Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth)

Notice of an application for the protection of a specified area, being the area known as Djaki Kundu, near Gympie, Queensland 2023

Invitation to make representations

I, Alice Buhrich, hereby give notice as follows:

The Minister for the Environment (Minister), responsible for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) (Act), has received an application made under section 10 of the Act. The application is seeking long term preservation and protection of a significant Aboriginal area being the area known as ‘Djaki Kundu’ (also colloquially referred to as ‘Gympie Pyramid’ and ‘Rocky Ridge’) near the town of Gympie, Queensland. The Minister has appointed me to provide a report to the Minister under paragraph 10(1)(c) of the Act.

The Applicants

The application is made by Ms Diane Djaki Widjung and Wit-boooka on behalf of the Sovereign Native Tribes of the Kabi Kabi First Nation State (Applicants).

The purpose of the application

The application seeks the long-term preservation or protection of the area specified in the application (the specified area). This area is depicted in Figure 1. Section 10 of the Act confers power on the minister to make a declaration to preserve and protect an area where the minister is satisfied that it is a ‘significant Aboriginal area’ under threat of injury or desecration. A ‘significant Aboriginal area’ is an area of land or water in Australia that is ‘of particular significance to Aboriginals in accordance with Aboriginal tradition.’ ‘Aboriginal tradition’ is the ‘body of traditions, observances, customs and beliefs of Aboriginals generally or of a particular community or group of Aboriginals, and includes any such traditions, observances, customs or beliefs relating to particular persons, areas, objects or relationships.’

Matters the report is required to deal with

The minister must consider my report pursuant to section 10 of the Act in relation to the specified area before deciding whether to make a declaration under section 10 of the Act. Under subsection 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;

(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 who made the application, or on whose behalf the application is made;

(f) the duration of any declaration;

(g) the extent to which the area is or may be protected by or under a law of a State or Territory, and the effectiveness of any remedies available under any such law; and

(h) such other matters (if any) as prescribed.

The specified area

Figure 1 depicts the area for which preservation and protection is sought. The specified area is named Djaki Kundu, near Gympie, Queensland. The cultural landscape surrounding Djaki Kundu (also known as the Gympie Pyramids) is included in the specified area.

This is a map showing the specified area of Djaki Kundu in Gympie. The specified area includes sections of roads such as Gympie Connection Road, Rocky Ridge Road, Mataranka Road and Sandy Creek Road.

Figure 1 Map showing the specified area of Djaki Kundu, near Gympie, Queensland

Claims in relation to ‘significant Aboriginal area’

The application claims that the specified area is of particular significance in accordance with Aboriginal tradition because it is vital to their religious and spiritual tribal law/lore obligations and Kabi Kabi cultural heritage and identity. The application attributes significance to features of the specified area including:

A healing site and Women’s business site.
An area used for bunya law/lore gatherings, which includes a sacred bunya forest.
An area integral to the story of the Creator (Biral), the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades song line and the Water Spirit (Wirra Janjari) Dreaming.
An area which contains sacred ochre associated with the Water Spirit (Wirra Janjari) Dreaming.
A sacred landscape containing stonewalls, caves, scar trees, relics and artefacts created by their ancestors.
An area which holds special artefacts still buried underground, with tribal law/lore dictating that those objects must never be touched or removed. An area which is still in use for ceremonial purposes.

Claimed threat of injury or desecration

The application is seeking protection of the specified area as the above features are claimed to be under threat of injury or desecration by the development of the Bruce Highway – Cooroy to Curra, Section D: Woondum to Curra, proposed by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. The development of the highway will involve the clearing of land and the construction of roads and bridges through and over the specified area. The application also states that destruction of, and damage to, the specified area is already occurring and preventing the free exercise of Kabi Kabi religious and spiritual practice and destroying the foundations of Kabi Kabi spirituality and tribal law/lore, custom and culture.

Invitation to make representations

Interested parties are invited to furnish representations in connection with my report to:

Alice Buhrich
Cultural Heritage Specialist
Ph: 0488 035 778
Email: alice@tropx.com.au

Interested parties are urged to contact me as soon as possible to be provided with further information about the submission process, including the provision of the Application, the making of representations in response to the Application, and the making of final comments in response to representations received.

Representations must be made in writing by 5pm AEST on 23 June 2023 or within such further period as may be allowed. Do not send your representations directly to the minister.

Representations made by, or on behalf of, more than person should be signed by each of those persons.

Representations received by the due date may subsequently be provided to the Applicant and other interested parties for their review and comment in order to meet procedural fairness requirements. If representations are circulated to the Applicant and/or other interested parties for comment, an additional period will be allowed for those parties to make any final comments in writing. Representations will only be circulated to the Applicant and/or other interested parties where the representation may adversely affect the interests of that particular interested party. Please contact me should you have any questions about this.

Claiming confidentiality

If you wish to claim confidentiality over any part of your representation, please identify why you are claiming confidentiality and how you wish confidentiality to apply. Representations will be provided to the minister and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (department), along with the section 10 report. Representations, even those subject to confidentiality, 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.

Privacy notice

The Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Privacy Act) sets out how the department can collect, use and disclose the personal and sensitive information of individuals.

Personal information contained in any representations, submissions, correspondence and/or supporting material submitted will be collected by me, Alice Buhrich, and the department. By submitting a representation, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of all personal information, including sensitive information (as defined in the Privacy Act), contained in your representation, in accordance with this Privacy Notice. By submitting a representation, you agree that you have read and understood this Privacy Notice.

If a representation that you submit contains the personal information of another person, you are responsible for ensuring that the other person has agreed to their personal information being collected, used and disclosed for the purposes set out in this notice.

What is personal information and sensitive information?

‘Personal information’ is any information or opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable (whether true or not).

‘Sensitive information’ is a subset of personal information and includes any information or opinion about an individual's racial or ethnic origin, political opinion or association, religious beliefs or affiliations, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation or practices, trade or professional associations and memberships, union membership, criminal record, health or genetic information and biometric information or templates.

Your personal information will be used and stored in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act.

Collection and use of personal information

Your personal information may be collected:

by the department from you directly, when you provide representations, submissions, correspondence and/or supporting material (together, Material) for the purposes of a section 10 application directly to the department, or to me as a person nominated by the Minister responsible for the Act to prepare a report in accordance with subsection 10(4) of the ATSIHP Act; and/or

by me from you directly, when you provide me with Material for the purposes of a section 10 application; and/or

by me and/or the department from a person or entity that has included your personal information in Material submitted to me or the department.

By providing Material in response to the ‘Notice of an application for the preservation and protection of a specified area, being the areas known as the Mount Pleasant Operation mine and The Pocket’, you consent to the collection of all personal information (including sensitive information) contained in the Material, by myself as the section 10 reporter and by the department. By submitting a representation, you agree that you have read and understood this Privacy Notice.

I, Alice Buhrich, collect your personal information contained in your representation and any other Material you may provide to me for the purposes of consideration in drafting a report under section 10 of the ATSIHP Act in relation to the specified area and related purposes. I will disclose your personal information to the department for the purpose of providing a section 10 report.

The department collects your personal information as contained in your representation, and any subsequent correspondence in relation to your representation, for the purposes of the minister’s consideration in deciding whether to make a declaration under section 10 of the Act in relation to the specified area and related purposes.

Disclosure of personal information

I and/or the department may disclose your personal information to the minister, parties that may be affected by a decision of the minister under section 10 of the Act (to meet procedural fairness requirements), other Commonwealth agencies, State or Territory agencies, and other Australian government agencies, persons or organisations where necessary for the above purposes, provided the disclosure is consistent with relevant laws, in particular the Privacy Act. Your personal information will be used and stored in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles set out in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act.

By submitting a representation, you consent to the disclosure of all personal information contained in your representation to:

the department;
the minister;
parties that may be affected by the decision of the minister under section 10 of the Act, should this be required to meet procedural fairness requirements; and
other Australian government agencies, persons or organisations where necessary for the purposes of preparing the report and consideration of that report by the minister, provided the disclosure is consistent with relevant laws.

Your personal information will not be disclosed to overseas recipients unless such disclosure is necessary to consider an application made under section 10 of the ATSHIP Act or for related purposes.

Anonymous representations

You can choose to make an anonymous representation and/or to not disclose relevant personal information in your representation. However, this may mean your representation cannot be fully considered under the Act in relation to the specified area.

Personal and sensitive information of other individuals

If your representation contains the personal information of another person, you are responsible for ensuring that the other person has agreed to their personal information being collected, used and disclosed for the purposes set out in this notice. This includes giving them a copy of the Gazette Notice and this Privacy Notice.

The department's Privacy Policy is available at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/about/commitment/privacy. It contains more information about how personal information is handled, how to access or correct your personal information, and how to make a complaint.