2014-03-25 Planning & Organisation Committee Agenda Pages 81-167

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  25 MARCH 2014


Discussions with staff at the Department of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural
Affairs indicate that, while the applicant may have met its initial obligations under the Aboriginal
Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and might choose to further assess cultural heritage values and
engage with traditional owners later, Council is likely to have separate considerations in relation
to its assessment. Notably, the applicant’s report states that “Section 6 of the Duty of Care
Guidelines acknowledges that there may be residual cultural values...[despite it having being
exposed to ground disturbance]...and one of the objects of the legislation is to involve Aboriginal
people. Having regard to this, and the proximity of the Project Area to an important
environmental feature in Lake Weyba, we do not recommend relying on a Duty of Care
Assessment alone”.

Given the sites’ potential cultural heritage values and the application’s significant conflicts with
local planning provisions, it is considered important that a better understanding of cultural
heritage issues be available for this assessment. Accordingly, Council staff made contact with
the traditional owners in order to seek their views on the significance of the land. Kabi Kabi First
Nation’s cultural heritage representative provided the following feedback:

… it is important to note that any such surviving objects and/or areas of Aboriginal cultural
heritage remain highly significant to the Kabi Kabi people. Similarly, the Kabi Kabi people have
identified that Lake Weyba and its surrounds are highly significant to them on a number of levels
- such significance can only be assessed and managed by the Kabi Kabi people and as such, as
indicated by [the applicants cultural heritage consultant], I and the Kabi Kabi people would
strongly argue that the Due Diligence assessment in isolation is deficient for the purposes of
managing the proponent's duty of care.

From what is known about the area, the likelihood of impacts on cultural heritage values from the
development is high. Such impacts could arise in relation to tangible sites or artefacts but, of
major concern, are the impacts caused by the intense urban development on what is probably a
culturally significant landscape. A precautionary approach should preclude approval of this
application until the applicant has sought the views of the traditional owners and demonstrated
how cultural heritage issues can be addressed.

Koala Habitat and Net Benefit Assessment

Existing Habitat Values

Koala habitat within the development footprint is mapped as containing medium and low value
bushland values and medium and low value rehabilitation values under the State Planning
Regulatory Provisions mapping, as shown below and at A3 size as Attachment 7.




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