Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

First Nations peoples have been the custodians of this great land for tens of thousands of years. Today we meet on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. My electorate of Sturt is on Kaurna land, the traditional lands of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. The Kaurna people have been the custodians of this land for 60,000 years. This land stretches from Cape Jervis in the south to Crystal Brook in the north and from the Mount Lofty Ranges all the way to the coast of the Gulf of St Vincent. The Kaurna people have a deep and lasting spiritual relationship with this land and its waters. Their cultural heritage, belief and relationship with the land continue to be important today. So, to any Kaurna people here today, I say niina marni and ngaityalya.

First Nations knowledge of the land, of land management and of sustainability is more important than ever. This knowledge includes ecological knowledge, medicinal knowledge, environmental management knowledge, and cultural and spiritual knowledge. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have cared for this country and have played, and continue to play, a momentous role in sculpting the environment and supporting the incredible, distinctive and unique biodiversity we experience in Australia today. The knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their connection to place and their cultural practices have long contributed to the positive environmental outcomes that benefit all Australians.

Our jointly managed Commonwealth reserves—Kakadu National Park, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and Booderee National Park—are located on Aboriginal land. Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. South-east of Darwin, it covers an area just shy of 20,000 kilometres, which is actually the size of the country of Wales. Kakadu is the second-largest national park in Australia. It is highly diverse from an ecological and biological perspective, hosting a wide range of habitats, flora and fauna. It is home to four major river systems: the East Alligator River, the West Alligator River, the South Alligator River and the Wildman River. It also includes a rich heritage of Aboriginal rock art, including highly significant sites such as Ubirr. Aboriginal people have been the custodians of Kakadu for 60,000 years. Kakadu is fully protected by the EPBC Act and is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is also in the Northern Territory. It is a protected area that is home to Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is almost 2,000 kilometres south of Darwin and 440 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs. It covers just over 1,300 square kilometres and is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. One of Australia's most iconic landmarks Uluru is a focal point for the world's acknowledgement of Australia's Indigenous culture. The Anangu people are the traditional owners of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, where, for thousands of years, they have cared for the rare and endemic flora in the park as well as the now rare and endangered species there.

Booderee National Park is located in Jervis Bay and is managed as an Indigenous protected area. Located just three hours from both Sydney and Canberra, it is a park with unspoilt beaches, incredible flora and fauna and hundreds of kilometres of walking tracks. Booderee really is one of Australia's most stunning national parks, where crystal clear waters meet beautiful white sandy beaches and high cliffs and historic relics overlook the majestic Pacific Ocean.

The traditional owners of the remarkable lands I have described, Booderee National Park and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and Kakadu National Park are actively involved in the protection of the environment through participation in the management of their land. They are spaces which both sustain and share the experience of Australia's biodiversity and cultural landscapes. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Board of Management Functions) Bill 2025 on which I speak today operates to affect a minor amendment to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. It is not part of the broad and far-reaching environmental law reform agenda that the Albanese Labor government is working on and deeply committed to delivering.

During the election campaign for the seat of Sturt, my fellow candidates and I participated in five candidate debates. It was illustrative that, as well as the cost of living, the most frequent questions asked of us as candidates related to the environment, including about reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act and, importantly, the role of First Nations knowledge of the lands on which we live and work and how that must be deployed in ongoing initiatives to sustain our environment.

The minor amendment this bill proposes would allow a board of management for a jointly managed Commonwealth reserve such as Booderee, Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Kakadu to continue to make decisions regarding the management of the reserves after a management plan expires. These reserves are managed by the Director of National Parks under a lease with the traditional owners and through a board of management. A board of management is appointed by the minister and comprises a majority of Indigenous people nominated by traditional owners. Each of the boards of management is currently chaired by a traditional owner, and these boards are responsible for making decisions about the management of the Commonwealth reserves. However, the ability to make decisions stops when a management plan expires. Management plans are legislative instruments that outline how a Commonwealth reserve is to be managed and protected and expire after 10 years, unless revoked earlier.

Without this bill, when a management plan expires, the decision-making functions of the board will cease. If that occurs, the role of traditional owners in the decision-making process is compromised, reducing that critical involvement in the management of their land. This bill will bridge any gap between a management plan for a jointly managed Commonwealth reserve expiring and a new management plan coming into effect. The bill, therefore, will allow the board to continue making decisions after a management plan expires, provided those decisions are consistent with the expired management plan—just as they would have been consistent with the management plan whilst it was afoot.

This is a sensible and reasonable change that will maintain the board's decision-making ability until a new management plan comes into effect.

The bill aligns with the Albanese Labor government's commitment to provide traditional owners with greater control over management of their country. It supports the improved relationship between the Australian government, the Director of National Parks and traditional owners of jointly managed Commonwealth reserves, which remains a priority for this government. The bill will support the effective participation of Indigenous people in matters relating to the management of their country, support continuity of decision-making and enable consistency of governance arrangements for Commonwealth reserve management.

We know that First Nations knowledge of land management has been curated over tens of thousands of years. We know it was and continues to be developed by observing country, including cultural burning, traditional fishing, water management, plant harvesting and rock-wall construction, in order to regenerate ecosystems and manage resources. We know that land management is not just environmental but deeply spiritual. It's about health and wellbeing of country but also the health and wellbeing of those who are privileged enough to live on country. We know that land management also involves threat management, which is traditional methods that are effective in managing threats like feral animals and weeds that threaten native plants and creating fire breaks, which protect land, people and threatened species.

The Burnside city council, located in my electorate of Sturt, is home to several public sculptures, including the newly unveiled Burnside Tamikuru Sculpture by artist Allan Sumner. Allan is a descendent of Ngarrindjeri people, who come from the lower Murray and the lakes of the Murray River along the Coorong of South Australia. I was fortunate to be able to attend the unveiling of this sculpture in June 2025 as part of Reconciliation Week, which had the theme 'Bridging Now to Next', reflecting the ongoing connection between past, present and future. I was able to meet Allan, who is a prominent artist in Adelaide with his meaningful work displayed across the electorate of Sturt, at the Morialta adventure playground and in the Kensington reserve, as well as at Burnside. Allan's work also adorns football and soccer jerseys and can even be seen on the side of Adelaide Metro buses. Allan's art celebrates connection to country and celebrates First Nations knowledge and care of country.

At the Burnside Tamikuru Sculpture unveiling, I also met Rayne Simpson, who is the Regional Coordinator for Kaurna, South Australia, for an organisation called Firesticks. Firesticks is an Indigenous led not-for-profit enterprise and registered charity that supports a growing national network of Indigenous communities and practitioners by promoting the revitalisation and use of traditional knowledge systems and practices, particularly culture fire-burning to improve country and community health and wellbeing. Rayne has a background in the banking industry, but, after doing that for 15 years, he decided to start a journey that was much more meaningful to him—a journey which has its foundations in revitalising traditional land-management practices within his community. Embracing the teachings of elders and collaborating with fellow Kaurna men and women, Rayne has integrated traditional fire-management techniques into his approach to work and life. Rayne explained to me that Indigenous knowledge of fire-management techniques is such that, in preparation for bushfire season, a cultural burn is conducted using small, low-intensity fires, known as 'cool burns', to clear undergrowth, reduce fuel and manage the landscape. This technique of low and slow cool burns creates natural fire breaks that allow animals to escape and that promote biodiversity by encouraging the regrowth of plants and then the return of animals to their natural habitat. This low and slow cool burn technique of gentle and managed fires that can halt the spread of larger, uncontrolled fires and cool the earth has been practised for thousands and thousands of years.

The continued promotion and meaningful utilisation of First Nations knowledge and land management is absolutely critical in protecting and managing our environment. It is critical for sustainability and for the future of our country. Although a minor amendment on paper, this bill is significant in its acknowledgement and continued support of the unquantifiable value of First Nations knowledge of how to care for country.

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