NSW Wild Dog Fence Extension Project

Update: NSW Wild Dog Fence Extension Project 

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has given the authorisations sought for this project. Please contact AAR for further information.

What's being decided?

Are you a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in the Cockburn and Broken Hill areas?

If so, the Minister wants to hear from you about the New South Wales Soil Conservation Service (Applicant’s) proposal to build the NSW Wild Dog Fence Extension Project (WDFEP). Your views will help the Minister decide whether to authorise potential excavation, damage, disturbance or interference with Aboriginal heritage that may occur as a result of this proposal.

Background

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, who is responsible for the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA) (Act), has received an application for authorisations under sections 21, 23 and 29(1)(b) of the Act from the New South Wales Soil Conservation Service, which is associated with the NSW government (Applicant).

The Wild Dog Fence Extension Project seeks authorisations to enable the extension of the NSW Wild Dog Fence in the state’s northeast, immediately west of the NSW border (Project). Project works would be contained within a 10 m wide corridor, beginning approximately 85 km north of Cockburn and extending north for 32.1 km, to a point approximately 116 km north of Cockburn (Application Area). A map of the Application Area is available here.

Section 21 makes it an offence to excavate land to uncover any Aboriginal site, object or remains (Aboriginal heritage) without authorisation under the Act; section 23 makes it an offence to damage, disturb or interfere with Aboriginal heritage without authorisation under the Act, and Section 29(1)(b) makes it an offence to remove Aboriginal objects from the state without authorisation under the Act.

The proposed activities involve ground-disturbing works associated with:

• the removal of existing fence posts
• excavations to install new fence posts and associated materials
• the use of machinery and vehicles
• other associated activities.

For further information regarding this application, refer to AAR’s Public consultation notice here and Consultation Information Pack available here.

Prior to considering whether to grant an authorisation, in accordance with section 13 of the Act, the Minister must understand and consider the views of a range of interested Aboriginal parties. ARR conducts this consultation on the Minister's behalf, seeking the views of, the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee and other interested Aboriginal parties.

Get involved

If you are a Traditional Owner or an Aboriginal party with an interest in the Application Area, please read the Consultation Information Pack and consider the following three questions:

1. Should the authorisations be granted to the Applicant? Why or why not?
2. If granted, what conditions (if any) should be put on them?
3. Are there any other matters that the Minister should consider in this application?

If you wish to learn more about this application, or lodge a submission, please contact:

Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation

T: (08) 8303 0739

E: DPC-AAR.CIR@sa.gov.au

P: GPO Box 2343, ADELAIDE SA 5001

See the Consultation Information Pack for further details on how to lodge a verbal or written submission.

Submissions must be received by Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) by Thursday 14 July 2022.

What are the next steps?

Unless otherwise requested, consultees submissions will be forwarded to the Applicant for comment. Once the public consultation period has closed, submissions and the Applicant’s comments about them will be forwarded to the Committee. The Committee’s own views about the application will then be sought. AAR will collate consultee submissions, the Applicant’s responses to them, the Committee’s advice, and its own recommendations to the Minister within a single brief to assist him to make a final decision about the application.