David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. Will the minister commit to publicly releasing details of the proposed federal cultural heritage reforms prior to the referendum on the Voice to Parliament?

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The minister for immigration will cease interjecting. I give the call to the Minister for the Environment and Water.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. He's asking a question about two completely unrelated things. He's asking a question about the referendum, and the referendum, of course, is very clear. It's about the constitutional amendment to recognise 65,000 years of history and culture in this country, and it's about listening. It's about recognition, and it's about listening.

The cultural heritage reforms that were begun under the previous environment minister—the work that was commissioned under her; the funding contracts that were entered into under her—that work is ongoing. It is complex work, and, in fact, I've been delighted that, until now, this work has been supported in a bipartisan way, not just by the former environment minister, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, not just by the member for Leichhardt, as I have repeatedly said, in the excellent work that he did with Senator Dodson on the Juukan Gorge inquiries, but also by your shadow minister for the environment, who, in the other place on 28 November last year, said that those events were so disastrous that they made it very clear that 'comprehensive' work needed to begin as a matter of urgency on modernising Indigenous heritage protection laws in Australia—comprehensive work. We are doing that comprehensive work in the way that was begun by the previous minister for the environment. Indeed, the member for Cowper has said, when responding to the Juukan Gorge reports, and I quote:

… we are very pleased that the minister has now made clear that she will be continuing the work that had already begun in this area during the years of the coalition government.

And I further quote:

… we always considered that I was vital that this process be centred on the views and the experience of the traditional owners.

That's why we are engaging in this detailed way, this thoughtful way, with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, the organisation contracted by the previous minister for the environment.'

Can I also say that Senator Dean Smith said—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will pause, and I'll hear from the member for Lyne.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm just asking for the answer to the be relevant to the question.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So far, the minister has covered the issue of cultural heritage reforms and linking it to the referendum on the Voice. I'm listening carefully to what she's saying. I'll make sure she remains relevant.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact that you don't like the answer doesn't make it irrelevant. Senator Dean Smith, in relation to the Juukan inquiry in October last year, said:

Eighteen months after the destruction of the Juukan Gorge, which we know to be of such tremendous heritage value to Indigenous people in my home state of Western Australia, people should ask themselves, 'What has changed?'

Supporting this work that we need to do on heritage— (Time expired)