and the • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This submission describes the impacts of the proposed activity and concludes that the activity will have no significant impacts on: • the environment; • threatened species, populations, ecological communities or their habitats; • critical habitat; Note: PDF may contain fields not relevant to your application. These fields will appear blank or unticked. Please disregard these fields. • matters of national environmental significance listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. 1.3 What is the extent and location of your proposed action? See Appendix B 1.5 Provide a brief physical description of the property on which the proposed action will take place and the location of the proposed action (e.g. proximity to major towns, or for off-shore actions, shortest distance to mainland) Most of the reburial sites (22) are located in Mungo National Park (MNP) which is situated in the rangelands of south western NSW within the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area (WHA). MNP is 110 km north east of the Victorian/NSW border towns of Mildura and Wentworth and 140 km north west of the NSW town of Balranald. Four (4) sites are located on rangeland grazing properties (Western Lands Leases) that surround the Mungo National Park and are also in the WHA. Detailed maps of the proposed activity areas are provided in Attachment A–REF-Part2 (This document will not be made publicly available due to cultural sensitivity reasons). 1.6 What is the size of the proposed action area development footprint (or work area) including disturbance footprint and avoidance footprint (if relevant)? The disturbance footprint of the proposed action will impact a total area of 28.5 square metres (0.00285 hectares) through the action of 108 excavations. This assumes each reburial site disturbs an overall area of 50cm x 50cm for small bundles and 1x2m for larger bundles. The individual impact areas at each grave will vary considerably: many remains consist only of a single bone fragment and will require a very small hole that will be dug with an auger. Several remains (2) are of more complete skeletons and require a larger pit. For full details of the impact areas see Attachment A-REF-Part3 Appendix 10, Section 3, Table 1. (Please note. Some detailed locational information has been removed from this Attachment as it is not in the public interest, or in best interests of providing safety and security for the remains, to make this information available). 1.7 Proposed action location Address - Mungo National Park, Arumpo Road, Mungo, NSW, 2715, Australia 1.8 Primary jurisdiction New South Wales 1.9 Has the person proposing to take the action received any Australian Government grant funding to undertake this project? N Yes Y No 1.10 Is the proposed action subject to local government planning approval? N Yes Y No 1.11 Provide an estimated start and estimated end date for the Start Date 06/09/2021 proposed action End Date 31/12/2021 1.12 Provide details of the context, planning framework and state and/or local Government requirements The context, planning framework and impacts of the proposed works have been considered in a Review of Environmental Note: PDF may contain fields not relevant to your application. These fields will appear blank or unticked. Please disregard these fields. Factors (REF) prepared by Heritage NSW and the National Parks and Wildlife Service - full details on the state legislation and policies under which this REF was submitted are contained in Attachment A-REF-Part1 Section 3.1 (Legal Permissibility) and Attachment A-REF-Part4 Appendix 10 (Statement of Heritage Impact). Please note. Some detailed locational information has been removed from the latter Attachment as it is not in the public interest, or in best interests of providing safety and security for the remains, to make this information widely available. The REF complied with the requirements of a wide range of planning matters including the following: NPW Act 1974: Assessing Impacts on physical, biological, natural, community, and cultural heritage values including Aboriginal Objects and matters of national environmental significance Environment Protection & Assessment Act (1979): Assessment of environmental impacts (16 matters, including threatened species) Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000:Impact on heritage values State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 (ISEPP); Consideration of heritage impacts NSW Heritage Act (1977) State Heritage Register: impacts on values Biodiversity Conservation Act (2016) Impacts on threatened species Coroners Act (2009) Reburial of ancestral remains and local government approval Crown Land Management Act (2016) Permission to conduct reburials on private leasehold land Willandra Lakes Regional Environmental Plan No 1 - World Heritage Property (2010) Consultation requirements Balranald Local Environment Plan (2010) Consultation requirements Wentworth Local Environment Plan (2011) Consultation requirements In January 2021 the Review of Environmental Factors was determined and approved under Division 5.1 of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Copies of the determination letter and determination notice are provided in Attachment B & C. 1.13 Describe any public consultation that has been, is being or will be undertaken, including with Indigenous stakeholders A detailed history of discussions and consultation on this matter is included in this referral. Please see Attachment A-REF-
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