Riverlea Park Development

We want to hear from Traditional Owners, interested Aboriginal people and Aboriginal organisations about a request for authorisations under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA) (Act) to enable the construction of a large residential, retail, commercial and recreational development at Riverlea Park (formerly Buckland Park), some 30 km north of Adelaide (the Project).

What's being decided?

If you are a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in the matter, we want to hear your views about the Project.

Your views will help the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Minister), who is responsible for the Act, decide whether to grant the authorisations sought to enable the Project.

Background

The Minister has received an application for authorisations under sections 21, 23 and 29(1)(b) of the Act from Walker Buckland Park Developments Pty Ltd (Applicant).

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

The Project would involve excavation and preparation of land across the application area to enable the construction of residential housing and associated infrastructure, as well as excavation works to enable storm water infrastructure installation. See the map of the Application Area featuring the Riverlea Park Masterplan data.

Get involved

Prior to considering whether to grant the authorisations sought, section 13 of the Act requires the Minister to consult with the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee (Committee), relevant Traditional Owners and any other Aboriginal people or Aboriginal organisations that he considers may have an interest in this matter.

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

1. Should the authorisations sought be granted to the Applicant? Why or why not?
2. If the authorisations are granted, what conditions (if any) should be imposed on them?
3. What should the Minister consider when deciding this application?

If you wish to learn more, to lodge a submission and/or be notified of the Minister’s decision in this matter, please:

• Call us on (08) 8303 0739
• Email your feedback to AAR.CIR@sa.gov.au
• Post your feedback to:

Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation

Attorney-General’s Department

GPO Box 464, ADELAIDE SA 5001

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

The consultation end date has been extended. Submissions can now be received by Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) until Monday 16 October 2023.

What are the next steps?

Unless otherwise requested, consultee 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 all feedback and provide its own recommendations to the Minister within a single brief to assist him to make a final decision about the application.

If you are a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in this matter, please consider making a submission.