Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (Huskisson Churchyard) Emergency Declaration 2022

I, TANYA PLIBERSEK, Minister for the Environment and Water, make the following emergency declaration.

Dated 15 November 2022   

TANYA PLIBERSEK

Minister for the Environment and Water

Contents

1  Name

2  Commencement

3  Authority

4  Definitions

5  Specified area

6  Declaration

7  Period of effect

8  Repeal

1  Name

  This instrument is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (Huskisson Churchyard) Emergency Declaration 2022.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.

3  Authority

  This instrument is made under section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

4  Definitions

  In this instrument:

Act means the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

specified area means the area described in section 5.

5  Specified area

  For the purposes of subsection 9(1) of the Act, the specified area to which this declaration applies is Lots 7 and 8, Section 3, DP758530 of the former Anglican Holy Trinity Church grounds in Huskisson, New South Wales.

6  Declaration

 (1) The specified area is declared under section 9 of the Act to be preserved and protected from injury or desecration in the manner specified in subsection (2).

 (2) A person must not undertake any action that will, or is likely to, adversely affect the use or significance of the specified area in accordance with Aboriginal tradition, including:

 (a) archaeological investigations, including ground scraping;

 (b) clearing trees in the area;

 (c) removing any objects or structures from the area; or

 (d) undertaking excavation or construction work in the area.

Note: Under subsection 22(1) of the Act, a person commits an offence if the person engages in conduct that contravenes a provision of a declaration made under Part II of the Act in relation to a significant Aboriginal area.  The penalty is:

(a)      if the person is a natural person—imprisonment for 5 years or 100 penalty units, or both; or

(b)      if the person is a body corporate—500 penalty units.

7  Period of effect

  This instrument has effect for 30 days beginning on the date this instrument commences.

8  Repeal

  This instrument is repealed the day after the end of the period specified in section 7.