Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth)
Notice of an application for the protection of Taylor Oval in Moree, New South Wales
Invitation to make representations
I, Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy hereby give notice as follows:
The Minister for the Environment and Energy, responsible for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) (the Act), has received an application made under section 10 of the Act seeking to protect an area known as Taylor Oval in Moree, New South Wales, and appointed me to provide a report to him under section 10(1)(c) of the Act.
The applicant
The application is made by the Environmental Defender's Office (NSW) on behalf of Mr Lyall Munro. The application states Mr Munro is a 'recognised Aboriginal Gomeroi Elder'.
The purpose of the application
The application seeks the preservation or protection of the area specified in the application from injury or desecration. Section 10 of the Act enables the Minister to decide whether to make a declaration to preserve and protect the specified area, if the Minister is satisfied that the area is a significant Aboriginal area and is under threat of injury or desecration. In the Act, the term ‘significant Aboriginal area’ refers to an area that is of particular significance to Aboriginals in accordance with Aboriginal tradition. Section 3 of the Act provides definitions of ‘significant Aboriginal area’ and other relevant terms including ‘Aboriginal tradition’ and ‘injured or desecrated’. The area specified for protection, the claimed significance of the area, and the claimed nature of the threat of injury or desecration are summarised below.
Matters the report is required to deal with
The Minister will consider my report under section 10 of the Act in relation to the area specified for protection before deciding whether to make a declaration under section 10 of the Act. Under section 10(4) of the Act, the report is required to deal with the following matters:
(a) the particular significance of the area to Aboriginals;
(b) the nature and extent of the threat of injury to, or desecration of, the area;
(c) the extent of the area that should be protected;
(d) the prohibitions and restrictions to be made with respect to the area;
(e) the effects the making of a declaration may have on the proprietary or pecuniary interests of persons other than the Aboriginal or Aboriginals on whose behalf the application is made;
(f) the duration of any declaration; and
(g) the extent to which the area is or may be protected by or under a law of the State of New South Wales, and the effectiveness of any remedies available under any such law.
The area sought to be protected (the 'specified area')
The applicant specifies the area for which protection is sought as 'land at Taylor Oval that comprises two lots of land: Lot 587 (deposited plan 822970, containing Taylor Oval) and Lot 701 (deposited plan 1029428) which are in the Moree Plains Shire Council local government area'. The area is shown on the map below.
Figure 1 map showing Taylor Oval in relation to the the township of Moree, NSW.
Claimed nature of particular significance
The application indicates that the particular significance of the specified area arises predominately from its significance as a:
- 'registered burial site';
- site of 'contemporaneous cultural heritage values';
- 'recognised place for reconciliation in Moree' and 'its sporting history, due to the pivotal role sport has played towards reconciling the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities in Moree'; and
- place of historical significance as 'the boundary of Taylor Oval was the area where Ronald 'Cheeky' McIntosh was killed during race related tensions in Moree in the 1970s. A smoking ceremony was held on the site in recognition of Aboriginal leader William Craigie, one of the four founding members of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra and the ashes from the fire ceremony were buried on the Oval in the early 1990s'.
Claimed threat of injury or desecration
The application indicates that the threat of injury or desecration to the specified area arises from the rezoning of the land as 'operational' under the Moree Plains Local Environment Plan 2011 and the potential commercial development of the land. Although the specific commercial development is not known, the application claims that the destruction of Taylor Oval as a sporting facility poses a significant threat of injury and desecration due to the potential for the:
- destruction of 'the cultural heritage values of Taylor Oval;
- 'desecration of a burial site'; and
- 'demolition of a significant and historic sporting facility as a place of reconciliation in Moree between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people during a period of significant racial tension'.
The applicant has provided further information on the claimed threat or injury:
- 'on 3 February 2015, Moree Plains Shire Council (MPSC) purchased Taylor Oval from the NSW Department of Crown Lands;
- on 3 March 2015, the MPSC gave 28 days notice in the local newspaper of its intention to classify Taylor Oval as 'operational' under the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) without a public hearing;
- before 24 April 2015, the MPSC passed a resolution to classify the land as operational; and
- as operational land MPSC has the legal authority to sell, lease, licence, exchange or otherwise dispose of Taylor Oval rendering it no longer part of the public lands estate. Furthermore, as operational land, Taylor Oval has fewer restrictions regarding what development can occur on the land under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (NSW)'.
Invitation to make representations
Interested persons are invited to make representations on this matter to:
Dr Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy
Extent Heritage
Level 3
73 Union St
PYRMONT NSW 2009
Ph: 0428 673 112
Fax: 02 9555 7005
Email: submissions@extent.com.au
Representations must be made in writing by close of business by 2 November 2016 or within such further period as may be allowed. You should not send your representations directly to the Minister. Representations will be provided to the Minister for the Environment and Energy, and Department of the Environment and Energy, along with the section 10 report. Representations may be disclosed where it is authorised or required by law, to meet procedural fairness requirements, and in response to a request by a House or Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth.
If you wish to claim confidentiality over any part of your representation, please identify why you are claiming confidentiality and how you want confidentiality to apply. Even if your claim is accepted, any part of your representation could still be disclosed to other persons, such as in the circumstances set out above.