Posted: July 6th, 2021
This year’s national NAIDOC theme, Heal Country! calls for everyone to continue to recognise the uniqueness of our lands, our waters, our sacred sites and seek greater protections and for Aboriginal cultural heritage.
The right to protect Country and culture is fundamental.
At Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, YMAC, ‘Heal Country’ perfectly describes the goal that our work aims to achieve.
Everyone has a role to play in healing Country. YMAC strongly believes one key part of this process is reform of the laws underpinning heritage protection – including Western Australia’s Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972). We have been actively advocating for planned new heritage laws to Legislate the right to say ‘no’, consultation rights and the need for Aboriginal heritage to be considered early in a development process and continue to be considered as new information comes to light, both before and after agreements have been made.
The proposed new legislation – the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill – represents a once-in-a generation opportunity to make sure Aboriginal cultural heritage gets the recognition it deserves, and to find the right balance between heritage protection and economic outcomes for all parties.
During NAIDOC Week we will share what ‘Heal Country’ means to some of our members and important advocates.
We encourage you to share pictures of your Country and let us at YMAC know, what does ‘Heal Country’ mean to you.
Don’t forget to tag us in your posts!
And if you or someone you know has a special story you would like to share please email us at editor@ymac.org.au so we can get in touch.
